Description:
As Adriana Nicu and her friends stand up against their oppressive regime and its terrifying tactics, they must decide what price, if any, is too high to pay for freedom.
Brief description: TARYN R. HUTCHISON is the author of four other books: One Degree of Freedom and Two Lights of Hope, the first two novels of A Cold War Trilogy; We Wait You, a memoir of her ten years living in Eastern Europe; and Sentenced to Life, the true story of a prisoner whose sentence outweighed his crime. Taryn holds a master's degree in writing. She lives with her husband in a sleepy town in western North Carolina.
Review Quotes:
In Hutchison's novel, a young Romanian woman finds renewed strength as her country's regime unravels. How is it possible to reclaim one's humanity in a country with hidden microphones, informers, and secret police everywhere? This is the problem that Adriana Nicu and her best friend, Gabriela Martinescu, face in the final installment of the author's Cold War trilogy, set during the final unwinding of Romanian president Nicolae Ceauşescu's iron-fisted rule. ... Over the course of this novel, Hutchison delivers a skillfully crafted narrative ... An unsettling evocation of Cold War-era repression, whose legacy seems timelier than ever.
Kirkus Reviews
Teenage girl, Adriana Nicu, and her best friend, Gabriela Martinescu, live in Bucharest during Romania's final years of communism in 1989. Based on the actual events of the revolution that freed Romanians, the story begins just before and during the revolution to overthrow the restrictive Communist regime. As the revolution begins, it's an experience of Adriana's family struggling with an upside-down Romania. In addition to restricting speech, church congregations must meet in secret, and there is a shortage of heat, food, and water. When spies seek to disrupt lives and revolution, fellow Romanians are often taken away for questioning, never to be seen again. This novel inspires readers of all ages to have the courage and grit to stand up for what is right!
The Eric Hoffer Award, The US Review of Books
Suspense and tension appear on nearly every page as we watch brave characters wrestle with who to trust in a land of spies, hidden microphones, and risky church services. This gripping historical novel honors the unimaginable courage of ordinary citizens willing to fight their oppressive government. Writing with the vivid authenticity of someone who once lived in Eastern Europe, the author introduces a painful period in history and the people who risked and sacrificed so much to gain basic freedoms others take for granted. A must read!
Linda MacKillop, award-winning author of The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon
With the nimble prose and deft characterization only an author of her skill can achieve, Hutchison plunged me into the harrowing heart of Cold War Romania's underground resistance and her teen protagonist's quest for freedom. One can't read this well-drawn work of immersive historical fiction without extracting insight about one's own liberty and drawing courage to guard it. An excellent, highly relevant work.
Cheryl Grey Bostrom, award-winning author of Sugar Birds and Leaning on Air
It takes more than courage; it takes hope to change the course of history. Taryn R. Hutchison deftly explores these life-changing, albeit world-changing values in this grand finale to her Cold War Trilogy. ... The revolutionary journey of Adriana and her classmates is deeply personal, relatable and heart-wrenching. Readers will share their fears, their cries of injustice, and their dreams. ... This series should be required reading for every high school student; it's that powerful, inspiring, and true.
Margaret Ann Philbrick, award-winning author of House of Honor: The Heist of Caravaggio's Nativity