I enjoyed You Are One of Them by Elliott Holt more because of the DC connection than anything else. It was a good story (Cold War, spies, defection, etc.), made more interesting because it was based on the true story of Samantha Smith, the American girl who wrote a letter to Yuri Andropov asking for peace in 1982. Holt’s writing was a bit precious and the characters and scenes not fleshed out enough for me. I was left wanting and didn’t buy into a lot of what happened. The ending, too, was a little abrupt. But, remembering the 80s and 90s in DC (Cleveland Park, NCS, Au Pied du Cochon, etc.) was a treat. I also enjoyed the feeling of Moscow and Holt’s descriptions of the people and places there. She definitely nailed the stark, cold, dirty feeling I had when I was there in 1989. You Are One of Them is worth a read for nostalgia’s sake.