Reviews

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

akissire's review

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informative reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

One of the better books I've read recently, though it took me a bit to really get into it. I read it via audiobook, and I'm glad I did...the Spanish words weren't always words that are familiar to me, so the narrator brought me into the story better.

If you enjoy historical fiction and learning about events that our textbooks and selective memory ignore, then read The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys.

machster9's review against another edition

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4.0

I love historical fiction, so I was quite interested in reading this one. Perhaps it was the Viet Nam war overshadowing events in the 60's & 70's, but I don't recall there being a lot of news focus on the conditions in Spain under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. So it was of great interest to me to read more about Spanish history during this time. I traveled with my parents to Spain when I was 15, and reading the passage about how much was available to Americans in Spain in comparison to Spanish citizens, made me feel a little guilty.

In addition to the history lesson, the story of Daniel, Ana, and the other host of characters in the book was well written, and I like the way that much of it was presented through Daniel's photography. The relationship between Daniel & Ana was not overly sentimental, and I loved Rafa & Fuga. I was fairly certain of the basis of the underlying secret fairly early on, but there were still several surprises as the story developed.

Enjoyable read, looking forward to some of Sepetys' other works.

zcat_52's review against another edition

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mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

morganw33's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

lilyog_13's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

booksconnect's review against another edition

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5.0

I learned much about Spain's history-and I cried-two things that always equal a good book for me!

sneakya3's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mariashute's review

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challenging emotional informative tense fast-paced

4.0

merikayp's review

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hopeful informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

smalljules's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.25