Description:

A new breathtaking novel from Natalie Standiford about love and trust during the Cold War. Laura Reid goes to Leningrad for a semester abroad as Cold War paranoia is peaking in 1982. She meets a young Russian artist named Alexei and soon, with Alexei as her guide, Laura immerses herself in the real Russia--a crazy world of wild parties, black-market books and music, and smuggled letters to dissidents. She must keep the relationship secret; associating with Americans is dangerous for Alexei, and if caught, Laura could be sent home and Alexei put under surveillance or worse. At the same time, she's been warned that Soviets often latch onto Americans in hopes of marrying them and thus escaping to the United States. But she knows Alexei loves her. Right? As June approaches--when Laura must return to the United States--Alexei asks Laura to marry him. She's only nineteen and doesn't think she's ready to settle down. But what if Alexei is the love of her life? How can she leave him behind? If she has a chance to change his life, to rescue him from misery, shouldn't she take it? ** ### From School Library Journal Gr 8 Up-In this love story set during the Cold War, 19-year-old Laura Reid is an American studying in Leningrad. She meets Alyosha on the bridge near her dormitory, and their star-crossed love is immediate and dangerous. They live at a time when every move is watched and luxuries are scarce. Laura shows Alyosha what is available to foreigners in Russia during a covert trip to the Berioska Shop. In turn, he gives her a glimpse into his secret past and a present that creates more questions than it answers. As the end of the semester draws near, so does their time together. Although Laura has heard that Russians will do anything to get to the U.S., she doesn't want to believe that Alyosha might be one of them. Readers are left wondering until the very end about his true intentions. Standiford accurately re-creates the bleakness of life in the Soviet Union in the early 1980s. This is a great book for teens who enjoy tragic romances with a historical twist.-Kimberly Castle-Alberts, Hudson Library & Historical Society, OHα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. ### From Booklist Russia has always fascinated Laura. When she gets the chance to study abroad in the Soviet Union in 1982, she leaps at the opportunity to experience the vibrant, bombastic culture she has learned about. The reality is different: the environment is dour and the locals unfriendly, including the sticky-fingered Gypsies on the bridge between her dorm and the nearest town. When said Gypsies accost her, Laura is saved by Alyosha, a handsome artist. They embark on a slow burn of a romance, which changes Laura’s emotional landscape, enlivening and unfurling Russian culture during an era when the past was suppressed and love with foreigners was verboten. This is a romance filled with foreboding, as Standiford works hard to make Alyosha come across as anything other than opportunistic, but still there’s an air of danger as Laura is conscious that Alyosha might try to use her to leave the country. While more straightforward than the author’s quirky How to Say Goodbye in Robot (2009), this is nonetheless a delightful escapist read. Grades 9-12. --Courtney Jones