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Suspect Red
It’s 1953, and the United States has just executed an American couple convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. Everyone is on edge as the Cold War standoff between communism and democracy leads to the rise of Senator Joe McCarthy and his zealous hunt for people he calls subversives or communist sympathizers. Suspicion, loyalty oaths, blacklists, political profiling, hostility to foreigners, and the assumption of guilt by association divide the nation. Richard and his family believe deeply in American values and love of country, especially since Richard’s father works for the FBI. Yet when a family from Czechoslovakia moves in down the street with a son Richard’s age named Vlad, their bold ideas about art and politics bring everything into question.
Richard is quickly drawn to Vlad’s confidence, musical sensibilities, and passion for literature, which he shares. But as the nation’s paranoia spirals out of control, Richard longs to prove himself a patriot, and blurred lines between friend and foe could lead to a betrayal that destroys lives.
L. M. Elliott (www.LMElliott.com) was a Washington-based journalist for almost twenty years, and twice a National Magazine Award finalist before becoming a novelist. She is the author of Under a War-Torn Sky—an NCSS/CBC Notable Book in Social Studies, Jefferson Cup Honor Book, one of Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year, and winner of the Borders Original Voices Award—and its companions, A Troubled Peace (also an NCSS/CBC Notable) and Across a War-Tossed Sea (a Jefferson Cup Overfloweth title). Her other books include Annie, between the States, a New York Times Young Adult E-Book Bestseller, an IRA Teacher’s Choice, and an NYPL Book for the Teen Age; Da Vinci’s Tiger; and Give Me Liberty.
Elizabeth Wiley, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a seasoned actor, dialect coach, and theater professor. In addition to her growing portfolio of audiobooks, her voice can be heard in The Idea of America, Colonial Williamsburg’s virtual learning curriculum; in Paul Meier’s e-textbook Speaking Shakespeare; and modeling US-English on one of the world’s top language-learning products.
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Reviews
“Narrator Elizabeth Wiley superbly brings this extraordinary historical fiction to life…Wiley uses a somber voice to narrate from the historical record. Her voice for thirteen-year-old Richard is full of curiosity, confusion, and a few cracks as he tries to navigate his world. With masterful intonation and pacing, she brings personality to Richard’s overprotective mother, his troubled father, his precocious younger sister, and his neighbors, who are new immigrants…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
“Elliott’s riveting young-adult historical novel Suspect Red takes us on a rough ride through one thicket-filled thorny year in the life of early-adolescent Richard Bradley…Elliott’s technique and methodology are superbly appropriate.”
“A tense, engrossing story that effectively captures the suspicion and paranoia that prevailed during American history’s darkest chapters.”
“This historical novel is filled with Richard’s naive, offbeat humor…[In a ] rich historical setting…Richard’s literature-driven ideas…and his rare friendship with Vladimir make his experiences as memorable as they are painful.”
“Elliot does a masterful job of incorporating fictional people into a historical scenario. Even with the heavy historical references and background, the story of Richard and Vlad shines through.”
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