Let me start off by saying that In the Light of the Sun is a terrific book. Not only is it an easy 5/5, but it’s also Shupe’s debut novel. It is quite an accomplishment!
This is historical fiction at its best. The book starts in 1941. Caramina Grassi is a young girl who lives in the Philippines with her father and all of her siblings, except for her older sister, Rosa, who is in Florence, studying to be an opera singer. Rosa lives with her grandmother, who was once a renowned opera singer herself. Caramina, too, hopes that one day she will also be in Italy, preparing to be an opera singer like her sister and grandmother…and then WWII hit!
The story delves into the hardships that Caramina, Rosa, and their family members face in their respective countries. As you would expect in a book based on a world war, the Grassis endure hardships in both countries. There is love and there are tragedies.
Will Rosa become an opera singer? Will Caramina get any closer to following in her sister’s footsteps? Will the family members survive? You will need to read In the Light of the Sun to get answers.
