Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner

Vaclav and Lena

Author:  Haley Tanner

Publisher:  The Dial Press

Date Published:  May 17th 2011

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

From Goodreads:

Vaclav and Lena, both the children of Russian emigres, are at the same time from radically different worlds.  While Vaclav's burgeoning love of performing magic is indulged by hard-working parents pursuing the American dream, troubled orphan Lena is caught in a domestic situation no child should suffer through.  Taken in as one of her own by Vaclav's big-hearted mother, Lena might finally be able to blossom; in the naive young magician's eyes, she is destined to be his "faithful assistant"...but after a horrific discovery, the two are ripped apart without even a goodbye.  Years later, they meet again,  But will their past once more conspire to keep them apart?

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I'm not sure what I expected from Vaclav and Lena...a love story, I guess, one that made me smile in the end.  It's not what I got.  The tone is melancholy and the story that unfolded was hard to read.  Not because it was badly written but because you want these two characters to persevere.

The beginning starts off with a young Vaclav and Lena, and sets up their friendship and dreams. You get the feel of how close they are, yet can sense something is not right with Lena.  As the story goes Lena becomes whole, we find out how much life she has already experienced, and not a good one, at a young age.  The second half you meet up with teenage Vaclav and Lena, and you get the answers that aren't there in the first half.

I enjoyed Vaclav and Lena, it was sad and the characters stay with you.  It's a short read, one I recommend.