5 pages from inside this book
Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams
- Subject
- Novels in Verse
- Age
- 9-12 years
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 304
- Publisher
- Andrews McMeel Publishing
- ISBN
- 9781524881139
WINNER OF THE 2025 GEOFFREY BILSON AWARD FOR HISTORICAL FICTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
From award-winning verse novelist Shari Green comes an unforgettable story of friendship, first love, and an impossible choice between integrity and duty, family and friends, all while fighting for a dream.
“Emotionally resonant and masterfully crafted.” — Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
“This verse novel has thematic and stylistic similarities to works by Kip Wilson and will be of interest to those seeking read-alikes, as well as lovers of classical music.” — School Library Journal
“Green conveys Helena’s anxieties and hopes in equal measure in lyrical free-verse passages that flow together like a musical composition.” — Horn Book
“Characters, places, and themes are introduced with superb fluidity in the book’s verses … this [is a] hopeful novel that does a beautiful job of illuminating a dark period of history.” — Foreword Reviews
“Poems carry the narrative, giving the book a very personal, introspective feel, impressing upon the reader the paranoia that many East Germans lived with after WWII.” — Booklist
Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a historical YA novel in verse that centers around a young pianist in East Germany trying to make sense of love, duty, and the pursuit of dreams during the unsettled months of protest that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s.
Written in stunning lyrical verse,Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a story of hope, courage, romance, and the power of music not only to change lives, but to save them.
From award-winning verse novelist Shari Green comes an unforgettable story of friendship, first love, and an impossible choice between integrity and duty, family and friends, all while fighting for a dream.
“Emotionally resonant and masterfully crafted.” — Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
“This verse novel has thematic and stylistic similarities to works by Kip Wilson and will be of interest to those seeking read-alikes, as well as lovers of classical music.” — School Library Journal
“Green conveys Helena’s anxieties and hopes in equal measure in lyrical free-verse passages that flow together like a musical composition.” — Horn Book
“Characters, places, and themes are introduced with superb fluidity in the book’s verses … this [is a] hopeful novel that does a beautiful job of illuminating a dark period of history.” — Foreword Reviews
“Poems carry the narrative, giving the book a very personal, introspective feel, impressing upon the reader the paranoia that many East Germans lived with after WWII.” — Booklist
Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a historical YA novel in verse that centers around a young pianist in East Germany trying to make sense of love, duty, and the pursuit of dreams during the unsettled months of protest that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s.
Written in stunning lyrical verse,Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a story of hope, courage, romance, and the power of music not only to change lives, but to save them.
About the author
Shari GreenAuthor
Shari Green is the author of several novels in verse, including the ALA Schneider Family Book Award winner, Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess. Her books have been included on international “best of” lists and nominated for multiple state and provincial readers’-choice programs. Shari is also a poet, musician, and former nurse. She can often be found wandering the beaches or forest trails near her home on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada.
Data provided by BiblioShare.
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What reviewers said
"Emotionally resonant and masterfully crafted.
In the German Democratic Republic during the latter months of 1989, a 16-year-old girl faces the realities of her government’s violent control of its people.
Helena’s life in Leipzig revolves around music. An avid pianist, she imagines someday becoming a conductor and using the power of music “to stir people / to dreams. Imagining / the possibility lets loose / butterflies within me.” Constraints about people’s life choices in the GDR, and her mother’s practical concerns over her future, leave her career plans uncertain. For Helena, music is her path to freedom and a form of release from the oppression surrounding her. But after her best friend escapes to Austria during a rush on the border, Helena joins her father in protesting the intolerable…
Written in verse, this lyrical novel masterfully tackles the complicated issues of political oppression, police brutality, and nonviolent acts of resistance. The poems vary in length and style, emphasizing major themes and important moments with delicate artistry." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Crafted as intricately as a Bach concerto, SONG OF FREEDOM, SONG OF DREAMS swept me into a historical world as well researched and compellingly depicted as it is relevant to today’s reader." (Joy McCullough, author of Blood Water Paint and Enter the Body)
"Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams transports readers to the peaceful protests in Leipzig, Germany in 1989 that contribute to the opening of borders throughout East Germany--to freedom. But freedom isn't a quick or easy path for gifted pianist Helena, who must consider her own dreams, her family's safety, and her new boyfriend's secret plans--especially when a Stasi officer wants to know what she's hiding. A powerful story about raising your voice told in gorgeous, musical poetry." (Kip Wilson, author of White Rose and The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin)
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