February 1, 2022
A Jewish girl finds her power in an occupied city. Csilla Tisza lives with her aunt Ilona in 1956 Hungary. Eleven years after the war, they're all they have left; Csilla survived the Holocaust, unlike most of her Jewish family, but her parents were later executed for false charges under a brutal communist regime. When Csilla is followed by an agent of the Hungarian secret police, she's certain she's about to be arrested, but a strange young man who doesn't seem quite normal intercepts and helps her. From here on, Csilla learns more about her family and her country as she becomes involved in the revolutionary struggle to free Hungary from the post-Stalin Soviet Union. History and magic intertwine in a beautifully rendered Budapest that is literally drained of color, where the Danube River becomes a supernatural protector and your childhood friend might be an angel of death. Through prose at times elegant and evocative and at other times mechanical and jarring, readers follow Csilla as she uses both practical and supernatural tactics to organize her comrades and fight for her country's future. Some readers may need more background on European history to fully understand what is happening, and occasionally the political explanations become jumbled, but overall this is an engaging story, melding characters and themes that feel familiar against a backdrop that is underutilized in young adult literature. Challenging and rewarding. (Historical fantasy. 13-18)
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February 28, 2022
In the autumn of 1956—11 years after the Holocaust and a decade after Russian domination—the Budapest of Jewish newspaper typist Csilla Tisza has gone literally colorless, and its residents remain cautious, afraid of the Hungarian secret police. Though Csilla’s parents were killed “for the crime of dual loyalty, of Zionism” four years back, they’re now exonerated, then reburied in a state funeral. Change may be in the air, but Csilla still keeps a low profile while planning to escape with her aunt to Israel. After she’s followed by the secret police one morning, she’s saved from almost certain arrest by a familiar-seeming entity, then encounters a handsome student, Tamás, who’s mourning his murdered lover. Infected by news of Polish freedom fighters and a growing sense of possibility, they join with others in demanding liberation from post-Stalinist Soviet rule. Lyrically melding facts and otherworldly elements, including the angel of death, Jewish folklore, and the Danube as a magical, life-giving river with which Csilla can communicate, Locke (the Balloonmakers series) offers an original, moving tribute to the bravery of freedom fighters—straight and queer, Jewish and gentile—who risked their lives for their cause. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lara
Perkins, Andrea Brown Literary.
April 1, 2022
Grades 9-12 This novel of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 is suffused with magical realism and the Jewish faith. The night Csilla was born, the Danube River overflowed its banks, and its water turned the same startling silver as Csilla's hair. The magic of the river saved her from deportation to Auschwitz, but her parents were later murdered by the �VH, the Hungarian secret police. From his journals, Csilla knows her father collaborated with the Stalinist government that took over after the Nazi regime was overthrown. Now, as Budapest explodes into a fight for independence, she decides to stay and use her voice to make up for his crimes. In part, she is persuaded by a handsome university student, Tam�s, and by Azriel, an angel of death who knew Csilla as a child. The trio fall in love and shelter one another during the days and nights of the rebellion. This is a complex story, often extraordinary, and strong readers will savor the author's assured writing, unique blend of history and magic, and charismatic characters.
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Starred review from April 1, 2022
Gr 9 Up-"What else is a lie?" Eighteen-year-old Csilla's old fears arise when she hears the shout at a political exoneration of her parents, who have been murdered-and now forgiven-by Hungary's Communist regime. It's autumn in 1956 and revolution is brewing in the capital, Budapest. But Csilla's not sure she's going to be around for whatever's coming. As a Holocaust survivor, Csilla feels the daily pressure of antisemitism and hears the Danube River whispering the secrets of the dead yet she is also acutely aware of her father's participation in atrocities as a member of the Communist secret police. The silence and shame surrounding Csilla's family motivates her to help a handsome, rebellious student, Tam�s, discover the fate of his male lover. Her fellow-feeling for Tam�s soon sets Csilla into the midst of the revolutionary tumult. Should Csilla flee the country, or demand recognition of festering injustices and hidden truths? Watching both Csilla and Tam�s is Azriel, an angel of death visiting Budapest as a witness to what he suspects is an imminent disaster. Using fabulism and rich prose, Locke deftly articulates the complicated layers of traumatic history shaping Csilla's story. The question of complicity leaves no one innocent and demands compassion alongside responsibility. The novel guides readers through complex ethical situations where there is no promise of justice. VERDICT Vivid, suspenseful, emotionally grounded, and heartbreaking, this book grapples with vital ethical debates about memory and democracy that makes it essential reading for lovers of historical fiction.-Katherine Magyarody
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