A review by bethanymiller415
Skandal by Lindsay Smith
3.0
In this sequel to Sekret, Yulia and Valentin have escaped from communist Russia to the United States with the help of Yulia’s father and are working with the CIA using their psychic abilities in an attempt to thwart the plans of General Rostov. Although she wants to stop Rostov, Yulia is worried about her mother’s continued involvement with his program and doesn’t want to do anything that could hurt her. Her father embraces American culture, and seems like a different man from the father she grew up with. Yulia knows that the Americans only want her because of her abilities and feels like an outsider except when she’s with Valentin, who is still struggling with memories of a past he won’t talk about. When Yulia receives a psychic communication from Rostov’s son, she realizes that they haven’t fully escaped his control, and she must decide how much to reveal to the Americans who don’t care if her mother lives or dies.
I really liked the blending of historical fiction with an element of the supernatural. There’s not a lot of YA fiction that is set during the Cold War, and the historical details were interwoven in a way that readers wouldn’t have to know much about it going in but could gain some insights about the time period as they read. Though the novel had a promising premise, the execution fell flat at times. It just did not have the page turning intensity of a spy thriller which is what it is set up to be. Yulia and Valentin didn’t have the spark and chemistry that I wanted them to. Though the stakes were high throughout the book, it just didn’t have intensity to make me want to keep turning the pages. Optional purchase where historical fiction is popular.
I really liked the blending of historical fiction with an element of the supernatural. There’s not a lot of YA fiction that is set during the Cold War, and the historical details were interwoven in a way that readers wouldn’t have to know much about it going in but could gain some insights about the time period as they read. Though the novel had a promising premise, the execution fell flat at times. It just did not have the page turning intensity of a spy thriller which is what it is set up to be. Yulia and Valentin didn’t have the spark and chemistry that I wanted them to. Though the stakes were high throughout the book, it just didn’t have intensity to make me want to keep turning the pages. Optional purchase where historical fiction is popular.