Beneath a Scarlet Sky
Mark T. Sullivan, 2017
Historical fiction Contemporary fiction
A real teenage spy in Nazi-occupied Milan: mountain escapes, a dangerous love, and a city where every kindness is a risk. A tense wartime story with a youthful voice, moments of hope, and a melancholy dread that builds through dangerous choices.
Feels like hope, melancholy and dread. About war, love and faith.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you want a grounded, novelized account of a teenager navigating occupied Milan and risking much for others. Be aware that the wartime setting brings sustained dread and moments of brutality, so it can be heavy going.
Why read it
It offers a close, human view of courage and ordinary kindness under occupation, and the tension of a young life forced into dangerous choices.
A page from the book
The unnerving peace of a world that doesn't care about our wars.
It all made Pino realize that the earth did not know war, that nature would go on no matter what horror one man might inflict on another. Nature didn’t care a bit about men and their need to kill and conquer. Mark T. Sullivan.Sullivan based the novel on years of interviews with Pino Lella, the real Italian teenager behind the story, and his family.
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Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is Beneath a Scarlet Sky for me?
- You may like it if you want a grounded, novelized account of a teenager navigating occupied Milan and risking much for others. Be aware that the wartime setting brings sustained dread and moments of brutality, so it can be heavy going.
- What is Beneath a Scarlet Sky like?
- A tense wartime story with a youthful voice, moments of hope, and a melancholy dread that builds through dangerous choices. Feels like hope, melancholy and dread. About war, love and faith.
- What should I read after Beneath a Scarlet Sky?
- If you liked Beneath a Scarlet Sky, try The Nightingale (Kristin Hannah), War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy) and The Blood of Olympus (Rick Riordan).
A taste of the feed
What we keep in boxes when we can't admit we're letting go.
I see the rocking chair I used when my grandchildren were young, then an old crib and a ratty-looking rocking horse set on rusty springs, and the chair my daughter was refinishing when she got sick. Boxes are tucked along the wall, marked “Xmas,” “Thanksgiving,” “Easter,” “Halloween,” “Serveware,” “Sports.” In those boxes are the things I don’t use much anymore but can’t bear to part with. For me, admitting that I won’t decorate a tree for Christmas is giving up, and I’ve never been good at letting go. Tucked in the corner is what I am looking for: an ancient steamer trunk covered in travel stickers.
The Nightingale · Kristin Hannah
Grief does its healing underground, months before anyone notices.
She did not know and would not have believed it, but beneath the layer of slime that covered her soul and seemed to her impenetrable, delicate young shoots of grass were already sprouting, which taking root would so cover with their living verdure the grief that weighed her down that it would soon no longer be seen or noticed. The wound had begun to heal from within.
War and Peace · Leo Tolstoy
The original Athenians were twins. Then the zodiac joke arrives.
Correct.“ Kekrops sounded bitter, like he regretted his decision. ”My people were the original Athenians—the gemini.“ ”Like your zodiac sign?“ Percy asked. ”I’m a Leo.“ ”No, stupid,“ Leo said. ”I’m a Leo. You’re a Percy.
The Blood of Olympus · Rick Riordan
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