I love the time period and the fact that a Western writer is illuminating a period that is little-known to us. I'm not a huge fan of magical realism, but it would be great for teens who are reluctant to read a strictly historical book.

Knowing little about post WWII Hungary, I began this book with an open mind, willing to learn and hoping to be entertained. Katherine Locke more than achieved both. As a historical fiction fan, I loved being immersed in Hungary’s past. As someone who appreciates fantasy and magical realism, I was thoroughly drawn in. Csilla was so finely drawn. I loved the symbolism of her need to put herself back together. Her willingness to put herself in danger when she had the chance to escape was inspiring. Her many relationships in the book - her aunt, her coworkers, the student Tamas, and Azriel, the Angel of Death were compelling. I was completely enthralled. This is a must buy for my high school library.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

5/5 stars
Recommended to people who like: revolution, historical fiction, fantasy, magical realism, multiple POVs, rebellion, LBTQ+ characters

This review has been posted to Goodreads and my bookstagram as of 11/14, and has been posted to my book review blog as of 12/8.

This might actually be my favorite book of the year. It has revolution and change and social justice all wrapped up in a nice historical fantasy/magical realism bow with LGBTQ+ characters (yes, multiple) and set in a country that often doesn't get attention, particularly in YA fiction. Locke says so many good things about change and revolution in this book and I love it.

This book is set in Cold War Hungary, which has, like so many other European countries, not dealt with its role in WWII and the Holocaust. It's a haunting story to be telling, and so familiar to ones that come out of countries that are perhaps more familiar to people, like Poland and East Germany, but it is unique as well. I liked learning Hungary through Csilla's eyes, both its sins and its beauties. The AVH, or the secret police, has been tearing families apart and has played the active role of suppressing freedom of expression. Yet at the same time there is still this place where a revolution is possible. Where it was possible. Locke wrote the city well, I think, and that powder keg is a palpable undercurrent throughout the book, at times more obvious than others.

I also thought the metaphors and motifs Locke included were poignant. Truth vs. lies is a major part of the book. The Nazis utilized propaganda, the Soviets lie again and again, and everyone living under the fear of the AVH lies daily to protect themselves and to gloss over the things that happened. Because it's easier, because they're afraid, because it's what works. I like that we as readers get to work out with Csilla what the truth, or rather, truths, is. Another powerful metaphor running through the book is personal choice. People choose each day how they react to things, and sometimes that choice does include keeping your head down to keep yourself safe, and sometimes that means deciding to stand up because doing nothing hasn't gotten anyone anywhere. Csilla 100% starts out as a character who does nothing to protect herself and her aunt, and sometimes this means staying quiet, but she's also forced to reckon with this choice in the book and whether that's the choice she wants to be making when it means condemning others.

The way Locke deals with the Holocaust is important as well. I think in general there's this glossing over of what happened after. After the Allies won. After the concentration camps were liberated. After the Nazi officials were round up. The fact of the matter is, most Nazis were left free without reprimand or punishment. The people who informed on their neighbors or who guarded the ghettoes went on with their lives as if nothing had happened. In Eastern Europe, a lot of concentration camp guards and Nazi officials worked with the secret police in their respective countries. This book acknowledges that and really grapples with what that means for a country and for people personally.

The colorless city was a nice touch too. This is a bit where the magical realism comes into play, since I hadn't really thought Locke meant it literally when she said Budapest had turned gray. But, no, the city and its people have literally been painted in monochrome, with no color peeking through. Does it come from people's passivity or from the active acceptance of violence against others? That question isn't really answered in the book, but I can see it going either way, or both ways. I like that this was sort of left up for interpretation.

For the characters themselves, Csilla is definitely the main character. She gets the most POV chapters and most of the story centers around her and her story. Csilla survived the Holocaust, largely thanks to the Danube, which she and her parents jumped into when they were being deported. When the rubble settled, it was just the three of them and her aunt left. At the start of the story, her parents have been dead for four years and it is down to just two. Suffice to say, the crimes of the city have shaped Csilla into the person she is. Someone who is careful and keeps her head down, giving her party lines (literally) and doing her best not to attract more notice than necessary. Csilla essentially becomes another person over the course of this book. She becomes louder and more sure of herself, decides to fight for what she thinks is right and not just for survival. She comes into herself in other ways, too, not just with the revolution, but also with her parents and the legacy her father has left behind. Csilla's story, both past and present, directly ties into the major metaphors of this book, and it's interesting to see how she decides to tackle them. I, for one, very much love revolutionary!Csilla.

