Best friends Bea, Millie, and Nora live in Manhattan and do everything together. This includes slumber parties, exploring the neighborhood, and making those hand-held paper fortune tellers to fill their time.
That is until they stopped talking to each after a squabble over who was invited to a birthday party. Then came the pandemic and the girls moved away.
Friendship over.
Or maybe not.
It’s the summer before seventh grade and although they occasionally check each other’s social media accounts, it has been over a year since they’ve talked. Without warning their paper fortune tellers they were so obsessed with begin to reappear for each girl. The advice on each written message brings them closer to getting back together.
Told in multiple viewpoints featuring each girl and several flashback chapters, Fortune Tellers is a look at how elementary school friendships often don’t stay that way. Middle school with its focus on popularity often changes the dynamics of best friends.
The chosen format of various viewpoints might be a bit challenging for new readers, but most advanced readers should have no problem. The secondary characters brought added interest to the story although Sam and Rodge’s problems never were fully explored or solved.
Fortune Tellers is a nice choice for upper elementary readers (especially girls) and by the end you might be hoping for a sequel.
BOOK BIRTHDAY: May 7, 2024 PAGE COUNT: 240
FIVE MORE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: FORTUNE TELLERS by Lisa Greenwald
- The magical appearance of the paper fortune tellers makes for a wide open discussion as to how they kept reappearing. My guess was their former teacher planted them, but the answer is left up to the readers.
- The story demonstrates how social media has becomes a way to follow others even for upcoming middle school kids.
- Although the girls are brought back together it takes more than magic to reconnect in a positive way when hurt feelings are a part of the equation.
- Rodge is worried that his family’s reliance on donated food will have him targeted in middle school. Millie helps him see otherwise in a nice exchange of feelings.
- Many kids adore previous Lisa Greenwald books so Fortune Tellers will be a popular addition to school libraries.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LISA GREENWALD is the author of the Pink & Green series, Reel Life Starring Us, and Sweet Treats & Secret Crushes. She works in the library at the Birch Wathen Lenox School in Manhattan. She is a graduate of the New School’s MFA program in writing for children and lives in Manhattan. Visit her online at lisagreenwald.com. Follow her on Twitter at @lisagreenwald and on Instagram at @lisanngreenwald. (Learn more about Lisa in this interesting self-question interview format)
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I remember playing with those little paper things in school (we didn’t call them fortune tellers, but I can’t remember what we did call them!). Sounds like a fun way to develop the story (I’d like them to be actually magic of course! 🙂 ) Thanks for the recommendation!
Great review and like Valinora, I remember these! Awesome premise for a story. Thanks for highlighting it.
Sounds interesting. I will have to check it out.
High Five!! Love how we both featured this.
I remember Cootie Catchers too. Like Carol, I think they’re a cool premise for the story.
The paper fortune tellers were really popular a while ago. I haven’t seen any for some time, but I’m not around kids that much. Sounds like a great focal point for a MG novel. This one sounds really good. I’ll be looking for it. Thanks for the post.
I love the premise of this book, with the fortune-tellers acting almost like fate and bringing the main characters back together—and them having to figure out how to rebuild their connection. And I was one of those readers who loved Lisa Greenwald’s books when I was younger—I read My Life in Pink and Green more than once!! Thanks so much for the thoughtful review, Greg, and enjoy your week!