Thank you to TBR & Beyond for including me in the blog tour, and to Net Galley for the copy of the ARC to review.

Book Synopsis and Book links

Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
Publishing date: April 5th, 2022

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Synopsis:

A tale set amid the 1956 Hungarian revolution in post-WWII Communist Budapest.

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.

1- This story started at such a heightened moment in the plot that I immediately wanted to read more. 

2-I know little about Budapest, or what was going on at this time, so I’m excited to learn about a new time in history. 

3-I was not expecting this to have romance or love interests in the novel, however; I am curious as to where the love will go. 

4-I love how you get a glimpse as to what it was like for Csilla and her family back then through the journal entries of her father woven throughout the novel. 

5-I am interested in how Csilla knows the man whose records she checked. The journal entry from her father on the next page is also intriguing. 

6- I really loved finding out more about the relationship between Azriel and Tamas. I feel as though this is just the start of the exploration between the characters, and I am interested in learning more. 

7-I love that Csilla is asking about her father to learn more about that life that she never knew about. 

8-There is a turning point in the novel where Csilla is giving a speech about her father, and I believe it serves as a turning point in the story. I believe Csilla will start fighting to correct the wrong her father did. 

9- I love that the young people are starting their own paper. The young characters in this novel have a voice that needs to be heard, and I love hearing what they have to say. 

10- I love the friendship group in this novel. They all support each other so much and it is fantastic.  

11- Speaking out about what happened to Gabor is important, so the public remembers what they’re fighting against. 

12-I love that Csilla is going to tell the story of her father. Just so the public knows who he really was, and it might explain some of her actions. 

13-I love how the river is treated as a character in this story. It really packs an impact and adds more to the story. 

14- Azriel was always an interesting character to me, and I loved the explanation of why his character was the way he was. After it was explained, he added more to the story for both Tamas and Csilla. 

15- The ending of this book was so sweet. I loved how the story ended, and it felt right considering the characters and the story we just had. 

Review

Rating- 4.5 stars (4 on Good Reads)

Characters

One of my favorite things about this book was the characters. Csilla was the main character, and she was a fantastic character to read about. I loved her personality and her backstory. Her friends were also very fun characters to read about, and I loved reading about them. This Rebel Heart had characters that meshed well together and made for a very fun story. 

Plot

This Rebel Heart was a story with a heavy plot, but I still really enjoyed it. The main story follows Csilla after the war, and on her journey, trying to move out of the country for a better life. As the plot moves, you find out that Hungary is still feeling the repercussions of the war. There is also the story with Csilla’s father, how he was as a person, and what Csilla learns as the story goes on. I loved how much the story was in this plot, and the story was interesting. The ending of this novel was so sweet, and I loved it. 

Writing 

This Rebel Heart had fantastic writing, and I loved how the story was written. The novel as a whole was heavy and tense, and the writing set the tone for the rest of the story. Style plays a role in a story for me, and the writing style in This Rebel Heart was a perfect match for the story. 

Friendship

This Rebel Heart had a fantastic Found Family element with Csilla’s friend group that I just loved. The friends were so supportive of each other, and they would do anything for each other. Csilla had little family left, so her friends were like a family to her. 

Enjoyment /Recommend 

I really liked this book, and I enjoyed it immensely. As a fan of Historical Fiction, this is fantastic, and I learned learning about an era I knew little about. I recommend this for fans of Historical Fiction. 

About the Author

Katherine Locke (they/them) lives and writes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with their feline overlords and their addiction to chai lattes. They are the author of The Girl with the Red Balloon, a 2018 Sydney Taylor Honor Book and 2018 Carolyn W. Field Honor Book, as well as The Spy with the Red Balloon, and the forthcoming This Rebel Heart (April 2022). They are the co-editor and contributor to This is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them and Us, which had three starred reviews and made Kirkus Review’s Best Middle Grade of 2021 list, as well as It’s A Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes and Other Jewish Stories. They also contributed to Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens and Out Now: Queer We Go Again. They are the author of picture books Bedtime for Superheroes, What Are Your Words? A Book About Pronouns, and the forthcoming Being Friends with Dragons (February 2022). They can be found online at KatherineLockeBooks.com and @bibliogato on Twitter and Instagram.

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