Azriel is the other main POV character, though there are a couple others sprinkled in in some places. Azriel is a bit of a mysterious character at first, though it's fairly easy to figure out why, to the point where I'm not sure if it's a spoiler or not, but I won't mention it in case it is. Azriel carries such a heavy burden, but he's also invested in what happens. He has a big heart for those around him and doesn't like to see suffering, though like Csilla, he's also seen plenty of it. His transformation in the book is less intense and involves preparing for what seems like the inevitable while also accepting that there are points where things can change depending on human action. Also, for those wondering where the LBGTQ+ comes in, Azriel is genderfluid or genderqueer, among other things.

Tamas is the final main character, though he doesn't get a POV, likely because he's often with Csilla and Azriel anyway and also likely because he can't be used to tell the same sorts of stories they can. Tamas is, in part, what kicks off this whole revolution and triggers Csilla's need to decide whether to continue on the road she's on or change course. He becomes somewhat of the face and leader of the revolution, being one of the first students to decide to stand up against the Soviets and the regime of terror. Tamas grows over the course of the book from someone who's wary of catching the AVH's eye, even for someone he cares about, to being someone equally happy being diplomatic as he is holding a gun and fighting for his freedoms.

Csilla, Azriel, and Tamas are in a polyamorous relationship, which starts right around the time the revolution begins. Considering the Hungarian Revolution/Uprising began Oct. 23rd and lasted until the beginning of November, the three have really only known each other for maybe three weeks, possibly a month, by the end of the book. While the numbers read like it's instalove, and there is certainly that connection between the three of them from the start, with the intensity of everything that happens in the book and the way war and shared trauma can bond people, it doesn't read or feel like instalove. Csilla, Azriel, and Tamas genuinely read like they care about and want to be with one another, no matter what comes. I'm really glad that Locke went with that triad since it's very clear on-page that there's romantic possibilities between the three main characters and so many authors just brush off what could be a perfectly good polyamorous relationship for a love triangle instead.

Aside from our three main characters, there is also Ilona, Csilla's aunt who survived the war. I liked Ilona for a couple of reasons. For one, she so clearly cares about Csilla. She's willing to do things that she might not otherwise want to do if it weren't for her, and her love also comes through in her worry for Csilla. I also like Ilona because she has some very clear markers of trauma that I liked that Locke explored. With Ilona there is no, 'oh it's over and I'm all good now and ignoring what happened,' instead it's 'that happened and it sucked and I will probably never collect the pieces of myself.'

There is also Zsu, Csilla's friend from her job. Zsu actually came across as pretty annoying to me at first and I kind of preferred their other friend, Aliz, but over the course of the book Zsu grows alongside Csilla and I ended up really liking the person she became. She showed a lot of grit and leadership in the book, and I liked that along with her ingenuity.

Marton is the final major side-character, and he also works with Csilla (are you catching a theme here?). He's a character that grows into the story as events unfold, though he is present from the beginning. Marton ends up having some interesting depths to him and I think his character, too, plays into the metaphors of lies and truths and history.

The ending to the book is left open, able to be interpreted in whichever way the reader desires. If you read textually, or if you know the history behind the revolution, then the ending is perhaps obvious. But the fact of the matter is, Locke did create the possibility for more than one ending. I want to believe the positive one, even if the realist in me is pulling me the other way. There is so much hope and so much love, and I think the open ending is really the only way the book could have ended.

