The Boy on the Bridge by Natalie Standiford

Goodreads Blurb

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?

Oh, I had such high hopes for The Boy on the Bridge. It sounded like something I would absolutely love and something that would break my heart at the same time. And while I did enjoy it, it just wasn't something I really loved. 

There was definitely something about the writing, though, that just captivated me. I was just drawn into this so-different world, both fascinated and horrified by the conditions of a 1982 Russia. Standiford does a wonderful job recreating the world with little seemingly insignificant details that make the writing stand out.
And the writing! It's simple yet beautiful in a way and just pulls you in more. It's an intriguing story that just makes you question everything.

Like did Alexei (or Aloysha) really love Laura? I was pondering that the entire story. It was undoubtedly suspicious, but I felt like he really did love her. On the other hand...well, like I said. It was suspicious. You have to love a love story you're unsure of!

But, the love story? It was sort of horrible. It was so rushed and pretty much insta-love. Laura risked so much for someone she barely knew and she snuck him into a foreigners-only place. When they'd only met twice before. It was ridiculous! Laura was so naive, saying Aloysha loved her after only a few meetings, when already, as Laura's best friend said "half our group are already half engaged" (or something like that. I did it from memory!). She stuck up for Aloysha when she should've been suspicious and just trusted him way too much. It was just really rushed and I hated how ignorant Laura was, how she just fell so quickly in love with just a few glances and meetings.

I couldn't really connect with Laura either. She was a bit of a flat character and we never get to really know her, and it didn't seem like Standiford understood her own character that well either.
I did love seeing the other characters and how the interacted with Russia and its locals. I enjoyed reading about Karen and Dan, Ninel and "Binky". They added a sense of humor to this book that was definitely needed.

All in all, The Boy on the Bridge wasn't a terrible read, but it wasn't the best either! I'd recommend trying it out, but it wouldn't be on the top of my list.

Pages: 256 

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: July 30, 2013

Rating: 3 stars