My Own Revolution
-
- $12.99
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
In 1960s Czechoslovakia, Patrik participates in and rebels against the communist regime, knowing that anyone could become an enemy in the blink of an eye. Fourteen-year-old Patrik rebels against the communist regime in small ways whenever he gets the chance: spray-painting slogans, listening to contraband Beatles records, even urinating on a statue of Lenin under cover of night. But anti-Party sentiment is risky, and when party interference cuts a little too close to home, Patrik and his family find themselves faced with a decision — and a grave secret — that will change everything. As the moments tick toward too late, Patrik takes his family’s fate in hand, risking everything for a chance at freedom. Examining the psychological toll of living under an authoritarian regime, Carolyn Marsden allows readers to experience both Patrik’s persistent worry and his hope for better things.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In contemporary and historical novels like The White Zone, Starfields, and Take Me with You, Marsden has offered intimate glimpses of cultures around the world as seen through the eyes of children. Her first book for teens is no different, detailing the tumultuous life of 13-year-old Patrik, who lives under the repressive Communist regime in 1960s Czechoslovakia. Patrik and his friends rebel against authority in small (but still dangerous) ways defacing Communist slogans, buying black market Beatles records, and urinating on a statue of Lenin but after Patrik recklessly burns a flag at the May Day parade, his entire family is put at risk. Marsden palpably depicts the paranoia of the time and the stress Patrik's family is under; there's an unremitting tension to the second half of the story as they make plans to flee the country. It's an entirely believable portrait of a boy whose daily life is divided between normal teenage concerns like winning the girl of his dreams and improving his photography skills and worries about his very uncertain future. Ages 12 up.
