Taryn R. Hutchison

Thanks to the author for an advance digital copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

Beautiful book cover, endearing young protagonist, government spies, and classic novels. I was hooked from the first page of this multi-layered story. Fifteen-year-old Adriana lives in Communist Romania in 1987, and despite the oppressive political climate and restrictive lifestyle she is a bubbly teenager with a love of reading. Unaware of the political and religious secrets within her own show more family, she discovers a secret room through a beautifully painted wardrobe at her aunt's house, much like The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

The books she discovers in this room are forbidden in Romania, so Adriana's aunt makes her promise she won't tell anyone about the room or the books. This is just the first of several dangerous secrets Adriana uncovers, related to her family and her friends.

Hutchison expertly weaves the real-life restrictions of Romania's tyrannical regime with one family's experiences that depict the resilience of faith and love. The novel juxtaposes characteristic portrayals of life in the city of Bucharest with colorful descriptions of a nearby rural mountain town: weather, plants, scents, and sounds. It was easy to imagine being in Romania with Adriana.

I especially liked the exciting climax and enthusiastically recommend this novel to any adult. It would also make an excellent book for middle and high school students as it vividly explores an historic time through the experiences of a teenager. In addition, the novel demonstrates the concepts of faith, loyalty, and family as Adriana and her family struggled and grew closer despite the dangers. show less

Thanks to author Taryn Hutchison for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This is the third and final book in this Cold War Trilogy. I have read them all and think they’re best enjoyed in order. But you could also read this as a stand-alone. If you do start with this one, you’ll want to go back and read the first two (One Degree of Freedom and Two Lights of Hope). Even though this is written as a Young Adult series, anyone would enjoy it and connect with show more the characters.

The story takes place in Bucharest, Romania in 1989, just before and during the revolution to overthrow the restrictive Communist regime. Told through the eyes of 17-year-old high school student Adriana Nicu, the novel is based on the actual events of the revolution that freed Romania. Author Taryn Hutchison says “while this book is a work of fiction, the historical events depicted are real.”

Adriana is an avid reader, who enjoys classic American literature that her aunt secretly shares with her such as “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Les Miserables,” “Sense and Sensibility,” and “Animal Farm.” These books are banned in Romania. In addition to restricting what people read, there isn’t enough food, water, and heat. Churches meet secretly “underground.” People are extremely fearful as no one knows who can be trusted. Spies are everywhere. Many people are taken in for questioning and never seen again.

In contrast to the oppressive life described, Adriana has a warm, loving family and a best friend, as well as several friendly and intelligent classmates and an encouraging professor. Taryn vividly portrays life in Romania during this time that wasn’t so long ago. And as the revolution begins, I felt like I was right there with the friends and revolutionaries. Immersive and tense, the battles are realistically described and kept me on the edge of my seat.

I applaud Taryn’s extensive research. She explains that even though her “fictitious characters’ involvement in the events of the revolution are naturally made up, they are based on testimony told to me from several eyewitnesses of those events. I heard from these eyewitnesses when I moved to Romania in 1990, shortly after the historic events transpired, and still have their recorded testimonies on cassette tapes in my possession.”

This would be a great book for any “young adult,” and especially for those wanting to learn about a lesser known, more recent war. It’s impressive that the revolutionaries were primarily in their early 20s. This was an inspiring and authentic novel of courage. show less

Thanks to author Taryn Hutchison for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

As the second novel in this young adult series, it can easily be read as a standalone. But after you finish this you’ll want to read “One Degree of Freedom” to catch up with the earlier adventures of then fifteen-year-old Adriana Nicu and her friend Gabi.

This historical fiction is set in 1988 Communist Romania, where two teenage girls search for answers to a mystery from World War show more II – what became of a Jewish family whose safety was threatened by the Romanian government. The secrecy, spies, informants, and resistance fighters from forty years ago persist in Adriana’s world. Even though her family tries to shield her from the current government threats, Adriana and Gabi find themselves in the midst of an atmosphere of dangerous oppression.

The warm and endearing story of Adriana and her family is told as a counter to Hutchison’s skillful description of the pervasive tone of Communist government and the determination of those who refuse to be intimidated.

Young readers and adults alike will easily become involved in the story as they learn of a dark historical period where people are not always who they seem, but where trust and hope defeat the evils of darkness. show less