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Skandal

(Sekret #2)

Lindsay Smith (Goodreads Author)

3.67 · Rating details · 346 ratings · 75 reviews

The dramatic sequel to Sekret, this psychic Cold War espionage thriller follows Yulia to Washington, DC, where she fights to discover the truth about her family without losing control of her mind.

My mind is mine alone.

Life in Washington, D.C., is not the safe haven Yulia hoped for when she risked everything to flee communist Russia. Her father is reckless and aloof, and Va ...more

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Kindle Edition, 335 pages

Published April 7th 2015 by Roaring Brook Press

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Dec 31, 2013 Alyssa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015-releases

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Skandal by Lindsay Smith
Book Two of the Sekret series
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Publication Date: April 7, 2015
Rating: 3 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

The dramatic sequel to Sekret, this psychic Cold War espionage thriller follows Yulia to Washington, DC, where she fights to discover the truth about her family without losing control of her mind.

My mind is mine alone.

Life in Washington, D.C., is not the safe haven Yulia hoped for when she risked e ...more

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Feb 11, 2015 Gabi Graceffo rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, superpowers, spy, experimentation

"The words ring through me, clear and calming like a distant carillon. Shostakovich recedes to the background; the psychedelic record on the record player melts around us into cool liquid sound. It does not touch me. My fears for Mama and Zhenya cannot reach me. My mind is mine alone. The scrubbers cannot scratch at me here. My mind is mine alone."

description

So, we've made to America. All the bloodshed, Party politics, and psychic mind games are behind us...right? Wrong.

This book picks up pretty much w ...more

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Sep 01, 2013 Dahlia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: i-own-arc, 2015-releases, one-four-kid-lit

Ugh so good I missed my subway stop so actually I'm a little mad about that but you should read this anyway because it's really freaking good. ...more

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Oct 11, 2015 Britt rated it really liked it

3.75 stars! Definitely an enjoyable book, but I did like Sekret better!

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Jan 25, 2014 Danielle (Love at First Page) rated it liked it

Shelves: pretty-writing, read-in-2015, arc, fantasy-scifi-paranormal, genre-young-adult, own-kindle-book, historical

An empty mind is a safe mind.

If you're familiar with Sekret, the first book in Lindsay Smith's historical-fantasy-espionage duology, you remember that Yulia was once a psychic spy for the KGB. Her ability is to hear people's thoughts and access their memories by way of touch. She and other teens like her were controlled by a master puppeteer, a Russian politician who wanted to go to war with the U.S. Who still wants that, in order to purport Soviet Union supremacy and communist ideology. Yu ...more

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Mar 27, 2015 Megs rated it really liked it

I have really enjoyed this duology. I like the mix of physic powers with the history of the Cold War. I enjoy historical fiction and I enjoy paranormal, so the mix here was really great for me.

Yulia is a very strong character and I enjoyed watching her deal with integrating into a new culture, dealing with a father who is nothing like what she remembers and a new job working for the CIA. The odds are stacked against this girl, but she stubbornly plods onward towards her goals.

We meet a host of n ...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Lindsay Smith added it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: i-wrote

SKANDAL cover is live! And a tentative release date: 4/7/15. I hope to have the synopsis to share soon!

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Jan 10, 2015 Sara (Freadom Library) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal, historical-fiction, poc, read-2016, 2015-releases, finished-series

This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/

Check out my series review here: https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/...

Critically
Plot – 4 out of 5 stars
exciting, intriguing, suspenseful, full of action and mystery, new setting and new characters, lots of twists and turns, a lot more emotionally deep than the first, really intense

Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
historically accurate, elaborate, descriptive, detailed, vivid, poetic, emotional, precise, intense

Characters This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/

Check out my series review here: https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/...

