Book Review: Beneath a Scarlet Sky
One of my Christmas presents was the book Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan. A few months prior to me receiving the gift, I was reading a Buzz Feed article called 51 Books That Will Make You Cry. Intriguing my interest, I clicked on the article and this was the first book I saw. The description made me want to read more of the story.
To summarize the book, it's a mix of a biography and historical fiction about Pino Lella, a Italian boy who wants nothing to do with WWII. After he helps out on a secret underground railroad helping Jews escape, he works as General Hans Leyers driver throughout the rest of the world war. Four words: THIS BOOK WAS PHENOMENAL.
I could not put this book down. Mark Sullivan did a fantastic job on the research behind WWII. Since he contacted Pino Lella, he was able to travel to Italy and visit the scenes where this book takes place. The descriptions are vibrant and make you believe you are traveling throughout the story. Pino is such a lovable character as is his brother, friends, family, and Anna, the girl he falls in love with.
If you like to read, this book is for you. The amount of pages totals out with 509 pages, so it can be a bit lengthy for some readers. Not to mention that this book has something for everyone who reads it. There is action, there is history, and there is romance. Every single page made me want to keep reading more. Since it was based in WWII, there were times in the book where I wanted to cry out loud. You do have to be mature to read this book as there is some slight swearing, some romantic situations ;) and descriptive scenes of war violence that are really easy to picture. The ending, or in my opinion, the last 7 chapters, were so sad that after I read the book in school, I came home and cried for a good 20 minutes. Did I mention that Pino helped write the book, so these were all of his memories? Cue up my Niagara Waterfall eyes.
So many life lessons I learned from this book and some of the phrases said have inspired me. One of the constant lessons in the book is to live life con smania, with passion, and to live our lives with love and to chase happiness, even when the sky grows dark. My only disappointment? The book was way too short; I wanted it to last forever. Overall, you need to read this book. This book has changed my life and will always have a spot on my bookshelf as one of the best books I ever read.
To summarize the book, it's a mix of a biography and historical fiction about Pino Lella, a Italian boy who wants nothing to do with WWII. After he helps out on a secret underground railroad helping Jews escape, he works as General Hans Leyers driver throughout the rest of the world war. Four words: THIS BOOK WAS PHENOMENAL.
I could not put this book down. Mark Sullivan did a fantastic job on the research behind WWII. Since he contacted Pino Lella, he was able to travel to Italy and visit the scenes where this book takes place. The descriptions are vibrant and make you believe you are traveling throughout the story. Pino is such a lovable character as is his brother, friends, family, and Anna, the girl he falls in love with.
If you like to read, this book is for you. The amount of pages totals out with 509 pages, so it can be a bit lengthy for some readers. Not to mention that this book has something for everyone who reads it. There is action, there is history, and there is romance. Every single page made me want to keep reading more. Since it was based in WWII, there were times in the book where I wanted to cry out loud. You do have to be mature to read this book as there is some slight swearing, some romantic situations ;) and descriptive scenes of war violence that are really easy to picture. The ending, or in my opinion, the last 7 chapters, were so sad that after I read the book in school, I came home and cried for a good 20 minutes. Did I mention that Pino helped write the book, so these were all of his memories? Cue up my Niagara Waterfall eyes.
So many life lessons I learned from this book and some of the phrases said have inspired me. One of the constant lessons in the book is to live life con smania, with passion, and to live our lives with love and to chase happiness, even when the sky grows dark. My only disappointment? The book was way too short; I wanted it to last forever. Overall, you need to read this book. This book has changed my life and will always have a spot on my bookshelf as one of the best books I ever read.
Signed,
Midwestern Redhead
Comments
Post a Comment