Books by Ruta Sepetys

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers’ story comprehension and develop vocabulary. After You, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. Lou is now living in London and trying to be happy, but it’s difficult when she misses Will so much. One night, a young girl appears at her door. “My name’s Lily Houghton-Miller,” she says. “I need to talk to you about my father – Will Traynor.” Visit the Penguin Readers website Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.

A thrilling middle grade historical adventure from bestselling authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin Remember, you are bound by the official secrets act... It is the summer of 1940. The world is at war. These days, you don’t know who you can trust or who might be a secret spy… Maths whizz Jakob Novis has been recruited to the secret codebreaking centre at Bletchley Park. As Jakob works to crack the Nazi’s Enigma cipher, his younger sister Lizzie is busy on an undercover mission of her own: to find their mother. Filled with codes to decipher and mysteries to unravel, this is the unputdownable historical adventure that will have you on the edge of your seats. 'A thrilling World War II code-breaking adventure filled with ciphers, secrets, and spies.' Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee 'Exquisite historical storytelling! I only wish I could read it again for the very first time.' Jennifer A. Nielsen, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Iceberg

The nonfiction debut by #1 New York Times bestselling and Carnegie Medal-winning author Ruta Sepetys. Perfect for fans of Burn After Writing and Bird by Bird. Life is story in motion. Each day, you add to your story, revise it, and view it from a different angle. You erase things. Tear pages out. And sometimes, in hindsight, wish you could put them back. A day is a story. A year is a story. A life is a story. You are a story. Ruta Sepetys is known for creating vivid characters and harrowing plots. After five award-winning works of historical fiction and countless hours of meticulous research, she can affirm that the secret to strong writing is embedded within your life experience. You: The Story is a powerful how-to book for aspiring writers that encourages you 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. Masterfully weaving in humorous and heartfelt stories from her own life that illustrate an aspect of the craft of writing (such as plot, character development, or dialogue), Sepetys then inspires readers with a series of writing prompts and exercises. Perfect for fans of Burn After Writing and Bird by Bird, You: The Story awakens the emerging writer and reveals that with some reflection, curiosity, and courage, you have a story to tell.

#1 New York Times Bestseller and winner of the Carnegie Medal! A gut-wrenching, startling historical thriller about communist Romania and the citizen spy network that devastated a nation, from the #1 New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray. Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force. Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe. Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom? Master storyteller Ruta Sepetys is back with a historical thriller that examines the little-known history of a nation defined by silence, pain, and the unwavering conviction of the human spirit. Praise for I Must Betray You: “As educational as it is thrilling...[T]he power of I Must Betray You [is] it doesn’t just describe the destabilizing effects of being spied on; it will make you experience them too.” –New York Times Book Review “A historical heart-pounder…Ms. Sepetys, across her body of work, has become a tribune of the unsung historical moment and a humane voice of moral clarity.” –The Wall Street Journal * "Sepetys brilliantly blends a staggering amount of research with heart, craft, and insight in a way very few writers can. Compulsively readable and brilliant." –Kirkus Reviews, starred review * "Sepetys once again masterfully portrays a dark, forgotten corner of history." –Booklist, starred review * "Sepetys’s latest book maintains the caliber readers have come to expect from an author whose focus on hidden histories has made her a YA powerhouse of historical ­fiction…Sepetys is a formidable writer, and her stories declare the need to write about global issues of social injustice. For that reason and her attention to detail, this is a must-read." –School Library Journal, starred review * "Cristian’s tense first-person narrative foregrounds stark historical realities, unflinchingly confronting deprivations and cruelty while balancing them with perseverance and hope as Romania hurtles toward political change." –Publishers Weekly, starred review “Sepetys keeps readers riveted to this vivid, heartbreaking and compelling novel, locked into every meticulously researched detail. I Must Betray You demands a full investment from its audience--through poetic writing, sympathetic characters, revolutionary plot and pacing, it grips the heart and soul and leaves one breathless.” –Shelf Awareness, starred review "A master class in pacing and atmosphere." –BookPage

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • This timeless, heart-wrenching novel tells the story of one teenage girl’s fight for survival with her family at a Soviet labor camp during World War II (also pubished as Between Shades of Gray). "Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both."—The Washington Post ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Columbus Dispatch Fifteen-year-old 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. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she embeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping they will make their way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive? A Carnegie Medal Nominee • A Golden Kite Award Winner • A William C. Morris Award finalist This special movie tie-in edition features a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie, plus a letter from the author!

Gayle Forman's breakout bestseller, If I Stay, available for the first time in a revolutionary new mini format, perfect for on-the-go reading! This international bestseller is now available as a Penguin Mini. Complete and unabridged, the book's revolutionary landscape design and ultra-thin paper make it easy to hold in one hand without sacrificing readability. Perfectly sized to slip into a pocket or bag, Penguin Minis are ideal for reading on the go. Everything can change in an instant. For Mia, the day started like any other, surrounded by a loving family, an adoring boyfriend, and a bright future filled with music and infinite possibilities. What she never expected is the choice before her now. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an uncertain future, Mia has to contemplate everything she holds dear and make a choice: to go or to stay. Heartwrenchingly raw and heartbreakingly romantic, Gayle Forman's international bestseller asks the ultimate question: What would you do if you had to choose?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the award-winning author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray comes a gripping, extraordinary novel of love, silence, and secrets under a dictatorship in 1950s Spain. “Suspenseful, romantic and timely . . . speaks truth to power, persuading future rulers to avoid repeating the crimes of the past."—The New York Times Book Review Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming promise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of an oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother''s birth through the lens of his camera. Photography—and fate—introduce him to Ana, whose family''s interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War, as well as the chilling realities of fortune and fear. Daniel''s photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. Lives and hearts collide when he''s backed into a corner to protect those he loves, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city. Master storyteller Ruta Sepetys once again shines light into one of history''s darkest corners in this epic, heart-wrenching novel. Featuring vintage media reports, oral history commentary, photos, and more, The Fountains of Silence provides a memorable portrait of the true postwar struggles of Spain.

Josie, the seventeen-year-old daughter of a French Quarter prostitute, is striving to escape 1950 New Orleans and enroll at prestigious Smith College when she becomes entangled in a murder investigation.

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they’ve known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin’s orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions. Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously–and at great risk–documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father’s prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.