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Fortune Tellers
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants meets That's So Raven in bestselling author Lisa Greenwald’s charming middle grade novel about three recently separated best friends who discover the paper fortune tellers they made in third grade are the key to staying close through middle school.
What if your fortunes really came true?
Once upon a time, Millie, Nora, and Bea were best friends who loved slumber parties, exploring their Manhattan neighborhood, and making fortune tellers with their Magic Markers. Now, in the summer before seventh grade, they haven’t spoken in over a year—thanks to a big fight, the pandemic shutting down their school, and each girl moving away for different reasons. The girls routinely check each other’s social media, but none of them can muster the courage to reach out, even if they might want to.
Then their long-ago paper fortune tellers start popping up in the most unexpected places. The fortunes carry some eerily accurate wisdom for each girl: Your future is hidden in your past. Hold on to the memories. Go back to where you started. Could this be the push the girls need to reconnect and reunite? Or is the gap between them too wide to mend?
What if your fortunes really came true?
Once upon a time, Millie, Nora, and Bea were best friends who loved slumber parties, exploring their Manhattan neighborhood, and making fortune tellers with their Magic Markers. Now, in the summer before seventh grade, they haven’t spoken in over a year—thanks to a big fight, the pandemic shutting down their school, and each girl moving away for different reasons. The girls routinely check each other’s social media, but none of them can muster the courage to reach out, even if they might want to.
Then their long-ago paper fortune tellers start popping up in the most unexpected places. The fortunes carry some eerily accurate wisdom for each girl: Your future is hidden in your past. Hold on to the memories. Go back to where you started. Could this be the push the girls need to reconnect and reunite? Or is the gap between them too wide to mend?
240 pages, Hardcover
Published May 7, 2024
30 people are currently reading
2883 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Greenwald
37 books480 followersA long bio can be kind of boring, so instead I'm going to pretend
that a famous journalist (maybe Barbara Walters) is interviewing me.
The only thing is, I'm making up the questions.
If you think of any other questions you'd like me to answer, send me an email and ask away!
Q. Where did you grow up?
A. I lived in Fairfield, Connecticut until the end of fifth grade and then I moved to Roslyn Heights, New York. That's on Long Island. But I don't have a bad Lawn Guyland accent, I promise.
Q. Do you have any siblings?
A. Yes, I have two younger brothers. I always wanted a sister, but it's kind of nice being the only daughter in the family, and my brothers and I are really close.
Q. What about the rest of your family? Are you close with them too?
A. Yes, family is really important to me. I talk to my parents and grandparents every day.
Q. Are you married?
A. Yes, to a fabulous guy named Dave. We met at sleep away camp when I was sixteen.
Q. Do you have any kids?
A. Yes, my daughter Aleah Violet Rosenberg was born on May 28th, 2010 and I personally think she's the cutest baby in the world, but of course I am biased.
Q. Do you have any pets?
A. I had a miniature toy poodle named Yoffi, but he died in 2007. I miss him so much.
Q. That's sad. Do you think you will get another dog?
A. I would love to adopt one very soon!
Q. What is your favorite book?
A. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt is my favorite book in the whole entire world. I read it in sixth grade in Ms. Mayer's class. I have read many books since then, but Tuck Everlasting is still my absolute favorite.
Q. What is your favorite movie?
A. I have two. Clueless and Avalon.
Q. What's one of the craziest things that's ever happened to you?
A. I won a radio contest at the end of eighth grade! Someone from Z100 called me up and asked me to say the "phrase that pays" and I answered correctly. I won a thousand dollars.
Q. Did you always want to be a writer?
A. No, not always. I wanted to be a hair stylist, then a concert pianist, then a rabbi. But I always loved making up stories, so I think writing is the perfect job for me.
Q. Where did you go to college?
A. I went to Binghamton University in upstate New York. I was an English major with a concentration in creative writing. It's reallllllllly cold in Binghamton. Then two years after I graduated college, I went to The New School to get my MFA in writing for children.
