Keep Eyes Behind

Two children, their equine allies, and their family, members of a persecuted community of refugees, persevere in a land where prejudice and hate crimes are afoot. This story, inspired by a true event in nineteenth century Baghdad, tells of the power of courage, imagination and solidarity to turn events and resist injustice even in the worst of times.
 
 
A man came into the coffeehouse. He passed our table like he did not know us, but I heard him whisper to Baba without moving his mouth. He said, “Leave now. Keep eyes behind.”
 
On her way home from school, where she pretends to be her brother’s nursemaid since girls are not allowed to attend school, eleven-year-old Zareen and her brother are attacked by classmates for their religious differences. She arrives home, looking for comfort from her family, but in the silences and whispers she senses that something has changed. No one will tell her what…
 
Over the course of 3 days, Zareen and her brother learn that they have been chosen to go on a secret mission that can succeed only if they outwit a cunning persecutor. They are on a quest for an invaluable and mystical gift.
 
They and their family get swept into a journey of persecution and villains, unexpected friends and a web of support, learning along the way the importance of community and family, and how to persevere and follow one’s heart and intuition to resist injustice and survive danger.
 
In the children’s ability to resist injustice through solidarity and imagination, this story speaks of the possibilities of courage even at the worst of times.
 
 
REVIEWS: 
 
My wife and I both read Keep Eyes Behind by Beverlee Patton and we both found it captivating and insightful at many levels. It is a highly entertaining and wonderful novel in the way the action moves in waves of exciting suspense in the urgent quest by two children and their uncle to find a unique horse while avoiding the assassins who are after them. There are also shades of magical realism carefully added to highlight the sense of wonder that pervades an adventure that takes place in only three days. We both appreciate the way Ms. Patton effectively makes the main characters come alive with full personalities with just a few sentences. In addition the author very thoughtfully structured her book to facilitate the reader’s immersion into the story. There is a list of characters, a glossary of terms, and a map at the beginning of the book. An afterword enhances the reading experience by providing historical context and sources for the novel. Finally, to furutehr immerse yourself into a Middle Eastern reality you may want to make one or more of the eleven recipes and enjoy them while you read the book! We plan to use this book in our classes at the college and junior high level because they appeal equally to young people and adults. We can’t wait to read her next novel.  – Francisco H Vazquez, PhD, Professor Emeritus/History of Ideas, Sonoma State University
 
 
Beverlee Patton has written a wonderful adventure story that also carries powerful message for today’s world. On one level, we ride along with two magical children as they perform a crucial task for their beloved community. We meet heroic horses, disguised villains, and trusted allies. Ms. Patton gives us the feeling, foods, and cultures of the Middle East, making tangible a child’s experience of the textures of place. At the same time, we feel the impacts on a minority group of persecution in a time, much like our own, when prejudice and domination are afoot. How the children, and the community of their adults, resist injustice through solidarity and imagination, speaks of the possibilities of courage even at the worst of times. – Beth Roy (PhD, Peace and Conflict Studies, University of California, Berkeley, retired