A historical fiction novel about surviving World War II and the Cold War, murder, earthquakes, and abuse. 
 
An excerpt: 
 
"The Russian soldiers put guns to the foreheads of both Chiara and Maria-Luisa. Max was forced to prove his musical profession by an audition. Chiara watched, frozen, sniffling, unable to cry anymore at this point, the smell of gunpowder from the muzzle of the gun to her face, burning her nose, the heat singeing her cheek, while her father auditioned for their lives."