Q. You mentioned that you met Dave at sleep away camp. Did you really like sleep away camp?
A. YES! I loved it. I went to Eisner Camp in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. I would go back to camp forever if only I could. Sleep away camp is the best place in the world.
Q. Tell me some other things you really like.
A. Okay. Here's a short list: sleeping late, fancy hotels, reading and writing (duh!,) peanut m&ms, flip flops, sweatpants, people watching, New York City, cheese omelets, weddings, pedicures, looking at old pictures and re-reading old cards and letters.
Q. Tell me some things you really dislike.
A. Peas, mean people, rats and mice, sweating, pants and skirts with a side zipper, spicy food, uncomfortable shoes, people clipping their nails on the subway, feeling lonely or thinking about other people who might feel lonely.
Q. MY LIFE IN PINK & GREEN is about a pharmacy. Do you really like pharmacies?
A. Yes, I love them! I love the way they smell and the way the aisles are arranged. I love when the pharmacists know the customers and I love looking at all the beauty products.
Q. Do you write every day?
A. I try to, but in addition to writing I also work in the library at The Birch Wathen Lenox School in Manhattan. I love being around kids and books and talking to kids about books!
Q. I don't have any more questions. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
A. Just that I hope readers like my book, and I'd love to hear from all of them if they want to talk to me!
that a famous journalist (maybe Barbara Walters) is interviewing me.
The only thing is, I'm making up the questions.
If you think of any other questions you'd like me to answer, send me an email and ask away!
Q. Where did you grow up?
A. I lived in Fairfield, Connecticut until the end of fifth grade and then I moved to Roslyn Heights, New York. That's on Long Island. But I don't have a bad Lawn Guyland accent, I promise.
Q. Do you have any siblings?
A. Yes, I have two younger brothers. I always wanted a sister, but it's kind of nice being the only daughter in the family, and my brothers and I are really close.
Q. What about the rest of your family? Are you close with them too?
A. Yes, family is really important to me. I talk to my parents and grandparents every day.
Q. Are you married?
A. Yes, to a fabulous guy named Dave. We met at sleep away camp when I was sixteen.
Q. Do you have any kids?
A. Yes, my daughter Aleah Violet Rosenberg was born on May 28th, 2010 and I personally think she's the cutest baby in the world, but of course I am biased.
Q. Do you have any pets?
A. I had a miniature toy poodle named Yoffi, but he died in 2007. I miss him so much.
Q. That's sad. Do you think you will get another dog?
A. I would love to adopt one very soon!
Q. What is your favorite book?
A. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt is my favorite book in the whole entire world. I read it in sixth grade in Ms. Mayer's class. I have read many books since then, but Tuck Everlasting is still my absolute favorite.
Q. What is your favorite movie?
A. I have two. Clueless and Avalon.
Q. What's one of the craziest things that's ever happened to you?
A. I won a radio contest at the end of eighth grade! Someone from Z100 called me up and asked me to say the "phrase that pays" and I answered correctly. I won a thousand dollars.
Q. Did you always want to be a writer?
A. No, not always. I wanted to be a hair stylist, then a concert pianist, then a rabbi. But I always loved making up stories, so I think writing is the perfect job for me.
Q. Where did you go to college?
A. I went to Binghamton University in upstate New York. I was an English major with a concentration in creative writing. It's reallllllllly cold in Binghamton. Then two years after I graduated college, I went to The New School to get my MFA in writing for children.
Q. You mentioned that you met Dave at sleep away camp. Did you really like sleep away camp?
A. YES! I loved it. I went to Eisner Camp in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. I would go back to camp forever if only I could. Sleep away camp is the best place in the world.
Q. Tell me some other things you really like.
A. Okay. Here's a short list: sleeping late, fancy hotels, reading and writing (duh!,) peanut m&ms, flip flops, sweatpants, people watching, New York City, cheese omelets, weddings, pedicures, looking at old pictures and re-reading old cards and letters.
Q. Tell me some things you really dislike.
A. Peas, mean people, rats and mice, sweating, pants and skirts with a side zipper, spicy food, uncomfortable shoes, people clipping their nails on the subway, feeling lonely or thinking about other people who might feel lonely.
