Publication: July
30, 2013
Publisher:
Scholastic
Press
|
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? |
The cover of this book is so cute. As soon as I saw it, I
fell in love. The story inside was just as enjoyable. The Boy on the Bridge takes place in 1982 during the Cold War. Even
though I’ve read quite a few historical fiction books, this is one period I was
unfamiliar with.
Laura Reid fell in love with all things Russia at a young
age. She knew that one day she would
want to go there and learn the language. She ends up spending a semester studying
abroad in the Soviet Union. The weather and lifestyle there is a bit bleak. Not
to mention that getting good food to eat is pretty hard to come by depending on
if you are a foreigner or not. The government watches everyone, everything seems
strict, people are afraid of being framed or being turned into the KGB for
anti-party activities.
One day as Laura is attempting to walk back to the
university, she runs into a pair of gypsies begging for money for the babies.
They apparently don’t like to take no for an answer and they refuse to let her
go. This is where Alexei (Alyosha) comes into the story. He ends up rescuing
her from the gypsies.
From there Aloysha and Laura spend more and more time
together. They explore different places in Russia and it’s not long before
Laura falls in love.
I loved the descriptions of Russia during this time period.
I could picture everything as I read. It felt realistic and I could easily
relate to Laura. Her relationship with Aloysha was sweet and sad at the same
time. Even though they come from two very different worlds, I was pulling for
them at the beginning. As their fast moving relationship developed, I started
to question it though. Laura does become a little reckless and because of the
time she spends Aloysha her school-work/grades take a hit. But that doesn’t
seem to affect her very much because she feels head over heels in love. And
sometimes when you feel like that, you don’t always think as much as you
should.
Even though I am
not a huge fan of insta-love, in this story it kind of worked. They moved fast
and they felt everything deeply and passionately. I was a little sad when their
story ended. Especially the way it ended. I wasn’t happy with that. But I did
have fun reading it and I would recommend The
Boy on the Bridge to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a great
setting mixed with romance/insta-love.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
**I received
this book on behalf of Scholastic Press in exchange for nothing, but my honest
opinion. Thank you.**
BUY:
| IndieBound| Powells | Kobo
Join the Addiction:
The Cold War is something I haven't read about either, so it's nice to hear that the descriptions and everything were well done. I'm not too fond of insta-love either but if it's well done, I think I can handle it. Great review!
ReplyDeleteAlise @ Readers in Wonderland
Thanks Alise. I'm glad dispite the insta-love that I liked it.
ReplyDelete