Eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson is looking forward to exploring Spain, the lad of his mother’s birth. He and his parents are in Madrid – his mother to reconnect with her country; his father to sign an oil deal with General Francisco Franco.
Daniel befriends other Americans – Ben, a newspaper reporter, and Nick, the son of the American ambassador.
He also connects with the reticent Spaniards – Rafa, Ana, Fuga, Miguel, Carlos.
As Daniel struggles to understand what is happening in Spain and the secrets his new friends hold close, he faces danger, horror and difficult decisions.
Author Rita Sepetys returns with another stunning novel, The Fountains of Silence – this time set in Madrid, 1957.
Note: I’m going to hunt down my reviews of her other excellent novels, Between Shades of Gray, Salt to the Sea, Out of the Easy, and post them soon. Sepetys’ writing is a treasure no one should miss.
I pre-ordered the audiobook on Audible – I love Sepetys writing that much! However, I found I really needed to read it first.
I found it difficult to keep track of the characters in the audiobook, plus Sepetys sprinkles in quotes from oral histories, diaries, etc of the men who lived and worked in Spain during the era.
I finally was able to read the book this month and am looking forward to enjoying the audiobook.
Highly recommended for ages 14 and up. Events could be disturbing for younger readers.
Cultivating Readers 