- Rachel Penate
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
Updated: Apr 10
TITLE: The Fountains of Silence
AUTHOR: Ruta Sepetys
PUBLISHER: Penguin Random House
STARS: ★★★★★
REVIEW: I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book. Between the short chapters and quickly shifting characters, it took me a while to really fully understand the plot. But once I did … man was it a treat!
★ Sepety’s illustration of post-war Spain, for me, was a heartfelt adventure. ★
I didn’t know much at all about Spain’s history prior to this book. But, wow … such a crazy period of time … Franco’s rule was subtly catastrophic, and most of the issues Spain found itself submerged in were boiling just under the surface. Secrecy was — sadly — almost celebrated as the “patriotic” thing to do, and the corrupt government found itself seeping into every single institution even (what should be) the comforting arms of the Church.
So in comes Sepetys, with a tender and beautiful novel about some courageous teenagers who said “Enough is enough! This is not the Spain we want!”
And then there is a sweet love story. Ah. SUCH a sweet love story. It wasn’t a corny or (on the other end) overly-sexualized romance, BUT rather a real, heartfelt, moving friendship turned romantic relationship.
Overall, just absolutely LOVED this one. Despite the slow start, this is absolutely one of 2019’s books I’ll be appreciating for a very long time.
SENSITIVITY WARNINGS: Talk of family lost to war, one instance of murder, and institutionalized kidnapping.
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*Rating Scale: https://www.bookmamareviews.com/post/how-i-rate-my-books