Q. MY LIFE IN PINK & GREEN is about a pharmacy. Do you really like pharmacies?
A. Yes, I love them! I love the way they smell and the way the aisles are arranged. I love when the pharmacists know the customers and I love looking at all the beauty products.
Q. Do you write every day?
A. I try to, but in addition to writing I also work in the library at The Birch Wathen Lenox School in Manhattan. I love being around kids and books and talking to kids about books!
Q. I don't have any more questions. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
A. Just that I hope readers like my book, and I'd love to hear from all of them if they want to talk to me!
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
August 16, 2025
I would have really liked this book as a kid. It follows three best friends that split up after a typical elementary girl drama and then come back together. The magic of the fortune tellers was a nice touch!
March 22, 2024
Okay I reviewed this with a brief review but here are my full thoughts:
Bea, Millie, and Nora have been best friends their whole lives. They have a falling out after Nora gets invited to popular girl Quinn's birthday party, snubbing Millie, and later declares their favorite past time, making fortune tellers, to be babyish. Then, their school closes for Covid-19 and the girls all move away. Bea moves to a different neighborhood within NYC and makes friends with a girl named Sam, whom she actively dislikes. Nora moves to the suburbs and becomes friends with two girls, but she also dislikes them. Millie moves to a lake community and meets a boy who she may or may not like-like. They each struggle with their new lives and grapple with the loss of their communities. Over the course of the book, they mysteriously find their old fortune tellers that will give them clues on how to save their school.
Honestly, I didn't like this. First of all, the fortune teller thing was sold as the main premise of this book. Supposedly, the fortune tellers are actually telling the future, but they're all just generic messages. I also felt like the girls were all interchangeable. They all moved and hated their new lives, and two of them had new friends that they didn't like. They didn't have very well developed personalities beyond being upset with their current situations, not liking their new peers, and being generic middle school girls. I wanted more from the author. There was no point to having multiple perspectives when their voices were effectively the same.
Speaking of perspective and voice, I did not enjoy how colloquial the narrative was. I expect slang in the dialog, but the author used the word "comfy" multiple times, and not in any instance where a character was speaking.
My last note, and a sort-of spoiler--
Bea, Millie, and Nora have been best friends their whole lives. They have a falling out after Nora gets invited to popular girl Quinn's birthday party, snubbing Millie, and later declares their favorite past time, making fortune tellers, to be babyish. Then, their school closes for Covid-19 and the girls all move away. Bea moves to a different neighborhood within NYC and makes friends with a girl named Sam, whom she actively dislikes. Nora moves to the suburbs and becomes friends with two girls, but she also dislikes them. Millie moves to a lake community and meets a boy who she may or may not like-like. They each struggle with their new lives and grapple with the loss of their communities. Over the course of the book, they mysteriously find their old fortune tellers that will give them clues on how to save their school.
Honestly, I didn't like this. First of all, the fortune teller thing was sold as the main premise of this book. Supposedly, the fortune tellers are actually telling the future, but they're all just generic messages. I also felt like the girls were all interchangeable. They all moved and hated their new lives, and two of them had new friends that they didn't like. They didn't have very well developed personalities beyond being upset with their current situations, not liking their new peers, and being generic middle school girls. I wanted more from the author. There was no point to having multiple perspectives when their voices were effectively the same.
Speaking of perspective and voice, I did not enjoy how colloquial the narrative was. I expect slang in the dialog, but the author used the word "comfy" multiple times, and not in any instance where a character was speaking.
