The Fountains of Silence

I am a great lover of historical fiction. One of my favorite novels that we teach to our 7th graders is The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt--set in America during the Vietnam War. However, I find that frequently a lot of historical fiction, especially for middle grade and young adult readers, is set in time periods that we are all too familiar with. There are hundreds of books set during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, WWI, and WWII. 

One of my favorite things about historical fiction is learning about a setting that I'm unfamiliar with--somewhere or some time that I'm not familiar with. So I absolutely fell in love with The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys which is set in Madrid in 1957 when Spain was under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco--a period of time and place that I'm completely in the dark about. But thanks to Sepetys' extensive research behind this book, I learned a lot about history through the lens of this fictional story. 

The Fountains of Silence follows eighteen-year old Daniel Matheson as he experiences the juxtaposition between the dark secrets of the fascist regime over the Spain and the lure of the new tourism booming there. Despite being from Texas, Daniel clings to his mother's Spanish heritage and feels himself connecting with the Spanish culture and people in a way he couldn't predict. His passion for photography provides him with opportunities to see everything in a different light. His connection with Ana, one of the maids at his hotel, is the strongest and gives him the opportunity to fall in love with her and the country. But Ana struggles with knowing the wealth that Daniel comes from and how her own family's past and the past of Spain are still affecting their lives in difficult and dangerous ways. 

I felt so many emotions as I was reading this book. Sepetys is amazing at foreshadowing and bringing together the secrets that all of these characters carry. I was constantly kept on my toes and felt like something new was just around the corner. The book was very well crafted and despite the formidable length of the book, I was moved through it at a quick pace by easy dialogue and interesting action. 

Despite the fact that this is a young adult book, it definitely doesn't steer away from difficult topics. It tackles a lot of things that are a part of history that most people want to keep buried. I hope that young adults reading it will have their eyes opened to a part of history that isn't normally taught in their history classes. 

I loved that there were included snippets of quotes from newspapers and documents all relating to the United States' relationship with Spain under Franco's reign. It brought a real authenticity to the story and you could tell that Sepetys had done her research. So much of it connected to the story that she was trying to weave and it was just beautifully done.

Having a glimpse into what life was like for people and some of the dark things that were done in Spain during that time makes me want to go find more books set during Franco's dictatorship. I'd be curious if anyone has any recommendations for me!

Anyone who loves beautiful prose, historical fiction, the Spanish language and culture, and young adult books will love The Fountains of Silence. You can purchase a copy here.