A richly imagined novel that offers a unique perspective on the Soviet Union, this is most likely to find a place among...
A teenager’s dreams of dancing with the Bolshoi Ballet become inextricably entwined with the needs of the KGB.
Kiem’s Bolshoi Saga is known for its alluring combination of ballet, political intrigue, and Soviet culture, and this final installment is no different. The historical drama follows Svetlana, a 16-year-old living in Orphanage No. 36 in Moscow in the late 1950s because her parents were labeled Enemies of the People. Just as her dance career starts to take off, the KGB recruits her as a spy due to her semipsychic abilities. Now, she must balance her strange new relationship with her mother, ominous access to other people’s memories, two competing loves, her inconsistent political opinions, and life on the stage as deftly as a triple pirouette, or her entire life—and the Soviet Union—could crumble. While Sveta’s high-stakes lifestyle and relationships with the enigmatic Gosha and jazz-loving Viktor will keep readers flipping pages, those who have yet to study the Cold War might find particular references—and the overall tone—difficult to understand. The novel can also feel a bit disjointed, as the relatively pedestrian scenes of family, ballet, and romance compete with Sveta’s pseudo-supernatural abilities, the KGB’s cagey political schemes, and occasionally out-of-place lyrical language.
A richly imagined novel that offers a unique perspective on the Soviet Union, this is most likely to find a place among ardent ballet and history buffs . (Thriller. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61695-655-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Soho
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist.
The mother Annabel Price thought was dead returns with a story about where she’s been—but 18-year-old Bel knows she’s lying.
Ever since Rachel Price’s unexplained disappearance 16 years ago, true-crime fans have come up with plentiful theories about what happened. Bel and her family members, who are white, cobbled together lives for themselves after a jury found Bel’s father, Charlie, not guilty of murdering his wife. Beset with medical bills for his elderly father, Charlie recently agreed to participate in a documentary about the unsolved mystery. Black British filmmaker Ramsey Lee is well into the process of interviewing the Prices when his project gets an unanticipated boost after an exhausted, disheveled Rachel staggers back into town. Rachel is eager to resume her role in the family, but the inconsistencies in her accounts raise alarms for Bel. With the help of the youngest member of the filmmaking team, Bel sets out to learn what really happened. Along the way, someone else disappears, and Bel uncovers a tangle of lies that make it impossible for her to trust people she thought she knew. When things come to a head the night of her grandfather’s 85th birthday party, Bel ends up in a race for her life. The last quarter of the novel tears along at a breakneck pace before arriving at a satisfying and unexpected conclusion.
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593374207
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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