Grace Meredith asked Ruta Sepetys:

Hello Ruta! You are the one who definitely got me into historical fiction, and thank you so much! My question for you would be: do you believe that younger students (elementary-middle grades) should be shielded from the hardships and terrors of our history? Because I definitely wouldn't want to have my siblings (and children, someday) think that everything was just hunky-dory back then.

Ruta Sepetys Hello Grace,

Thank you for your important and thought-provoking question.

I find that young readers are deep thinkers and deep "feelers." They read books with a very pure sense of emotional truth. Young people also have a strong sense of justice. I hope that by sharing difficult parts of history with young people they will study them, learn from the mistakes of the past, strive to become better, and create hope for a more just future. So like you, I would prefer that young readers be exposed to difficult historical events, but of course in an appropriate way.

Thanks again!

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