This Rebel Heart
A tumultuous tale of the student-led 1956 Hungarian revolution—and an all too timely look at the impact of Communism and the USSR in Eastern Europe—set in a fabulist, colorless post-WWII Budapest from Sydney Taylor Honor winner Katherine Locke.
“A haunting, beautiful read that centers queer Jewish characters.” —BuzzFeed
In the middle of Budapest, there is a river. Csilla knows the river is magic. During WWII, the river kept her family safe when they needed it most--safe from the Holocaust. But that was before the Communists seized power. Before her parents were murdered by the Soviet police. Before Csilla knew things about her father's legacy that she wishes she could forget.
Now Csilla keeps her head down, planning her escape from this country that has never loved her the way she loves it. But her carefully laid plans fall to pieces when her parents are unexpectedly, publicly exonerated. As the protests in other countries spur talk of a larger revolution in Hungary, Csilla must decide if she believes in the promise and magic of her deeply flawed country enough to risk her life to help save it, or if she should let it burn to the ground.
With queer representation, fabulist elements, and a pivotal but little-known historical moment, This Rebel Heart is Katherine Locke's tour de force.
“A haunting, beautiful read that centers queer Jewish characters.” —BuzzFeed
In the middle of Budapest, there is a river. Csilla knows the river is magic. During WWII, the river kept her family safe when they needed it most--safe from the Holocaust. But that was before the Communists seized power. Before her parents were murdered by the Soviet police. Before Csilla knew things about her father's legacy that she wishes she could forget.
Now Csilla keeps her head down, planning her escape from this country that has never loved her the way she loves it. But her carefully laid plans fall to pieces when her parents are unexpectedly, publicly exonerated. As the protests in other countries spur talk of a larger revolution in Hungary, Csilla must decide if she believes in the promise and magic of her deeply flawed country enough to risk her life to help save it, or if she should let it burn to the ground.
With queer representation, fabulist elements, and a pivotal but little-known historical moment, This Rebel Heart is Katherine Locke's tour de force.
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Community Reviews
“They accepted all the truths and all the lies and weighted them equally against each other. But some lies outweighed some truths. Some lies were so egregious that refusing to acknowledge them was akin to committing the crime over and over again, every day.”
This book brought to light a part of history I’ve never heard about before. The setting and circumstances were the best part of this novel for me. It was eye opening to learn about the Hungarian Revolution after WWII and I felt the author did a good job of putting us into that time. The pacing was slower but that’s what I expect when it comes to historical fiction novels. To me it felt authentic and the writing style allows you to feel all that was happening.
I found the relationship between Csilla, Tamas, and Azriel to be really interesting and something we don’t see often enough in YA of any genre. I think Polyamory is becoming more accepting in society and I thought that it was done well and tastefully.
Overall I enjoyed this story and would definitely pick up more of their books in the future.
https://thecleverreader.wordpress.com/2022/04/06/this-rebel-heart-blog-tour-review
This book brought to light a part of history I’ve never heard about before. The setting and circumstances were the best part of this novel for me. It was eye opening to learn about the Hungarian Revolution after WWII and I felt the author did a good job of putting us into that time. The pacing was slower but that’s what I expect when it comes to historical fiction novels. To me it felt authentic and the writing style allows you to feel all that was happening.
I found the relationship between Csilla, Tamas, and Azriel to be really interesting and something we don’t see often enough in YA of any genre. I think Polyamory is becoming more accepting in society and I thought that it was done well and tastefully.
Overall I enjoyed this story and would definitely pick up more of their books in the future.
https://thecleverreader.wordpress.com/2022/04/06/this-rebel-heart-blog-tour-review
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