My last note, and a sort-of spoiler--
February 9, 2024
Wonderful story of friendship, lost and found! Greenwald’s book opens with a trio of 3rd grade girls, Bea, Millie and Nora, forever friends who set out to make and sell paper fortune-tellers to their classmates to fund a grade wide party. The next bits tell the sad tale of a huge fight in the fifth grade that breaks their bond plus the pandemic, transitions to new communities and family reconfigurations, all revealed from the three different perspectives, then brings us to the summer before 7th grade. Mysterious reappearances of fortune tellers that seem to be done by their 3rd grade selves but also NOT being done by the young and slightly goofy girls leads to reconciliation and a reunion of far more than just the girls’ friendship. Wonderful character development as well as lessons in conflict resolution and adjustments to new life scenarios. Target audience is likely grades 4-6 and its length of 240 pages may make it more appealing/accessible to a wide spectrum of readers. Text is free of profanity, sexual content and violence. Representation: a variety of family configurations such as single parent, step families; a family experiencing food insecurity; one family member with epilepsy that affects the dynamics of the group. Recommended for those with readership in the realistic fiction genre. Note: the touch of magic in the fortune tellers is never explained but left to the musings of the reader.
Thanks for the eARC, NetGalley.
Thanks for the eARC, NetGalley.
July 6, 2024
Three middle schoolers get separated after a big fight but then Covid happens and the school goes online. Plus, their lives change so much that they move with their families facing issues like taking care of relatives, divorce of parents and parents taking up a new job in a small town.
The three friends seem to be reluctant to accept their new lives or move on having unfinished business. Then suddenly, with a pinch of magic realism, they start to find fortune tellers everywhere with messages that have exactly what they need to hear.
This book is not just about saving friendships but goes all the way up to community. They get together to save their school from closing for good. They are not the only ones who loved the school and the teachers, recognizing its magic in their lives and they hope more children will experience it. Their love for kindness, and caring for others and the community. I loved that they offered friendship instead of resentment. Also, they know when to apologize leaving pride aside for what it's relevant.
A very sweet, cozy, friendship story that will also please adult readers.
Thank you publisher for the copy.
The three friends seem to be reluctant to accept their new lives or move on having unfinished business. Then suddenly, with a pinch of magic realism, they start to find fortune tellers everywhere with messages that have exactly what they need to hear.
This book is not just about saving friendships but goes all the way up to community. They get together to save their school from closing for good. They are not the only ones who loved the school and the teachers, recognizing its magic in their lives and they hope more children will experience it. Their love for kindness, and caring for others and the community. I loved that they offered friendship instead of resentment. Also, they know when to apologize leaving pride aside for what it's relevant.
A very sweet, cozy, friendship story that will also please adult readers.
Thank you publisher for the copy.
May 18, 2024
Millie, Nora, and Bea were inseparable best friends until their worlds fell apart, both separately and collectively. An epic fight with many hurt feelings begin the girls' separation, and then they are forced to move away from each other. A year later, none of them are doing well, each is lonely in her own way and none of them have ever stopped thinking of the other two. The paper fortune tellers that the girls made suddenly start appearing, even though all three girls are certain they destroyed and disposed of every last one of them, leading the girls back to each other.
Very sweet realistic fiction story of fights and forgiveness. It will find an audience with tween and young teen girls who are navigating friendships and family issues. This book is more middle school learning, as there are some "boob" references and minor cussing ("p!ssed off"), but otherwise I don't see the other content being inappropriate for upper elementary readers as well.
Very sweet realistic fiction story of fights and forgiveness. It will find an audience with tween and young teen girls who are navigating friendships and family issues. This book is more middle school learning, as there are some "boob" references and minor cussing ("p!ssed off"), but otherwise I don't see the other content being inappropriate for upper elementary readers as well.
May 21, 2024
"I want to be a fortune teller, like for my job one day, Nora said curled up tight in the corner of Bea's top bunk bed."
Nora, Bea and Millie were inseparable after they met on the first day of kindergarten at Shire School in Manhattan's Upper East Side. In third grade, they began making Fortune Tellers with their Write Your Destiny markers, special markers that seemed to make their messages come magically true. The trio shared sleepovers, skate parties, and celebrated every birthday together, until the day their friendship came to an end just before sixth grade.
A rift formed when Bea and Nora, attended a classmates birthday party and Millie was excluded. Following the birthday incident, the Pandemic began, and their cherished school closed, which led to them being separated. Millie's father quit his job as the super at an apartment complex and found a new job managing cottages in the country. Nora's parents divorced, leading to her and her sister Penelope living with their mom, seeing their dad only occasionally. And Bea's family moved to a bigger house to support her Aunt Claire, who suffers from uncontrollable seizures and requires constant monitoring. Both Bea and her twin, Danny assist their mom with keeping an eye on their aunt.