Critically
Plot – 4 out of 5 stars
exciting, intriguing, suspenseful, full of action and mystery, new setting and new characters, lots of twists and turns, a lot more emotionally deep than the first, really intense

Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
historically accurate, elaborate, descriptive, detailed, vivid, poetic, emotional, precise, intense

Characters – 4 out of 5 stars
Yulia is still one of my faves but she’s in shaky ground in this book. She’s in a whole new place, with a completely different kind of culture and it’s tough for her to get her bearings. She’s still incredibly brave and determined and powerful. However, she has a lot of doubts about herself and her insecurity shows and we get a glimpse into a more vulnerable part of her life. She’s angry and emotional and scared a bit. I loved her development and really enjoyed the ending.
I wasn’t captivated by the new characters in this series as much as I was in the first book. I liked them but I didn’t find them as intriguing as the group from the first book. They made an appearance and I was blown away by them once again. The romance developed in a very natural way, I loved how it wasn’t just all sunshine and roses. It reflected what was happening in the plot and what the characters had been through, while still tugging at my heart and pushing me to root for them. I feel like it was a great way to end the duology though I want more of the world.

Emotionally
(view spoiler)[I was so surprised that I enjoyed this duology when I read it. It’s now one of my favorite of all times.

I was anxious to finish this duology because I loved the first book so much and this second book did not disappoint.

The plot is suspenseful. Yulia has traveled somewhere new and she is now a part of the CIA, thanks to the connections her dad has in America. However, she does not recognize him at all, he’s changed completely, and she’s put to work to stop the KGB, the people who held her captive as well as her mother and brother, and end their plans. One of my favorite parts about this book is the world building. We’ve moved from Russia to America, so there’s a little bit more freedom to explore the surroundings. The music, the clothes, the slang terms and the roles in society were all totally on point and amazing. It really helps transport you to a different time. But I feel like that was the part that really caught my attention not the plot. I was intrigued and interested enough but it was a lot slower and a bit less mysterious than the first book. The beginning was interesting but it wasn’t until halfway that I was really snagged into the plot and got me to that edge of my seat feeling. I wish it could’ve been just as exciting as the first book but I also understand why it wasn’t that way. There’s a lot of other factors at play when you are in the US than when in Russia specially at that time in history. The ending was really bittersweet and not really what I was expecting but realistic and actually quite on the hopeful side.

Yulia is all over the place in this book but again it’s understandable. She’s in a new country, new city where things are completely different than where she’s from. She’s reunited with her father after years apart but he’s not how she remembers him and she has no idea why. However, the character traits that I loved about her are still relevant: her tenacity and determination. Her strength is actually quite awe inspiring for me.

Overall, I really need more people to read this duology! I feel like it’s completely underrated. It’s a great representation of historical fiction and I highly, highly recommend it. (hide spoiler)] ...more

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Mar 17, 2015 ExLibris_Kate rated it really liked it

The world of Skandal, while not in Russia anymore, was equally fascinating in this continuation of Yulia's story. The setting of Cold War era Washington D.C. might not be the USSR, but it was still full of just as many dangerous plots, double-crosses, and political landmines. Yulia has been put into service with the CIA and is having to learn English and adjust to a new life all while working as a spy for the Americans. The team of Psychic spies on the US side are a very interesting group. Every ...more

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Mar 29, 2014 Shelley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015-release, macmillan, received-for-review, young-adult-historical

**I received this book for free from Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan Children's in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!! This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

*Genre* Young Adult, Psychic, Historical, Espionage, Thriller
*Rating* 4.0

*My Thoughts*

*My past cannot hurt me now. My future cannot stop me now. All I have is now."

Skandal is the conclusion to the Sekret duology. The story takes place 3 months after 17-year old Yulia Andreevna Chernina and her boyfrie ...more

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Dec 20, 2018 Jay rated it really liked it

It's been a while since I read the first book so a lot of the beginning was confusing. However, I still really enjoy the writing style of Lindsay Smith. I love that she found a way to have a unique take on young people with supernatural powers, despite 90% of YA seemingly being about the same thing. I think it really helped that it was not set in the 21st century, though I wish the setting had not switched to America in this book.

