Pledge of Allegiance - Hardcover

Lapin, Mark

3.6

5 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525249796 ISBN 13: 9780525249795

Publisher: Dutton, 1991

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Lonely ten-year-old Josh Rankin, scorned by his teacher and his classmates because of his father's communist sympathies, is delighted to make a new friend--an FBI agent after Josh's fugitive father--in a story set in 1951 New York during the days of the McCarthy era

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From Publishers Weekly:

In this convincing first novel, Lapin effectively depicts the paranoia rampant during the McCarthy era. Set in New York City in 1953, when Communists were holding vigils in Union Square for the recently sentenced Rosenbergs, the story is narrated mainly by nine-year-old Josh Rankin, whose parents joined the Party in the '30s. Josh's father, editor of the Party paper, has gone underground and the Party has become family for Josh; his sister, Vera; and his mother, Elsa, who works at Party headquarters. At school Josh is ostracized by classmates for being a "Commie" and refused a place on the baseball team. He meets a stranger who plays ball with him and offers to take him to see the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. But then Josh discovers the identity of the stranger and what information he wants in return. Josh Ranklin is a seductive mix of innocence and wisdom; Lapin tells his affecting story with depth and moments of hilarity.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

It is 1953, and nine-year-old Josh, the son of staunch Communists, is torn in loyalty between his parents and a friendly FBI agent who offers him a chance to meet Pee Wee Reese in exchange for inside party information. It's a tough choice--especially since the agent can spare more time for the boy than his absent father and workaholic mother have ever been able to manage. Lapin's novel accurately reflects the crackling tension of the McCarthy era. A baseball subplot is well supported by Brooklyn Dodger lore and vivid schoolyard scenes that could only have been created by a true fan. The author skillfully uses shifts in point of view to carry exposition, letting the reader concentrate on the rising action and its effect on the beleaguered central character. Recommended for large fiction and YA collections.
- Joyce Smothers, Mon mouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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