While cleaning out her desk and getting ready for the first day of a new school year, Bea discovers a fortune teller. She thought she had discarded them all after their fight. They made hundreds of them before, yet she's pretty sure she ripped all of hers to pieces. Soon Nora and Millie also find fortune tellers, with messages of encouragement, or just the right words that they seem to need to hear. Their fortunes used to be silly, but now the messages are serious, appearing in the least expected places. Why is it that they suddenly reappeared so mysteriously after all these years?
Bea and Nora receive an unexpected surprise from their former teacher, Ms. Steinhaur, a box filled with fortune tellers. With the gift is a letter informing them that the Shire School has had difficulties, with the lower grades having closed since the Pandemic and they're now trying to determine the future direction of the school. Nora contacts Bea via email, leading to the girls having their first group chat in almost two years. Bea discovers the school's urgent need for ambassadors and fundraising. Motivated to help save their school, the trio reunite and develop a plan to hold a huge gathering of all the former students and alumni.
I recall making Fortune Tellers in school, although I think we referred to them as Cootie Catchers. If you constructed it properly, hidden inside you could write questions, answers or responses like yes, no, maybe and try again. Our own version of a magic eight ball. It was fun to reminisce about them while reading the book.
Fortune Tellers delves into the themes of food insecurity and the effects of a family member's epilepsy on the whole family. The story alternates among Nora, Bea and Millie, with an occasional flashback to the third and fourth grade. Each girl is nervous about starting seventh grade and how everything seems to be changing. They experience worries over popularity, boys, the status of their current friendships and unhappiness since drifting apart over a year ago. The fortune tellers serve as a bit of magic reminding them of their unresolved argument and wish to reconcile. There's valuable messaging about expressing feelings resolving conflicts, or simply forgiving each other. Which is never too late to start.
**A huge thank you to Spark Point Studio for the E-ARC via NetGalley**
Nora, Bea and Millie were inseparable after they met on the first day of kindergarten at Shire School in Manhattan's Upper East Side. In third grade, they began making Fortune Tellers with their Write Your Destiny markers, special markers that seemed to make their messages come magically true. The trio shared sleepovers, skate parties, and celebrated every birthday together, until the day their friendship came to an end just before sixth grade.
A rift formed when Bea and Nora, attended a classmates birthday party and Millie was excluded. Following the birthday incident, the Pandemic began, and their cherished school closed, which led to them being separated. Millie's father quit his job as the super at an apartment complex and found a new job managing cottages in the country. Nora's parents divorced, leading to her and her sister Penelope living with their mom, seeing their dad only occasionally. And Bea's family moved to a bigger house to support her Aunt Claire, who suffers from uncontrollable seizures and requires constant monitoring. Both Bea and her twin, Danny assist their mom with keeping an eye on their aunt.
While cleaning out her desk and getting ready for the first day of a new school year, Bea discovers a fortune teller. She thought she had discarded them all after their fight. They made hundreds of them before, yet she's pretty sure she ripped all of hers to pieces. Soon Nora and Millie also find fortune tellers, with messages of encouragement, or just the right words that they seem to need to hear. Their fortunes used to be silly, but now the messages are serious, appearing in the least expected places. Why is it that they suddenly reappeared so mysteriously after all these years?
Bea and Nora receive an unexpected surprise from their former teacher, Ms. Steinhaur, a box filled with fortune tellers. With the gift is a letter informing them that the Shire School has had difficulties, with the lower grades having closed since the Pandemic and they're now trying to determine the future direction of the school. Nora contacts Bea via email, leading to the girls having their first group chat in almost two years. Bea discovers the school's urgent need for ambassadors and fundraising. Motivated to help save their school, the trio reunite and develop a plan to hold a huge gathering of all the former students and alumni.
I recall making Fortune Tellers in school, although I think we referred to them as Cootie Catchers. If you constructed it properly, hidden inside you could write questions, answers or responses like yes, no, maybe and try again. Our own version of a magic eight ball. It was fun to reminisce about them while reading the book.
