I really liked this book, somewhat of a surprise because, at first, I did not think I would as it's the story of a couple of nine year old immigrants living in Brooklyn. How wrong I was. It didn't take me long to be pulled into their lives, to Vaclav's, who lives with his recent Russian immigrant parents, a young boy with an obsession with magicians, with becoming another Harry Houdini and Lena, she of the unknown home life, who spends most of her afternoons with Vaclam, in his bedroom, as both day dream about performing magician tricks at Coney Island. They practice, do their homework, and have dinner together, then Vaclav's mother walks Lena home. Vaclav is the talker, charming and fun, Lena, quiet and withdrawn with others, but with Vaclav she's enamoured and relaxed. The first third ends with Vaclav's mother calling the police and turning Lena over to Children's Services. She does not explain anything to Vaclav who blames her for the disappearance of his best and only friend.
The second part jumps eight years. Vaclav is at the technical high school, brilliant and charming, with a girl friend, lots of friends, a typical teenager. His mother hasn't changed; she worries about him, takes care of his whims, and remains the Russian emigre in culture and spirit. Lena, we discover, is also doing well, smart and well liked, student council president, living with her well to do adopted mother Em. We see into both of their lives, into their thoughts, especially Lena's, as she realize the blanks in her past that she cannot fill, her life before and after Vaclav, before her adoption. It's interesting to see these two, who struggled with their adopted language, English, in the first section, well adapted and fluent eight years later.
The third and final section describes Vaclav and Lena Together. Though they never communicated since that fatal day eight years ago, neither has forgotten the other. Lena decides to call Vaclav, asking him to help her find out about her parents, her past. They meet, immediately take up where they left off, though now they are teenagers, with all the feelings that go along with being young. They end up in Vaclav's bedroom, just like when they were nine year olds, but her return to Vaclav's home, to his bedroom unearths Lena's unconscious memories, a past that she has forgotten, and she rushes home hysterical, vowing to never return.
Vaclav, distraught and confused, ends up going to Lenas Aunt's home, finds out the truth of Lena's past (too terrible to describe), and goes to Lena's house, to tell her about her family but instead of the truth, he tells a wonderful fairy tale about what 'should have been Lena's parents life, her life.' And the book ends: "Lena's real mom, Emily, knew this was not the truth, but she also knew that Vaclav was not lying. Vaclav knew that he was telling the truth. Lena knew that it was a lie, but she loved it and believed it, like a fairy tale, like a song, like a bedtime story, like a magic trick. She loved Vaclav until it became the truth, so it was."
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