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The Fortuneteller in 5B: Eleven-year-old Alexandria
Pilaf and her mother have lived in a small apartment on the Upper West Side
of Manhattan ever since the death of Alex's father just a year and a half
ago. Although his absence is still sorely felt, they're now trying to adjust
to life on their own. One day a mysterious new neighbor moves into the apartment
upstairs. Madame Van Dam is a fortuneteller, but Alex and her best friend
Jenny suspect she might be a witch or a vampire. After all, she speaks with
an accent Jenny thinks is Transylvanian, brews up concoctions with strange
herbs, and has a heavy trunk covered with foreign labels. Alex secretly hopes
that Madame Van Dam can really comunicate with spirits, and maybe contact
Alex's father. As Alex spends more time with her neighbor, she learns that
Madame Van Dam is not a mystical, magical being, but a real person with a
tragic past. Alex begins to realize that she isn't alone in her grief, and
that people who are strange or different aren't always to be feared. In fact,
sometimes they can turn out to be friends.
The New York Public Library Best Books List
Bank Street College of Education Selection
Great Neck Library Best Books List
"A warm story of two girls as they grow up and begin to find their place
in the world."
- School Library
Journal
"The author has created a portrait of an immensely likable sixth grade
girl."
- The Horn Book
(Henry Holt and Company, 1991; Scholastic, 1994) |