Not much more to say as of course this is a sequela and reviewing ...more

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Mar 01, 2015 Kathy Martin rated it really liked it

It's 1964. Yulia has escaped from the Soviet Union and is with her father and her boyfriend Valentin. They are working for the CIA but working for someone who is suspicious of them because they are Soviets. Yulia sees some of the values of being in the United States but she is overwhelmed by the differences of life in the USA. Her father is different than she remembers; she is worried about the mother she left behind; and she is worried that Valentin's demons will overcome him.

In the larger pi ...more

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Sep 09, 2014 Lauren added it

Shelves: tbr-arc-owned, pub-macmillan, 2015

Didn't like quite as much as the first book but enjoyable nonetheless. No love triangle at all, thankfully. Settled end, but opened enough for another installment, if there was one. Full review to come. ...more

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Mar 28, 2015 Sara rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015

This series is so fantastic, and Smith devotes as much attention to 1960s America as she did to the Soviet Union in the previous book. The characters are so well-drawn, especially Yulia, and the setting really bolsters the plot.

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Oct 12, 2014 Erikka rated it did not like it

Shelves: sukt-2-much-2-finish

I'm sorry, but I have to DNF this. It's so freaking slow. I got to page 100 in 6 days after constantly falling asleep reading it. There's nothing that makes me want to keep reading. ...more

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Nov 12, 2014 Gabe Novoa added it

Shelves: young-adult

Action-packed and very enjoyable sequel to SEKRET! :)

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Mar 17, 2015 Michelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, read-2015, 2015-real-book-challenge, macmillan

Loved that ending. More to come!

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Dec 20, 2015 M added it

THIS WAS SUCH A FUN READ.

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Jan 24, 2018 Helen rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-supernatural, spykids

It's been almost a year and a half since I read the first book, Sekret, and I wish I could remember the events of that book a little better.

Much of my review for Sekret also applies to Skandal:

- I'm really impressed by the historical research that formed the basis for what appears to be a supernatural novel. Smith's author note in the last book mentioned that the premise of these books is based off of real-life Soviet government attempts to develop psychic talents for espionage purposes. Similar It's been almost a year and a half since I read the first book, Sekret, and I wish I could remember the events of that book a little better.

Much of my review for Sekret also applies to Skandal:

- I'm really impressed by the historical research that formed the basis for what appears to be a supernatural novel. Smith's author note in the last book mentioned that the premise of these books is based off of real-life Soviet government attempts to develop psychic talents for espionage purposes. Similarly, in Skandal, which is set in 1964 America during the era of the Red Scare and embers that will ignite to become the Vietnam War, Smith uses more historical context to bolster her plot -- the US Department of Defense actually did try to induce psychic powers for defense purposes, and the CIA actually did research the applications of LSD in espionage, similar to what Yulia encounters with her PsyOps team. Though I don't prefer stories about the supernatural or supernatural abilities, the fact that real-world research was actually conducted in the 20th century to develop such off-the-wall resources for warfare helps ground this story. We get something more plausible and less fantastic, with doses of historical fact and a nicely realized 1960s setting giving this book more weight.

- However, the above is the main thing going for book #2. I gave this book a 4th star for the setting, history, and research involved, but the story itself warranted more of a 3-star rating. There was less sweeping romance this time. More menacing threats, confusion over the enemy, a less cohesive team, and occasional stretches of psychic power that made some characters practically omnipotent made the story less believable and characters less interesting. Yulia's team in Sekret seemed more strongly or vividly realized. I didn't get much of an impression of most of Yulia's PsyOps team, and because of this, the book loses that fun dynamic of working together as a well-oiled team. Yulia's romance with Valentin is very much on the back burner -- despite a few stolen kisses and "I love you"s (in Russian), we don't get much of the passion that Yulia and Valentin had in Sekret, and that's disappointing.

- There were also multiple editing issues throughout the book (and I'm not talking about Yulia's struggles with learning the English language). Once, "surround" was misspelled as "suround" (the sort of thing spellcheck would automatically pick up). There were also several missing open/close quotation marks and apostrophes that made text unclear (especially dialogue). "Secondhand control" was left as "second hand control," which doesn't convey the meaning that was intended in that sentence. I'm not sure what happened, but I don't recall these editing issues in the first book.
...more

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Jun 02, 2017 Laura rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

If you'll recall, I quite liked Sekret. It was fun and action packed and helped me with my minor reading slump. I confess, though, I knew I wouldn't like this book as much as I liked the first. I wasn't looking forward to picking it up, but I decided to anyway because I didn't know what else to read and I figured this would be fun and action packed enough.

