STARRED REVIEW
June 2015

The price of a Hollywood starlet’s Soviet salvation

By Nina Berry
Review by
The year is 1951, and America is enjoying a postwar boom. Pagan receives a too-good-to-be-true movie offer that frees her from imprisonment and takes her across the world to the eerie streets of Berlin. But Pagan has no idea of the post-World War II divisions of the city, or the rumors of a wall that will be built around the Soviet sector.
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It’s a long tumble from Hollywood darling to inmate, but Pagan Jones has done a terrible thing. While drunk, she drove her vehicle off the edge of Mulholland Drive, killing both her passengers—her father and her little sister. 

The year is 1951, and America is enjoying a postwar boom. Pagan receives a too-good-to-be-true movie offer that frees her from imprisonment and takes her across the world to the eerie streets of Berlin. But Pagan has no idea of the post-World War II divisions of the city, or the rumors of a wall that will be built around the Soviet sector. The tension builds as Pagan’s “guardian,” 19-year-old Devin Black, keeps an abnormally close watch on his charge. International intrigue unfolds as the complexity of a city divided into four parts, each ruled by a separate nation, becomes increasingly dangerous. 

The taut plotting and historical details will appeal to fans of Elizabeth Wein’s Code Name Verity and Beth Kephart’s Going Over.

 

This article was originally published in the June 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

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The Notorious Pagan Jones

The Notorious Pagan Jones

By Nina Berry
Harlequin Teen
ISBN 9780373211432

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