Review by Booklist Review
It's 1957 and aspiring photographer Daniel Matheson is visiting Spain with his Texas oil tycoon father. Daniel is eager for the opportunity to flesh out his portfolio for a photography contest what would be more prize-worthy than photos of daily life in notoriously secretive Spain? but he gets repeated warnings, some quite aggressive, against looking too closely. Another thing Daniel doesn't bank on is Ana, an arrestingly beautiful maid at the Castellana Hilton, where he's staying with his parents. As their affection deepens, so, too, do their differences: Ana, daughter of executed anti-Fascists, lives a tightly constrained existence, and Daniel has unprecedented freedom in her country and can't quite wrap his head around the danger he puts her in. In another meticulously researched novel, Sepetys (Salt to the Sea, 2015) offers a captivating glimpse into Franco's Spain, a region awash in secrets and misinformation. As Sepetys slowly unspools hard truths about the era, such as the prevalence of babies stolen from poor, Republican families, the facts become increasingly impossible to ignore, both for the reader and for Daniel. The romance ultimately takes center stage, but the troubling events in the margins add terrifyingly high stakes to Daniel and Ana's relationship. For all her extensive, careful research (evident in the back matter), Sepetys doesn't overwhelm readers with facts; rather, she tells a moving story made even more powerful by its placement in a lesser-known historical moment. Captivating, deft, and illuminating historical fiction. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A new novel from best-selling, award-winning Sepetys is always news, but this latest has a hefty promotional campaign to bolster it up as well.--Sarah Hunter Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Sepetys (Salt to the Sea) again deftly explores a painful chapter in history, this time Franco's Madrid. In 1957, 18-year-old Daniel, an aspiring photojournalist from Texas, visits Spain with his Spanish mother and American oil tycoon father. After arriving, he hones his lens on the culture, in some cases capturing forbidden images that earn the wrath of the menacing Guardia Civil, and he forms a relationship with his enigmatic hotel attendant, Ana, and her family, who are barely surviving, in stark contrast to Daniel's family's affluence. The tension heightens as a mystery involving orphans unfolds and Daniel and Ana's magnetic romance progresses. The novel revolves around Ana's brother, Rafa, a bullfighting promoter; her cousin Puri, who works at an orphanage; a lecherous American ambassador; and an experienced newspaper bureau chief, who mentors Daniel. Sepetys skillfully conveys Spain's atmosphere under Franco--who limited women's rights and squelched rebellion--with a pervasive feeling of fear and economic oppression. Compelling primary source materials, such as memos from U.S. presidents, oral history excerpts, and even hotel brochures, precede some chapters and contextualize the narrative. This gripping, often haunting historical novel offers a memorable portrait of fascist Spain. Ages 12--up. (Oct.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
In 1957, 18-year-old Daniel Matheson has accompanied his parents to Madrid from Dallas where his oil tycoon father is working on a deal with the dictator Francisco Franco. Daniel has a passion for photography and soon develops a passion for Ana, the hotel maid assigned to his family. But Ana has secrets of her own; her parents were executed as part of the revolutionary group trying to bring Franco down. Other subplots of a mysterious orphanage, disappearing babies, and an aspiring bullfighter weave into the storyline to paint a troubling picture of Spain under Franco's rule. The main narrator is Maite Jauregui, who has excellent Spanish prounciation and realistically portrays the Spanish characters. Richard Ferrone, Neil Hellegers, Joshua Kane, Liza Kaplan, and Oliver Wyman all perform throughout, narrating primary-source material such as newscasts, memos, telegrams, and oral history excerpts, adding context and depth to the story. The book jumps 18 years into the future at the end, revealing more secrets, and concludes with a note read very expressively by the author herself. Although the audio version naturally omits the pictures included in the print version, the narration immerses listeners into this atmospheric place and time, hopefully enticing them to pursue further research into this turbulent time in Spain's history. VERDICT Recommend this to historical fiction fans, romance fans, and fans of Sepetys's earlier works.--Julie Paladino, formerly with East Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, NC
