MORGANTON, NC (November 17, 2020) — A debut novel for ages 12+, written by a Morganton woman, was released on November 17. It is historical fiction set in the little-known world of Romania during the 1980s Cold War. The pages are filled with government spies, family secrets, hidden rooms, fierce friendships, and the search for faith in a world which denies God.
Fifteen-year-old Adriana Nicu lives in the sheltered world of Bucharest, Romania, in the year 1987. Under the rule of Communist president Nicolae Ceaușescu, citizens of Bucharest live with the eyes and ears of the government ever present. Adriana’s future, which will involve becoming an engineer, is locked in against her will.
During a visit to her aunt’s apartment, Adriana walks through a wardrobe into a hidden room filled with stacks of forbidden novels. Stories bring light into the darkest of circumstances as her family begins to unravel and her life strangely parallels those of her novels’ heroines. Adriana’s childhood loyalties and her belief that God doesn’t exist are called into question as her circumstances force her to rethink things, she once believed were certain.
Middle grade students and young adult readers will be drawn in and enlightened. The classic novels Adriana reads are listed in the front, serving as a guide for today’s readers.
Join Taryn for a book signing at Tybrisa Books in Lenoir
on Saturday, November 21 from 11am – 2 pm
Tybrisa Books
210 Main Street NW
LENOIR, North Carolina 28645
Kim Childress, book editor for Girls’ Life magazine, writes, “A fierce heroine who reads banned books—my favorite kind of hero! . . . Brilliantly conceptualized and beautifully written, a coming-of-age tale set in the Cold War era, with characters you fall in love with and root (and cry) for.” Catherine Campbell, editor and essayist, writes, “Hutchison deftly weaves hope among darkness, reminding us that all we have to do is return to the stories where our heroes exist, so that we can become the heroes of our own lives.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Taryn R. Hutchison, a resident of Morganton, always knew she wanted to be a writer, but she put that on hold to pursue other things she loved. After traveling the world, her childhood dream of becoming a writer began to beckon. She wrote a memoir, We Wait You, about her ten years living in Eastern Europe, and it was translated into Romanian. This is her debut novel. Visit her at www.tarynhutchison.com.
One Degree of Freedom
By Taryn R. Hutchison
Publication Date: November 17, 2020
Illuminate YA Fiction, imprint of LPCBooks
888-811-9934 or ShopLPC.com
Soft cover original – 314 pages with 2 maps, $14.99 retail
ISBN: Paperback 978-1-64526-302-9; eBook 978-1-64526-303-6