Fortune Tellers delves into the themes of food insecurity and the effects of a family member's epilepsy on the whole family. The story alternates among Nora, Bea and Millie, with an occasional flashback to the third and fourth grade. Each girl is nervous about starting seventh grade and how everything seems to be changing. They experience worries over popularity, boys, the status of their current friendships and unhappiness since drifting apart over a year ago. The fortune tellers serve as a bit of magic reminding them of their unresolved argument and wish to reconcile. There's valuable messaging about expressing feelings resolving conflicts, or simply forgiving each other. Which is never too late to start.
**A huge thank you to Spark Point Studio for the E-ARC via NetGalley**
June 11, 2025
Vetting this book for my elementary library. Cute story about friendship.
April 14, 2025
It's about three girls that were Fortune tellers. And they were friends, but they all moved and didn't like excited sorta
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2024
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
In fifth grade, Nora, Bea, and Millie were inseparable friends who attended the Shire School, a hippyish sort of school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. They spend a lot of time hanging out together, making fortune tellers with their Write Your Destiny marker set. After a falling out of a birthday party to which not all of them were invited, the school shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic. In the time since then, Nora's parents divorced, and she and her sister Penelope moved with they mother. She's now friends with Jade and Esme, who care more about clothes and boys than Nora does. Bea's Aunt Clare moved in with her family because of her uncontrolled epilepsy, and Bea's mother is stressed dealing with Clare's seizures. Her twin, Danny, seems to be the reason her new best friend, Sam, hangs around her. Millie has the biggest change of all; her father was an apartment building superintendent, but toom a job in the suburbs running a cottage community by the lake that is transitioning from being for summer visitors to accomodating more year round ones. When Bea is trying to organize her room for the new school year, she finds one of the fortune tellers the girls made; the other girls find them as well, in odd places and at odd times. Nora and Bea even get a box of them from one of their teachers, Ms. Steinhaur. Not only that, but the fortune tellers seem to be giving them messages! When a letter comes from the Shire School announcing that there are changes in the works, the girls reconnect and talk about the fortune tellers and vow to get together. After Bea skips school and attends a meeting, she offers to put together a fund raiser to try to save the school. She only has a week, but her old friends band together to help. Will the three be able to save the school and get to the root cause of the problems with their friendship?
Strengths: At first, I thought this would revisit the three friends in Greenwald's 2010 Sweet Treats and Secret Crushes, which is my favorite Valentine's Day book! The covers seem to go together. Late elementary school can be filled with so much drama, and it is completely realistic that the three girls might have ended their friendship over a birthday party invitation. I'm still not sure why Jamie and Pam stopped being my friend in fourth grade, but those trios are hard to sustain. I did appreciate the information at the end about why the whole event occurred. Elementary school engender very strong feelings, so I can see why the girls were willing to go to such effort to try to save their school. The fortune tellers are a fun way to introduce magic to the plot; who hasn't made at least one of those at some point? There are a lot of good incidental characters, like Rodge at Nora's cottage community, who is struggling to start school when his family has to get their food from a local pantry, and he's worried about being made fun of. The use of social media to keep track of former friends is an interesting inclusion and will definitely resonate with young readers. Greenwald's books are super popular with my students, and they will be thrilled to see this new title with it's bright and happy cover!
Weaknesses: Not only is this does this switch point of view between the three girls, but there are some flashbacks as well. Some of my emerging readers struggle with this, so I would have liked a simpler format. It would have been interesting to get more information about Aunt Clare's condition, but it didn't have that much bearing on the story.
What I really think: This is a fun book filled with tween drama and a little bit of magic that will be great for readers of Messner's All the Answers, Vrettos' Best Friends for Never, or Harper's Dreamer, Wisher, Liar.
