Author Spotlight on Ruta Sepetys
One of my favorite YA authors & her books I love the most.
Ruta Sepetys is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee, which has led her to write about underrepresented voices in history. A number of her books focus on tyrannical governments and the every day people who fight against them.
Her novels have led her to speak around the world about “… the power of history and story to foster global dialogue and connectivity”. In 2013 she was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania and in 2017, the Carnegie Medal.
Read below for the list of Sepetys’ books, including my favorites.
The Bletchley Riddle
I just started Sepetys’ most recent collaboration with Steve Sheinkin, a “…middle grade historical adventure [that] follows two siblings at Bletchley Park, the home of WWII codebreakers, as they try to unravel a mystery surrounding their mother's disappearance.”
The Fountains of Silence
My favorite of Septeys’ books, taking place during the 1950’s in Spain. Under the dictatorship of General Franco, the city of Madrid is under constant surveillance and its people live in fear, including Ana and her family. While working at a hotel she meets tourist Daniel, a photographer who begins to question what is happening around him as he gets closer to Ana.
A beautiful, romantic, and suspenseful story.
I Must Betray You
In 1989 Romania, Cristian dreams of being a writer but is living under the increasingly strict dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu. As Communist regimes crumble, Ceaușescu uses his secret police to try to keep power. Nicolae is blackmailed by the secret police, forced to betray those around him unless he can find a way to undermine tyranny without risking the lives of those he loves.
You: The Story
This has been on my to-read list, a how-to book for young writers on how to “… look inward and excavate your own memories in order to discover the authentic voices and compelling details that are waiting to be put on the page”.
Between Shades of Gray
This was one of the first books I read for my young adult books class in grad school (yes, that was a class for my librarian degree and it was as amazing as it sounds). “…Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life -- until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives.”
Salt of the Sea
A companion novel to Between Shades of Gray, following the stories of four refugees during WWII whose “… paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom. But not all promises can be kept .”
Out of the Easy
New Orleans in the 1950’s “… Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street.”
Biography from:
“About.” Ruta Sepetys, https://rutasepetys.com/about/. Accessed 5 January 2025.
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