This is one woman’s story, written to her grandson. Violeta Del Valle has lived one hundred years, from the year of the Spanish Flu pandemic, to the current age of the Coronavirus. This is not just her history, but also a hundred years of her country’s history, as it impacted her and her family. Her home is a country in South America, but not otherwise specified.

As a little girl, Violeta is raised in an affluent family, but soon, the convergence of The Great Depression and her father’s business practices equal disaster for her family. This is the first upheaval in her eventful life. She will learn to live and survive in multiple ways and face many challenges. Some of these challenges will be strictly personal, while the most dangerous will involve the political landscape in her country.

This narrative made me very thankful to have grown up in a country where attention to politics seems to be optional. That is, we in The United States have never woken up to find that all of our individual rights have been suddenly and indefinitely surrendered, or that the army is arresting anyone with certain beliefs. Violeta lived through such a time, and as a result, she lost people she loved. People’s lives were changed forever.

Violeta’s life was a roller coaster. She lived through extreme stress and trauma, but she also had some exhilarating highs. She found passion as a young woman, then love as an older woman. In the end, she found purpose and a way to be here for those who needed her, always.

Violeta is beautifully written, and I enjoyed it immensely. The way Violeta continually reinvents herself, using her experience and all that she has learned in life to branch out and help others, is an inspiration. And she is certainly proud of her grandson, who has had his own long road of discoveries.

I’ve left out the other characters in Violeta’s life, who are many and most intriguing, but I’ll leave that for you to find out. You won’t regret it.

Many thanks to Random House and Netgalley!