However, Skandal didn't grab me the same way Sekret did. Maybe it's because I thought (and honestly still think) that Sekret didn't really ne ...more

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Aug 28, 2017 Dana rated it liked it

Overall, this was a pretty good series. I liked it, but I don't know that I would want to re-read it.

Yulia grows up a lot in this book. One big lesson is that her parent's are human and don't know everything. I liked how the author showed the racism in that time period and how it affected Winnie and Cindy (they are sisters, but look different from each other).

My biggest criticism of the book is that the author didn't have more a confrontation between Yulia and Rostov. He was this overwhelmingly ...more

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Feb 27, 2021 Mihaela Blalock rated it liked it

Ok, so I am not crazy about this series but I also did not dislike it entirely. As a linguist though, I don't see how it is possible after 3 months of learning a language to become proficient to the level of translating medical research articles. After 3 months to be able to use past perfect correctly "is that the thing you were surprised he hadn't told me?" is quite impossible. After learning that many languages myself, being able to grasp the concept of this verbal tense and know when to use i ...more

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Apr 06, 2018 vincent ☆ rated it liked it

Just some thoughts, it was an ok book:

Our protagonist Yulia is learning English, correct? Well then why is she using complex words?? I feel like her learning of English just kinda ~went away~ after the first 20 pages. English is a hard language to learn, so why is it portrayed as easy in the book?

Also, the plot was very slow in the middle and then suddenly everything is tied up neatly in the last 15 pages, which was annoying. (Confession: i didn't finish the first one! Which really didn't matter ...more

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Aug 05, 2017 Megan rated it really liked it

Shelves: fav-reads-of-2017, historical-fiction, slavic

This was a great sequel to Sekret! I actually liked this one better; I think it was because Yuila seemed more settled in this book. I loved how Smith had the era of the 1960s United States perfectly sculpted, as well as Yulia figuring out English and the espionage was so good! This one felt more intense, and there were parts of the book where I was like, did that really just happen?
Overall, an amazing duology! Totally recommend!

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Apr 19, 2019 Lizzie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book was amazing! It is now one of my favorites, along with the first book Skandal. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read about physics, spies, and the Cold War or just loves a great book.

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Feb 10, 2019 Ben Rand rated it it was ok

Shelves: spy-military-thriller

Should have read the 1st book in the series I guess.

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Feb 11, 2019 Lexie rated it did not like it

SO BORING

There was no character development (or characterization in any way... nothing stands out about Yulia) and I didn't care about the context at all. So glad to be done with it! ...more

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Jan 13, 2021 Doxiemutti rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Yay! The close of that chapter for Yulia’s life.

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Jun 25, 2014 Erin Arkin rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, historical, 2015-real-book-challenge

3.5 stars

Skandal is the second book of the Sekret series by Lindsay Smith and I thought it wrapped up Yulia’s story in a good way.

The book picks up with Yulia living in Washington D.C. with her father and Valentin. Having left her brother and mother behind, Yulia is constantly worried about them and how they are being used by the KGB but she is also unsure about her place within the CIA. She has been placed within a group to help her learn more about her psychic power so she can in turn, help t 3.5 stars

Skandal is the second book of the Sekret series by Lindsay Smith and I thought it wrapped up Yulia’s story in a good way.

The book picks up with Yulia living in Washington D.C. with her father and Valentin. Having left her brother and mother behind, Yulia is constantly worried about them and how they are being used by the KGB but she is also unsure about her place within the CIA. She has been placed within a group to help her learn more about her psychic power so she can in turn, help the government figure out what General Rostov is up to and how to stop him but she definitely has some challenges to overcome due to the fact that she is Russian and worked fro Rostov.

