In Russia In Love (Book Review, The Boy On The Bridge, Natalie Standiford)

You can never judge a book by its cover. I thought Natalie Standiford's "The Boy On The Bridge" was a nice light read, a young adult love story that's cutesy. Set in 1982, it tells a story of a young exchange student named Laura who accidentally meets a Russian boy named Aloysha (Alexei) and they fall in love. Pretty simple, right. But this is in the middle of the cold war, so we get into an internal conflict as to whether Alyosha's love is genuine, or is he just using her so he can get to the United States. It was going all well, and the book gave you a nice feeling until the last eighth of the book where it goes kind of dark and unexpected. It was stirring. I found myself deeply and unexpectedly affected by the fate of their love story. I also enjoyed the local flavor as I have been to St Petersburg in Russia and some of the places they visit are familiar to me. I found myself attached to the characters and the endign is heartbreaking.