Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I never got to download this one after approval so I ended up getting it through the library so I could read and give a review.
I really loved the premise of this book when I read the blurb. I don't read much historical fiction and this seemed it would fall in that category. There is also a paranormal aspect to it, maybe a bit dystopian in nature.
The characters are written well and I really liked the political intrigue that comes along with the story. The writing is also very good.
Having read The Darkest Minds, this almost reminded me of those books. I can see someone who loved that series enjoying this one.
Unfortunately, the pacing was just off for me. I needed action and it just wasn't where it should have been for this story. I struggled to pick it up at times and really finish it. It just didn't draw me in as much as I would have liked. It didn't captivate me and I really needed that. I pushed to finish in the hopes of perhaps having the ending draw me back to the book but it just did not.
I will not be continuing on to the second book of this series.

Thank you for sending me the review copy. Unfortunately, I was unable to read it, and as a result, I could not leave a review on social media.

I am making an attempt to revive this account by reading my older netgalleys! Unfortunately, I cannot get this book for free so I am unable to read it :(

It's 1963, the Cold War, and the KGB have a plan for Russia to come out on top ... they are recruiting young people who are able to read minds for a secret, psychic espionage program they've developed. Recruitment is a gentle word - it is not safe for anyone who shows signs of mind reading to be present in the Soviet Union. Premier Nikita Khrushchev insists on protecting the Soviet Space Program and will use any means possible, including harnessing the powers of the country's youth.

Yulia is a a tough, lone young adult who refuses to allow the government to control her and her future. She's never told anyone about her abilities, she's even kept it a secret from her family, but somehow the government is on to her and one day she returns home to find her mother and brother missing and a KGB agent waiting for her.

For the sake of her family, Yulia is 'recruited' - like so many others - to use her powers for the good of the country and she's trained alongside a number of other children and adults alike - all who possess some sort of psychic power (in some cases more terrifying than her own).

There are two young men who will vie for Yulia's attention and affections: Sergei the youth who had hoped to become a hockey player before he was recruited, and Valentin, the brooding piano player. Yulia wants to trust these two, but distrust is the name of the game. Trusting no one, especially in a room full of spies, is the only way to stay safe.

I quite liked this book. The Cold War era is one we don't often see as a time period for YA books (plenty of spy thrillers for adults, like the John le Carré novels) and this mix of fantasy and historical fiction, with a female YA character in the lead is, I think, unique.

We don't spend too much time on the romance triangle, which is just as well because it's set up quite clearly from the start how this will play out. It's also a quite minor part of the story.

While I liked this concept and the general writing, it did drag a bit. Sometimes I felt we spent too much time rehashing an attitude ("I don't want to be controlled and used for my skills!") or getting a history lesson than we do getting on with the story.

I see there are other books in this series and I'm definitely interested in reading more.

Looking for a good book? Sekret, by Lindsay Smith, is a Cold War-era YA fantasy thriller. It's a nice way to have a fantasy element without going the route of magicians or elves.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I'm sorry for not reading this book sooner, but I appreciate the opportunity to provide a review. I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher.

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book. I requested this book several years ago and no longer seem to have it on my Kindle. If I do read it in the future, I will update this review.

This book was not for me, but I think I probably would have enjoyed it when I was younger. It just didn't suit my tastes now.

This book was requested when I was young and requested more books than I could possibly read. Sadly, I no longer have access to this book and my tastes have changed. Thus I will not be able to give feedback on this title.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. I am sorry I did not get to read it before the archive date. I really would like to read this one though and will purchase a copy and update my review.

Sekret by Lindsay Smith

9781596438927

368 Pages
Publisher: Square Fish
Release Date: April 1, 2014

Fiction, Teens & Young Adult, Spies, Psychic Abilities, Communist Russia, 1960s

This book is set in the 1960s. A group of teenagers with psychic abilities are taken from the families and create a team of spies. They are tasks with trying to undermine the United States space program so Sputnik can be the first to land on the moon. Yulia tries to escape but is caught and had to see another spy murdered to protect their secret.

The book is written in first person point of view. The story is very detailed, and the characters are developed. The author does a good job making the reader feel as if they were back in the 1960s. If you like spy stories, you will enjoy this book.

I did not have a chance to read this book, but it is effecting my feedback rating. I am giving books 5 stars that I haven't read to improve my feedback rating. I am not recommending the book for my classroom or students since I have not read the book. There needs to be a better system of leaving feedback for books not read.

I unfortunately was not able to read this book. I was excited when ever I had chosen to download or pick this book up on Netgalley. However, time moves by so quickly and I never got to read it.

I'm trying to clean up my TBR and Netgalley and get reviews posted ;)

So, I read this a while back and from what I remember I enjoyed it. Loved the premise of KGB Russia, action abounded, and the physic aspect was really cool.

This was such a great book, the character, the story, the action, the suspense, it was so good I stayed up way past my bedtime many night until this one was finished. Thank you.

A well-written and enjoyable book, I am glad I requested this title and will be more than happy to pass the title along to my fellow library purchasers.