A delightful story - funny, sad, moving and refreshing - a perfect love story. A book to treasure. Welcome to Little Russia. This is a story about two Russian émigré children living in Brooklyn (a Borough) near Coney Island. Vaclav dreams of being a famous magician like David Copperfield with Lena as his lovely assistant. Vaclav 's love of magic is indulged by his parents - his mother Rasia adores him and his father Oleg really doesn't understand him, but tolerates his obsession with Magic. Lena’s, a troubled orphan, life is not so good. She is a shy girl who speaks very little English and understands even less. She lives with her Aunt Ekaterina, a dancer, and is left alone at night without proper supervision. Rasia feels sorry for her and takes her under her wing. One day Rasia makes a heartbreaking discovery. She calls the police and Lena simply vanishes from Vaclav's life. He is heartbroken and doesn't understand what happened - he blames his mother for Lena going away. Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner The Dial Press May 2011 Years go by and Vaclav is a young 17 year old boy with a girlfriend. He still practices his magic and dreams of Lena being his assistant - he hasn't forgotten her even after seven years. One night, out of the blue, Lena calls Vaclav. She wants to get together. He learns he was adopted, has a new mother, and has been living in New York all this time. Lena is not the shy little girl he once knew - she is a young lady speaking excellent English and going to a prestige school. She wants him to go to Russia with her to learn what happened to her parents. Vaclav keeps their meetings secret and Rasia is unaware Lena has come back into Vaclav's life. One day she returns home early and finds them in a comprising position - she is devastated. Vaclav insists that she tell him why Lena was taken away. She doesn't know anything about Lena's parents. Vaclav is determined to find out and goes to see Ekaterina. When Vaclav learns the horrible truth he cannot tell Lena so he makes up a convincing story. Lena know he is lying, but she wants so desperately to believe she had parents who loved her and were exactly as Vaclav said they were. This is a story of two best friends, separated for a period of time, but never forgotten. A story you will truly enjoy. Read a few pages and you will be hooked. Highly recommended. Haley Tanner is an excellent writer. This is her first novel, but I am confident it won't be her last.