Ruta Sepetys

At the Castellana Hilton in 1957 Madrid, eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson connects with Ana Moreno through photography and fate as Daniel discovers the incredibly dark side of the city under Generalissimo Franco's rule. Madrid, 1957. Daniel Matheson, the son of a Texas oil tycoon, arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother's birth through the lens of his camera. He meets Ana Moreno, whose family's interweaving...

In a country governed by isolation, fear, and a tyrannical dictator, seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer, but he decides to use his position to try to outwit his handler, undermine the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. Includes author's note.