A girl steeped in the magical waters in the river, a angel of death, and a boy searching for his friend are all tied together in the brewing war and revolution during WWII in Budapest. Csilla’s parents were murdered by the Soviet police and she fears for her life and the life of her loved ones, she is planning to escape as soon as possible... but thing’s dont always go according to plan. Azriel is an angel of death who guides souls and comes when he is needed. Tamas is searching for his friend and lover in a time where being gay is punishable by death. All their paths collide and soon they find themselves all participating in an oncoming revolution and the magical river that binds them all together. This was such an interesting read as it is set in 1956 and during the Hungarian revolution in post-WWII Communist Budapest. It’s an adventure, its tragic, and bittersweet, and courageous and so much. I loved the gentle poly/triad relationship depicted in this story between the three characters. They all genuinely cared and loved one another and that was so sweet. They had so little time together but what time they had, it was beautiful and wonderful. This was quite a nice take on history and magic mixed in together and I would definitely recommend it!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Knopf Books for Young Readers and YALL FEST for sending me an arc!*

This was just STUNNING. Even as someone interested in history, I'd never come across much about twentieth century Hungary before and this was a fascinating look at the 1956 Revolution and how memories of WWII affected people's feelings during the Cold War in ways I hadn't necessarily thought about before. It's fully of great, complicated characters - Csilla is definitely a new favorite YA heroine for me - and gorgeous, lyrical writing. I loved the way Csilla's magic was rooted in her Judaism and her complicated feelings about the city and country she was trying to save. Also great LGBTQ+ rep of various kinds across the characters and I adored the central relationship. Highly highly recommended!

Wow.... This Rebel Heart took my breath away. I think Locke did a phenomenal job tackling a period of history that most people probably know very little about. By telling the story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution through the viewpoint of the three main characters (Csilla, Tamas, and Azriel), Locke does a wonderful job of humanizing historic events and, at the same time, connecting these past events with what young adult readers all over the world are experiencing today. I also think Locke's decision to showcase the different ways romantic relationships can look was a wonderful, wonderful addition to the book and will, again, definitely speak to younger audiences.

This Rebel Heart also showcases Locke's poetic writing style. You can tell each word has been carefully chosen and the way the book is written makes you want to pace yourself in an effort to savor what Locke has created in This Rebel Heart.

I also enjoyed the magical realism aspects that are woven into the story. The use and importance of color was a great addition to the story and the other magical realism elements reminded me a lot of Alice Hoffman's work (specifically one of her more recent novels). While I can see some readers not enjoying those aspects being incorporated into the story, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If I had one complaint about the novel, it would be Locke's decision to spend more time in the beginning and middle sections of the story and less time in the last/end section of the book. As a result, the last third of the novel does feel rushed as Locke tries to wrap up the story. (view spoiler)

All in all, this book is a must read for both younger and older audiences. It is a book that I can easily see being used in the classroom, given the historic events it covers and the themes Locke weaves into the telling of those events. Highly recommend this one!

Katherine Locke's This Rebel Heart is a beautiful story about revolution, love, and identity.

It is set during the 1956 revolution in Hungary, and it follows Csilla, a young jewish woman whose parents were executed by the government, and Azriel, an angel of death. The revolution begins to unfold around them, and they take part in it.

There are so many things that I loved about this story. First, it really hit home for me because it represented me on a truly personal level. I am an Ashkenazi jew. Some of my family comes from Budapest, where this story is set, and I lost all of my family in Europe to the Holocaust. Csilla's experiences and surroundings really touched me because I felt like I was looking through a window at my ancestors and my past. Furthermore, this book features a lot of queer characters and deals with queerness during this time. As a queer woman, I loved that as well.

I would like to note, however, that when this book was marketed as queer to me, I thought it was going to be sapphic. It's not sapphic. There are no WLW characters, but there are other queer characters.

Second, the magic in this book is beautiful. It is a more subtle kind of magic, blended with realism. Principally, the river is magic, and the story of its magic continues throughout the story. There are also jewish myths that come to light, which I loved.

Third, this book really succeeded in pulling at my emotions. I found myself tearing up quite a bit, and I really cared about the characters, every single one of them. I even cared about the city. It's pretty easy to fall in love with this book.

Fourth, the prose is stunning. This book is so well-written and so introspective. Almost every sentence is absolutely beautiful.

That being said, I do have a couple of a complaints. I thought the motivations for the characters were a little hard to grasp, so there were times when it was hard to understand why a character was taking a certain action. Furthermore, the role that the characters played in the revolution sometimes did not make sense, which hindered a little bit of my enjoyment. Finally, there were certain scenes that were just glazed over (or literally slept through) that I thought were pretty important for the book and probably should have made it into full writing.