Yulia is at a point where she needs to embrace her power and she does but she also struggles with knowing that everything she does for the CIA is a danger to her mother. I liked seeing her grow into her psychic ability and eventually begin to use it in a way that allows her to understand she is a strong, young woman. On top of her learning to use her ability better, she is also learning more about who her father is and what he has been up to. It was tough for Yulia to reconcile the man she is with now with the man she grew up with and loved. He is so different and she has no idea why. When she does find out why, it all began to make sense.

One of my favorite parts of this book was seeing the relationship between Yulia and Valya evolve. As Valya continues to struggle with his ability and the things he remembers from his childhood, Yulia looks to do whatever she can to help him. This could be as simple as being with him during a nightmare or on the extreme end, absorbing his vision and pain. This is where mastering her ability was important for her and she is willing to go to whatever lengths she has to in order to help Valya.

On top of all of that, Yulia is reminded every day that they have commitments to the government to help bring down the General however they could and that means they can't just hide away from everyone in their house. They are all in danger and the fact that the KGB has people out in the world that are being used to get to the most important people in the government, creates an even greater danger for Yulia and the group as their abilities are being used against them in some situations.

The pacing in this book felt a bit slower than the last book and at times I struggled with it but in the end, I thought the story was well done. Smith brought all of the pieces together and linking the paranormal aspect with the governmental fears of the 1960’s was great. I’m a history nerd so this was right up my alley and if you liked the first book, definitely check out this one as you will want to know how things end up for this group.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy. ...more

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Jul 30, 2014 Michelle rated it liked it

Although I had a bit of a hard time visualizing the effects of the physicic and mind-bending abilities of the characters, it may have been my own fault as Smith seems to do her best describing these effects in most cases drawing parallels and comparisons (ie: feeling like trying to breathe underwater, etc)., and while I realize that it was crucial to the storyline, there seemed to be so much of it throughout the story that I felt a bit exhausted trying to visualize all of it myself while reading Although I had a bit of a hard time visualizing the effects of the physicic and mind-bending abilities of the characters, it may have been my own fault as Smith seems to do her best describing these effects in most cases drawing parallels and comparisons (ie: feeling like trying to breathe underwater, etc)., and while I realize that it was crucial to the storyline, there seemed to be so much of it throughout the story that I felt a bit exhausted trying to visualize all of it myself while reading. This was, however, a good sequel or second half to the story of all of the characters. In reality, the story of the people who escaped from behind the Iron Curtain did not end once they escaped and I was glad to see Smith finish out the story of not only Yulia & Valya but hut also that of Segei, Larissa, yulia's family, and even Rostov (I was very happy that she didn't just ignore the chats left back in Russia as I thik readers would have been left hanging when it comes to them). A few new characters were also introduced of course on the American side of things and Smith wrapped things up pretty well meshing all of the characters together with a satisfactory ending. I was glad Smith shows us enough glimpses of Yulia's past as many of her memories begin to return to her as readers learn how her father was first introduced to the Americans and even her mother's role in that introduction. Smith did a pretty good job interweaving all of the characters together - their past involvement with the project and each other and, of course taking care of the villain at the end. I would've however, have liked to have seen a bit more of a resolution for Sergei. He was a little more victim than villain (puppet of his father, just like the Hound). What happens to him seems little more than a footnote to the story. He was an intriguing character (one never knew if he were friend or foe & if he secretly harbors feelings for Yulia or even Larissa) and as Yulia delved into his own memories & deep-seated fears, he became even more intriguing as a character. Although Smith seems to wrap up the series with this second book, there may be some room for a third one, taking place a few years later centering more on perhaps Sergei, Larissa, or even Donna. ...more

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About Lindsay Smith

Lindsay Smith

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Lindsay is the author of multiple novels for young adults, including Sekret and A Darkly Beating Heart, as well as the comic series Black Swan. She is the showrunner and lead writer for Serial Box's The Witch Who Came In From the Cold, a Publisher's Weekly Best Book of 2017. Her short stories and comics have appeared in the anthologies A Tyranny of Petticoats, Strange Romance Vol. 3, and Toil & Tr ...more