Kiss the Kremlin Goodbye

When a young drama group visits Moscow, shortly before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, their initial culture shock is gradually overcome as friendships form. By making the visitors a mixture of English and Welsh, and one of the hosts Estonian rather than Russian, Alison Leonard raises questions of nationality, loyalty and freedom, yet the focus on relationships among the teenagers (particularly involving Megan, who is torn between Dafydd at home and Kostya, an enigmatic student) makes this an easy and engaging read. By the end, Megan realises - and so will readers - that events portrayed in the news do affect the lives of real people.