Starred 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 at would be more prize-­worthy than photos of daily life in notoriously secretive Spain? t 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.

Sepetys's riveting and exemplary historical epic examines the enduring effects of the Spanish Civil War through the perspectives of four young people living under the shadow of Franco's fascist dictatorship in 1957 Madrid. Via lively characters and short, swiftly paced chapters, Sepetys thoroughly and sensitively explores the social, economic, and political issues that plagued postwar Spain, including the selling of stolen infants. An author's note and photo gallery are appended. Bib., glos.

Gr 7 Up-In her latest historical novel, Sepetys illuminates dark secrets about Francisco Franco's fascist rule of Spain. In 1957 Madrid, 18-year-old aspiring photojournalist Daniel Matheson is staying at the luxurious Castellana Hilton Hotel with his Texas oil tycoon father and Spanish mother. Daniel befriends Ana, a hotel employee, whose attraction to Daniel is constrained by fear about losing her job and by silence about her family tragedies. When Daniel turns his camera lens on local people and places, he captures provocative images of nuns and orphans, infant burials, an impassioned, struggling bullfighter, the intimidating Guardia Civil military police, Ana's impoverished homelife, and his father shaking hands with Franco. Gradually, Daniel discovers that beneath the bustling tourist and business vibe of Madrid lurks the dark realities of Franco's regime: stolen children, sinister church and government collusion, murder of Franco's political adversaries, and the abuse and re-education of surviving childrenlike Ana and her siblings. Troubled by unanswered questions, Daniel returns to the U.S. with his parents and a newly adopted sister. He revisits Spain with his sister 18 years later, after Franco's death. As he introduces his sister to her original culture, he fondly reconnects with Ana and learns the truth of his sister's parentage. This multidimensional story contains a rich cast of characters with different perspectives, vivid descriptions, romance, and cultural insights. Multiple narrative threads are skillfully woven together. Official quotations from academic and foreign service archives are interspersed among the chapters and document the conflicted relationship between the U.S. and Franco. VERDICT This well-crafted story sheds light on a disturbing chapter of 20th century history and helps break the silence and expose the tragedy of 300,000 children adopted or stolen during Franco's rule. Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham Public Schools, NC