Marina is anything but a normal teenage girl. Not only is
she a star ballerina, or on her way to be, but she is also
the daughter of a world famous ballerina, and both she and
her mom have a mysterious gift of seeing visions. Set in
Russia during the times of the Soviet Union, Marina must
flee for her family's safety and her own.
DANCER, DAUGHTER, TRAITOR, SPY is a unique novel. While
there may be others out there, I haven't come across any
other YA books centered around the Soviet Union- especially
with the ballerina world. I wasn't sure if I was going to
like that or not, just as that area in history isn't my
favorite being a Tudor era kind of girl, but I gave it a
shot. Now that I have read it, I have mixed feelings.
As I mentioned before, I do love the unique qualities of
this book. The author, Elizabeth Kiem, does a fantastic job
tying some of the big elements together: history, ballet,
and intrigue. They complement each other well and have their
own place throughout the novel. However, the supernatural
element with Marina's visions seems out of place. I expected
to see an overarching cause or explanation with them, or
even something other than her having them and it being a
potential danger, but there isn't anything. Occasionally,
one semi-paves the way for another happening in the novel,
but it seems more like it is put there just because, not for
any big reason. Other causes could have been given to get
the story to the same place. It isn't to say I don't like
supernatural touches in a book; they just feel out of place
in this one.
I would suggest DANCER, DAUGHTER, TRAITOR, SPY to mainly
mystery readers. The plot is
fairly complex in an extremely intriguing way. I enjoyed
trying to guess what was going to happen and when. I didn't
love it, but I feel there are readers out there who might.
Overall, DANCER, DAUGHTER, TRAITOR, SPY is a decent read.
A new breed of spy novel combines classic thrills (The Americans, John Le Carre, and Alan Furst), Bolshoi intrigue, and elements of the paranormal.
Marina is born of privilege. Her mother, Sveta, is the Soviet Union's prima ballerina: an international star handpicked by the regime. But Sveta is afflicted with a mysterious second sight and becomes obsessed with exposing a horrific state secret. Then she disappears.
Fearing for their lives, Marina and her father defect to Brooklyn. Marina struggles to reestablish herself as a dancer at Juilliard. But her enigmatic partner, Sergei, makes concentration almost impossible, as does the fact that Marina shares her mother's “gift,” and has a vision of her father’s murder at the hands of the Russian crooks and con artists she thought they'd left behind.
Now Marina must navigate the web of intrigue surrounding her mother's disappearance, her ability, and exactly whom she can—and can't—trust.
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