But her carefully laid plans fall to pieces when her parents are unexpectedly, publicly exonerated.

Now Csilla keeps her head down, planning her escape from this country that has never loved her the way she loves it. Before Csilla knew things about her father's legacy that she wishes she could forget.

Before her parents were murdered by the Soviet police. But that was before the Communists seized power. During WWII, the river kept her family safe when they needed it most-safe from the Holocaust. In the middle of Budapest, there is a river. I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.The Fountains of Silence meets Spinning Silver in this rollicking tale set amid the 1956 Hungarian revolution in post-WWII Communist Budapest from Sydney Taylor Honor winner Katherine Locke. Csilla captured my heart- her strength and willpower were quite amazing. I really appreciate it when novels like this are published, as many people seem to have forgotten just how bad it was post WW2 in many countries behind the Iron Curtain. I know because I have relatives who lived through many horrors that both the Soviets and the Ukrainians put them through, and I grew up hearing about them, and also experienced a little of what life was like in eastern Europe in the 80’s before the wall came down. I know it’s hard for many people to imagine what it was like to live behind the Iron Curtain, and to suppress any type of rebellious thoughts out of fear of Siberia, or worse, but Locke does a great job describing it. She is surrounded by her best friends and the angel of death who stands guard, protecting them, even loving them. The river that runs through the city saved Csilla once, and will try to save her again, calling her, and giving her what she needs to help her people rise against the Soviet powers and Hungarian puppet government.

This was a really lovely novel, mixing magical realism with real historical events. But as the people rise against the Soviet powers, she decides to stay and rise with them, holding her country and her fellow Hungarians in her heart. Set during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, Csilla, Holocaust survivor, and survivor of Soviet purges that killed both of her parents, plots her escape from the country that has caused her so much grief and pain.

Katherine locke this rebel heart