The Fountains of Silence

Eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson goes to Madrid, Spain with his family in order for his mother to reconnect with the country of her birth. He wants to be a photojournalist, much to the dismay of his oil tycoon father. It's 1957 and the country is under the fascist rule of General Francisco Franco. The country is hiding dark secrets. Secrets that aren't spoken about. A secret that will involve Daniel's own family. While there, Daniel meets Ana and there's an intense connection. Daniel's photographs lead him to have unanswered questions. Questions that lead him to the dark part of the city.

What worked: I'm a huge Sepetys fan. She has a gift of weaving in strong emotional connections during painful historical periods. In this novel readers are introduced to Daniel, the son of an oil tycoon and Ana, the daughter of parents with the 'Red gene'. She lives in poverty and works at the hotel where she meets Daniel and his family. The government encourages foreign tourism and puts on a facade of sunshine and light, while it's people suffer in silence.

The chemistry between Ana and Daniel is strong and magnetic. Readers hope that their story will have a happy ending amidst the backdrop of the fascist regime. Daniel is strong, unapologetic, and determined to have a career as a photojournalist. He also refuses to back down and stay away from Ana, even if that puts his life in danger. Ana's story is sadder. Readers learn how her parents ended up dying due to fighting against Franco. Ana and her family are forced into poverty and have no hopes for a future.

I usually have a hard time keeping characters apart, but in The Fountains of Silence, each character adds to the intensity of the novel. Readers see beyond the tourist Spain to the country led by a cruel and heartless regime. Readers will weep over the loss of innocence of so many, especially the hopes of characters like Fuga, who want to be the next bullfighter. The extremism of a regime to only have one religion and rehabilitate others is shown through the eyes of the outlooker-Daniel. He feels helpless and at loss on how he can help.

There's also a very painful past that is revealed. That past is how the government was behind 300,000 babies being stolen from parents and adopted into families that were considered less degenerate. There are scenes in the novel where Ana's brother, Rafa and his friend Fuga, work in the cemetery and bury numerous baby coffins. Fuga's suspects not all is what it seems. Even Ana's cousin Puri, who is a nun and works in one of the orphanages with the babies, has questions that lead her to discovering a painful part of her own past.


Mesmerizing historical tale set in 1957 Madrid where a Fascist dictatorship hides a cruel past secret. Heart wrenching reveals of a time with an ugliness hidden by sunshine. At the back of the novel are photos and an author's note on the history during this time. A must read for Sepetys fans and those who love historical novels.