Rating:PG-13. There isn't so much swearing that I was unable to finish, but by the end of the book I was getting a little uncomfortable with it. Sex is discussed, but not graphically. It's very obvious that it happened, but again, the sex scene did not make me uncomfortable because it wasn't too detailed. It's a very serious book, dealing with heavy stuff, so I wouldn't recommend this to a young teen. This is definitely more of a young adult/adult novel.
Summary:Vaclav and Lena seem destined for each other. They meet as children in an ESL class in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. Vaclav is precocious and verbal. Lena, struggling with English, takes comfort in the safety of his adoration, his noisy, loving home, and the care of Rasia, his big-hearted mother. Vaclav imagines their story unfolding like a fairy tale, or the perfect illusion from his treasured Magician’s Almanac, but among the many truths to be discovered in Haley Tanner’s wondrous debut is that happily ever after is never a foregone conclusion.
One day, Lena does not show up for school. She has disappeared from Vaclav and his family’s lives as if by a cruel magic trick. For the next seven years, Vaclav says goodnight to Lena without fail, wondering if she is doing the same somewhere. On the eve of Lena’s seventeenth birthday he finds out.
Haley Tanner has the originality and verve of a born storyteller, and the boldness to imagine a world in which love can overcome the most difficult circumstances. In Vaclav & Lena she has created two unforgettable young protagonists who evoke the joy, the confusion, and the passion of having a profound, everlasting connection with someone else.
My Thoughts: I'm really not 100% sure how I feel about this book. It was definitely easy to read, and I got through it rather quickly, but for some reason the whole thing didn't feel quite real. The characters didn't feel real, the entire story seemed to be taking place in some sort of dream world, not real life. In fact, for the first few chapters, I failed to realize that the book takes place in modern time, not in like the 40's or something. It's certainly a very moving book. Lena has had a very difficult life, and somehow, she has to deal with it all and get through it. Her coping mechanisms are not really healthy, but you feel like you understand her, like you know exactly how she is feeling.
The author certainly knows how to write. The metaphors and the way she describes things makes perfect sense, but I know if I tried to describe it, I would be totally lost for words. For example, here's a quote from near the end that I liked. "They keep their secrets in the safe pockets between their clasped palms, protecting them and wanting instinctively to shield them like tiny shiny frogs found in the wet grass, but wanting simultaneously to share them, to show and share such an exciting new thing."
It's really just kind of a story of trying to grow up and find your place in a country that is not your own. Vlaclav and Lena are both from Russia, and they struggle with finding acceptance in school where they do not fully understand the language. The way they think is so perfect, and it amazes me that the author could capture the mind of a child so perfectly. It's very deep and intense. You'll definitely come away feeling something in yourself, but what it is kind of depends on you. I liked it, but I wasn't sure how I liked the end. There was closure, but I still wanted more, which I guess tells you it was a good book, because I wasn't ready for it to be over. Despite the swearing, I would probably recommend this book, but again, only to someone maybe 17 and up, cuz the topics it covers are just too serious and intense for someone much younger to really understand.
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