Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

11 reviews

thatsssorachael's review

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

I think Ruta Sepetys is a great author and very clearly does her research. This one didn’t hit me as hard as her previous books did, but I think I learned more from this one. 

The pacing in her books is always a little bit frustrating to follow, but I really noticed it here. The characters are her strong point and this book was no different, I loved all the characters and the romances and friendships between them. 

Overall I did enjoy this book, and I’d recommend it for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence

Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Child death

Minor: Child abuse, War, and Torture

ewitsell's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Gun violence

katiejohns's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Child death

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent, Torture, and Cancer

midnightverde's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book starts out slowly and there are many characters involved in the plot. As you read and gain insight into the lives and experiences of each character the story begins to pull you in. Once you start seeing the mysteries in the story it becomes more of a page turner. I was grateful to learn about this time period from an author who seems very interested in history and working collaboratively with the relevant people and sources to prevent inaccuracies. The book really comes together at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, Classism, Death, Genocide, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Child death, Child abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Grief, Kidnapping, Trafficking, War, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Infidelity, Death of parent, Excrement, and Gun violence

Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Antisemitism, and Alcoholism

briannad4's review against another edition

informative mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, War, Abandonment, and Blood

nebraskanwriter's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

“He scratched a proverb on the wall for future inmates: ‘Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, he became a butterfly.’” 

•

Wow, what an amazing book! Being over 500 pages, I was a little intimated to start this but the audiobook was superb and I flew through this.

•

The story begins a little slow as Sepetys begins painting a picture of 1957 Spain, controlled by the dictator Franco. She immerses you in the people, the culture, their lives and the many secrets they keep. The silent vow they take. She examins this moment in history from multiple angles, following multiple characters who help show the reader that all is not what it seems in Spain. You have the American, the maid at the hotel and her family, a grave digger and an employee at a Catholic orphanage. But something is off. Children are going missing. Orphanages are overflowing. Mothers are asking about their children and where they went. But no one is giving answers, no one is saying anything. 

•

Sepetys slowly pulls back the layers of Franco’s Spain, exposing to Daniel (the naive American) what is actually going on and what all the Spanish people are enduring under the dictator. As I did not know much about Spain’s history, I found this story both fascinating and also horrifying. 

•

Sepetys is a master at humanizing history, bringing to life the words in our history books and giving voices to those who have been silenced for far too long. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Violence, Antisemitism, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Classism, Confinement, and Religious bigotry

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

For such a large book, this was a fairly fast read.  I've read a couple of books set during Franco's war in Spain, but have never read about the time period after when he was the dictator for so many years.  It was fascinating and sad.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Police brutality, Sexism, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abandonment, Terminal illness, Violence, Sexual harassment, Classism, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry

writingcaia's review against another edition

emotional informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Brilliant!
A love story between an American young man with a Spanish mother that travels to Spain with his parents in 1957 during Franco’s dictatorship to do a deal regarding oil, and collaboration between the USA and Spain, and a Spanish girl working at his hotel. A girl hiding who she is, a girl with an older sister hiding more secrets and an optimist brother that wants to help his friend become a matador.
It is definitely a story of secrets, country secrets, shameful secrets, secrets that crave to be known, of people hiding who they are, who their family was, or not even knowing who you are and can be, a story of poverty and repression, of different fates and waiting.
Amazing characters, and the revelation of a secret Spain kept hidden until 2008 that happened since the beginning of the fascist government until the 80’s.
I cannot even explain how completely enveloping and atmospheric this book was while uncovering such harsh realities, impossible dreams, and love. I truly felt the Spain of the 50’s, the shame, the wretchedness, the huge gap between the Americans that there lived and supported Franco dictatorship.
As hard as the story is, it does give you hope, and I  loved it. And, recommend it to all that love amazing historical fiction stories, or generally amazing tales that happens to be inspired by true events.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence

Moderate: Grief, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Hate crime, and Violence

Minor: Infertility, Torture, Cancer, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

serena_hien's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Medical trauma, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Gun violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Abandonment and Excrement

the_clueless_tourist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Torture, Miscarriage, and Gun violence

Minor: War