Overall, I still really loved this book. It is definitely more historical fiction than fantasy, so if you're a historical fiction reader or are interested in either jewish history or the 1956 revolution in Hungary, I would definitely recommend this book. Furthermore, I loved the way that it involved the queer community, so lovers of queer history should read this book too. And if you like books with beautiful writing, this is one for you.

Salt to the Sea meets The Book Thief in this incredible historical and fantastical tour de force from Katherine Locke.

I love WW2 era historical fiction and this book was absolutely no different. Locke did a great job creating an immersive story that draws readers in. I loved that this book was set in the post-war time period and felt like it was a unique subject that I hadn't heard much about or ever read before. Locke also created characters that were likeable and relatable, characters that you wanted to root for and celebrate when they have wins. It was a really moving story, definitely recommend.

This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke is a great historical fiction that takes the reader right into the heart of post-WWII/Cold War Hungary.

This is such a unique novel in several different ways. I love delving into the situations, status, and changes within the European countries and territories post-war. There aren’t enough books that take into account that life for those left behind, or trying to return home, will never be the same after the war is “over”. This is especially evident in the territories that are under Soviet rule. Add in the Cold War landscape, and the changes are monumental. This book focusses on Hungary.

I am not even sure I have even read a book taking place during the Cold War within this area before. It was fascinating and a breath of fresh air. The author did a great job presenting the instability, unrest, confusion, volatility, and societal changes taking place during this time. Friends, family, neighbors…separated by external police and military forces and also from within due to idealistic, religious, opportunistic, and personal beliefs. Nothing seems to be certain. Nothing seems to be the same. How will it ever settle, and what will that look like when it occurs?

I enjoyed following along with the main characters: Csilla, Azriel, Tamas…and the cast of secondary characters as well. Most were well-developed and intricately drawn. Csilla was my personal favorite. Maybe because of her evolution, her personality blossoming, maturing, and the voice she seems to find from within as the book continues. Does she make mistakes? Sure. What young adult doesn’t (or any adult for that matter)? But the growth, the certainty that develops, the firmness of the beliefs, hopes, fears, and ideals that become more evident and clear as the story progresses is fascinating to me.

I also enjoyed the multiple-layered prose that is presented. Some of the story isn’t just straightforward narrative. There are some wonderful literary techniques that are used to give the reader room to envision in their own way how things look, feel, and mean. I love the room that is left for the reader to interpret and grow. We as the audience can come away with several different opinions and deductions about the book as we read and finish. I really like it when the author guides the reader gently and allows for interpretation within reason and without taking away from the narrative and the theme of the book.

There are so many facets to this novel that I really feel as if I cannot be any more specific without producing spoilers, so I will stop there.

I will just say that if you enjoy historical fiction, post-war themes, and coming of age stories with strong characters, then this book is for you.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Knopf Books for Young Readers/Random House Children’s for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 4/5/22.

A beautiful story with a strong and courageous heroine. I couldn't put this down! Beautiful writing kept me turning the pages!

*Spoiler free*

I've been looking forward to Katherine's next YA since it was announced! They are one of my favorite authors, and I was siked to see what their next historical fiction would bring. And a story about a magic river, an angel of death, and a city that is deeply flawed, with a girl struggling to figure out if it is worth fighting for.

I wasn't sure about this book for awhile, and I think that is part of the beauty of it. It's very, very steadfast in what it is. Bleak, gut-wrenching, and something that settles heavily. It places exactly what it is and doesn't try to make anything else out of it. This made me unsure of how I was going to like where it went, where ever it went. But, I ended up really, really liking.

First off, the writing just oozes pure talent. It feels like the steel gray of an overcast sky, and it lends it so well to exactly what this book is trying to do. It's a book that is a slow burn, one that seems to come from coals and they begin to heat and heat and heat. It's done so, so well.

One of the biggest things for me were the pockets of love that were tucked into the corners of this book. A lot of it is about heavy things, but there are still instances that made my heart clench because of the love that was infused in them. There is a lot of pain throughout the book, but the little moments were just as important and held just as much weight. The love was still there, even amongst the fighting and the weight of everything else.

