NAMED BY THE NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION AS A 5 UNDER 35 AUTHOR

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 one day, Lena does not show up for school. She has disappeared from Vaclav and his family s...