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3.5/5
Non-Fiction
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Rating: 4/5
Pages: 528
Started: 7 June 2024
Finished: 9 June 2024
Summary:
It's 1952, but the war in Spain isn't over. The reign of fascist dictator Fransisco Franco still hangs heavily over the country, oppressing impoverished citizens and committing unspeakable atrocities. There is no place where the gap between privilege and powerless poverty is more evident than at the Hilton hotel, where Americans are allowed to stay for the first time in decades, their seemingly endless wealth bringing money into Spanish coffers. Eighteen-year-old texan Daniel has accompanied his oil mogul father and his Spanish mother on a trip to Spain; his father wants to strike a business deal with Franco, although Daniel has his own plan: to photograph the country in order to create a show-stopping portfolio that will win him enough money to send him to journalism school. But the more Daniel photographs, the more he begins to see the injustice and pain the Spanish people are suffering under the fascist government. When he begins to fall for Ana, a maid at the Hilton, he is shown a window into her world of poverty, where every paycheck fends off starvation, and babies are being stolen and sold by the Spanish government.
Thoughts:
As per usual, Sepetys did a great job creating an accurate and engaging historical novel. Her characters were interesting and dynamic (even if side characters like Nick and Ben were more fun than the protagonists) and she was able to highlight many of the complexities and types of suffering created by a dictator and a fascist government. The length and structure of the story felt slightly more adult than YA, especially with the ending that shot forward in time 18 years, but even with that strangeness, I found the plot arc satisfying and comprehensible, and very satisfying. This book did not make me cry, but it was impactful and interesting, and I have quite a lot of confidence at this point that Sepetys can write a historical fiction novel so steeped in history that reading it is a deeply educational experience.