This book does have magic, but it was a lot more subtle than I thought. But, the way it was done was incredible. It makes it feel like it was just another part of the world, like it was pulled from what actually happens. And the way that the city is colorless, and the way that color regained, oh it was so brilliant. And the magic river, oh gosh, that's another thing that feels like a punch to the chest.

I wasn't sure if I was going to end up liking the characters, and I did end up liking them a lot more than I thought I was going to. Csilla is complicated, in what she is trying to figure out, both inside her and in her city. She's trying to find her footing, and that is something quite dangerous. There's this determination in her, the kind that pushes her. I loved her a whole lot. There were side characters I thought wasn't going to like either, but also fell in love with. They were sweeter, and funnier, and a lot more than I expected.

This book was also queer! I was not expecting it to be as queer as it was, but I really really loved that it ended up being as queer as it was.

This book is also very Jewish. I can't say more than that since I am not Jewish myself, but I felt it was important to note.

Overall, I ended up really, really liking this book. It burns in a way that is unexpected, and it is written so spectacularly. It's so, so good.

This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke gives young adult readers a glimpse into Hungarian history following World War II, showing the hardships and courage of the people of Budapest who wanted freedom desperately enough to risk Soviet punishment. In the novel, protagonist Csilla has graduated from school and works as a typist at the state newspaper, biding her time until she and her aunt, her only living relative, can escape to Israel. This tickets are purchased , the money for false papers is saved, and only two weeks stand between them and safety. As the daughter of criminals executed by the state, Csilla knows she needs to keep her head down and get away, but when a mysterious college student asks for her help and a vaguely familiar stranger saves her from being disappeared by the Hungarian Secret Police, or AVH, she is drawn into Budapest's struggle for freedom. The freedom fighters are passionate, committed, and willing to risk everything, but the Soviets are vigilant, powerful, and able to crush. Csilla gambles that the battle is worth the risk, but as Soviet tanks roll into Budapest, she is risking everything and everyone she loves.

This Rebel Heart is written in lilting prose that reads like poetry, and Locke captures the atmosphere of tension, uncertainty, forced obedience, and fear in a visceral way. While many of her characters are genuine and complex, the character Azriel is perhaps her best. Azriel comes across as fully human but with the wisdom of an ancestral spirit and the deep compassion of God. His actions and speech are credible and real, as is his conflicted relationship with mortals.

I appreciate Locke's vision for her story, but many of her plot elements seem disconnected, almost as if this were an earlier draft that hadn't yet been polished and perfected. Elements like Csilla's relationship with Elek, Aliz's divided loyalty, and Csilla's relationship with her father seem like they should have better connection to the plot than they do. Again and again, I wondered where an event would connect, but then the story flowed on, and the event was left behind, unattached and less effective than it could have been. Other events seem less authentic and more forced. Tamas's relationship with Azriel, for example, feels off, coming as it did mere days after Tamas's lover was killed by the AVH. Csilla's unquestioning acceptance of her father's relationship with Marton also feels too easy and less real. I was left wishing to see Csilla work through the realistic and authentic struggle to balance her father as someone's lover and also as the father she knew. Finally, the use of the golem to defend the city gives the story a fabulist twist, but it lessens the incredible heroism of the students and teachers, parents and children, young and old who faced down the Hungarian state forces and then the Soviets on their own, without a mythical Jewish creature to aid them. Young adult literature must empower, encourage, and celebrate young adults for who they are, in their own flawed, courageous, creative selves. The use of the golem, while allowing the story to be historical fantasy, diminishes the power and courage of Csilla, Tamas, Zsu, and others who, in the true history of Hungary, laid their own lives on the line rather than relying on the invincibility of a man-made, magical creature.

Overall, Locke's story is set in an important time and her writing is lovely and rich. Her characters are well-drawn and complex, and they draw readers into the story. The plot, however, seemed like it took on too much without the tightly knit cohesion that it needed. As a result, her disparate plot elements created a story than seemed disjointed at time, unbelievable at others, and consistently left me wishing for greater depth and better connections within the plot.