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--In 1957, 18-year-old Daniel Matheson has accompanied his parents from Dallas to Madrid, where his oil tycoon father is working on a deal with the dictator Francisco Franco. Daniel has a passion for photography and soon develops another passion, for Ana, the hotel maid assigned to his family. But Ana has secrets; her parents were executed as part of the revolutionary group trying to bring Franco down. Other subplots about a mysterious orphanage, disappearing babies, and an aspiring bullfighter weave into the storyline to paint a troubling picture of Spain under Franco's rule. The main narrator is Maite Jauregui, who realistically portrays the Spanish characters and words. Richard Ferrone, Neil Hellegers, Joshua Kane, Liza Kaplan, and Oliver Wyman all perform throughout the audio, narrating primary-source material such as newscasts, memos, telegrams, and oral history excerpts, adding context and depth to the story. The story jumps 18 years into the future at the end, revealing more secrets, and concludes with a note read expressively by the author herself. Although the audio version naturally omits the pictures included in the print version, having an authentic Spanish narrator immerses listeners into this atmospheric place and time, hopefully enticing listeners to pursue further research into this turbulent time in Spain's history. VERDICT Recommend this to historical fiction fans, romance fans, and fans of Sepetys's earlier works.--Julie Paladino, formerly of East Chapel Hill High School
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Sepetyss riveting historical epic examines the enduring effects of the Spanish Civil War through the perspectives of four young people living under the shadow of Francos fascist dictatorship in 1957 Madrid. Ana and Rafael are siblings whose Republican educator parents were murdered for opposing Francos Nationalist party. Now, almost twenty years later, the family still struggles. Ana is a maid in an American-style hotel, while Rafael splits his time between working in a slaughterhouse and digging graves. They earn pennies even as Francos government grows rich off American tourism and oil industries. Their cousin Puri, a loyal fascist, is a caregiver at a Catholic orphanage, where she is increasingly disturbed by some troubling discoveries concerning the infants in her charge. Daniel, an aspiring American photojournalist whose mother is from Spain and father is a Texas oil baron, befriends Ana and Rafael and begins to question everything hes been told about Spain and its pretty faadeespecially after he and Ana fall in love. Through lively characters and short, swiftly paced chapters permeated with elements of mystery and suspense, Sepetys thoroughly and sensitively explores the vast social, economic, and political issues that plagued postwar Spain, including the selling of stolen Republican infants to Nationalist families. Excerpts from newspapers, government documents, and interviews from and about the time add another layer of veracity. Back matter includes an authors note, an extensive bibliography, information on sources, a glossary of Spanish words and phrases, and a photo gallery. An exemplary work of historical fiction. jennifer hubert swan September/October 2019 p.100(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The pitiless dictatorship of Francisco Franco examined through the voices of four teenagers: one American and three Spaniards.The Spanish Civil War lasted from 1936-1939, but Franco held Spain by its throat for 36 years. Sepetys (Salt to the Sea, 2016, etc.) begins her novel in 1957. Daniel is a white Texan who wants to be a photojournalist, not an oilman; Ana is trying to work her way to respectability as a hotel maid; her brother, Rafael, wants to erase memories of an oppressive boys' home; and Puri is a loving caregiver for babies awaiting adoptiontogether they provide alternating third-person lenses for viewing Spain during one of its most brutally repressive periods. Their lives run parallel and intersect as each tries to answer questions about truth and the path ahead within a regime that crushes any opposition, murders dissidents, and punishes their families while stealing babies to sell to parents with accepted political views. This formidable story will haunt those who ask hard questions about the past as it reveals the hopes and dreams of individuals in a nation trying to lie its way to the future. Meticulous research is presented through believable, complex characters on the brink of adulthood who personalize the questions we all must answer about our place in the world. A stunning novel that exposes modern fascism and elevates human resilience. (author's note, research and sources, glossary, photographs) (Historical fiction. 15-adult) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
