Fabulous book! Set in Milan Italy, a historical fiction recount of a virtually unknown, completely unsung hero, Peno Lella, and his time as a youth in the resistance during WW2. It is filled with vivid imagery, thought provoking dialogue and young love; the book filled my cup in all aspects.

I can say, as a voracious reader of the time period, this one was refreshing and educational. ( )

Goodreads: Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man?s incredible courage and resilience during one of history?s darkest hours.Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He?s a normal Italian teenager¥obsessed with music, food, and girlsÂ¥but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior.In an attempt to protect him, Pino?s parents force him to enlist as a German soldierÂ¥a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler?s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich?s most mysterious and powerful commanders.Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.Fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Nightingale, and Unbroken will enjoy this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love.

Like all the pharoahs, emperors, and tyrants before him, Il Duce had seen his empire rise only to crumble. The Fascist dictator's battered armies had retreated from North Africa. Allied forces were poised off Sicily. And every day, Adolf Hitler was sending more troops and supplies south to fortify the boot of Italy.
Pino Lella knew all of this from BBC reports he listened to on his shortwave radio nightly. He'd seen with his own eyes the rising numbers of Nazis everywhere he went. But as he strolled through the medieval streets of Milan, Pino was blissfully ignoring the forces of conflict spiraling his way. World War Ii was a news dispatch, nothing more, listened to and gone in the very next moment.

Simply stated...one of the best books that I have ever read. ( )

Couldn't finish. Poorly written. Unbelievable. Boring. ( )