In fifth grade, Nora, Bea, and Millie were inseparable friends who attended the Shire School, a hippyish sort of school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. They spend a lot of time hanging out together, making fortune tellers with their Write Your Destiny marker set. After a falling out of a birthday party to which not all of them were invited, the school shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic. In the time since then, Nora's parents divorced, and she and her sister Penelope moved with they mother. She's now friends with Jade and Esme, who care more about clothes and boys than Nora does. Bea's Aunt Clare moved in with her family because of her uncontrolled epilepsy, and Bea's mother is stressed dealing with Clare's seizures. Her twin, Danny, seems to be the reason her new best friend, Sam, hangs around her. Millie has the biggest change of all; her father was an apartment building superintendent, but toom a job in the suburbs running a cottage community by the lake that is transitioning from being for summer visitors to accomodating more year round ones. When Bea is trying to organize her room for the new school year, she finds one of the fortune tellers the girls made; the other girls find them as well, in odd places and at odd times. Nora and Bea even get a box of them from one of their teachers, Ms. Steinhaur. Not only that, but the fortune tellers seem to be giving them messages! When a letter comes from the Shire School announcing that there are changes in the works, the girls reconnect and talk about the fortune tellers and vow to get together. After Bea skips school and attends a meeting, she offers to put together a fund raiser to try to save the school. She only has a week, but her old friends band together to help. Will the three be able to save the school and get to the root cause of the problems with their friendship?
Strengths: At first, I thought this would revisit the three friends in Greenwald's 2010 Sweet Treats and Secret Crushes, which is my favorite Valentine's Day book! The covers seem to go together. Late elementary school can be filled with so much drama, and it is completely realistic that the three girls might have ended their friendship over a birthday party invitation. I'm still not sure why Jamie and Pam stopped being my friend in fourth grade, but those trios are hard to sustain. I did appreciate the information at the end about why the whole event occurred. Elementary school engender very strong feelings, so I can see why the girls were willing to go to such effort to try to save their school. The fortune tellers are a fun way to introduce magic to the plot; who hasn't made at least one of those at some point? There are a lot of good incidental characters, like Rodge at Nora's cottage community, who is struggling to start school when his family has to get their food from a local pantry, and he's worried about being made fun of. The use of social media to keep track of former friends is an interesting inclusion and will definitely resonate with young readers. Greenwald's books are super popular with my students, and they will be thrilled to see this new title with it's bright and happy cover!
Weaknesses: Not only is this does this switch point of view between the three girls, but there are some flashbacks as well. Some of my emerging readers struggle with this, so I would have liked a simpler format. It would have been interesting to get more information about Aunt Clare's condition, but it didn't have that much bearing on the story.
What I really think: This is a fun book filled with tween drama and a little bit of magic that will be great for readers of Messner's All the Answers, Vrettos' Best Friends for Never, or Harper's Dreamer, Wisher, Liar.
March 21, 2024
I can't seem to get past 3 stars on Greenwald's books. I always feel like the writing is bland. Characters and plot don't go deep enough. For example, in this story with three alternating perspectives, I felt like there was really just one character with three different names. And even though each character had a different storyline, none of them were memorable. Because. Not enough details. I felt like I was reading in a cloud. Every time I went back to read, I had to really think to get myself back into the story. Maybe this is why one of my students has had 11 Before 12 checked out for 4 months, and when I questioned her about it, she said she isn't finished. 4 months and counting to finish a book? Pretty typical of Greenwald in my library.
In this one, we have Bea, Nora, and Millie, three best friends who attended a private school in Manhattan, until Covid hit, closing the school and sending each girl elsewhere. Through a flashback technique, which was confusing, we learn that these best friends had a falling out in fifth grade. At one time they were obsessed with making paper fortune tellers, but by fifth grade Nora was over it, thinking it babyish, Millie was still into it, and Bea was caught somewhere in the middle. A fight ensued over a party Millie was not invited to, which put an end to the friendship. Typical tween drama.
Now they are living separate lives, in separate schools, not really adjusting. Millie's dad is managing a lakeside community. Bea's mom is trying to take care of her epileptic aunt while Bea deals with a very annoying friend. Nora has it the best. She's found the "in" crowd, but she's still not happy. Then the weird thing happens. All three girls start finding old fortune tellers they thought they'd thrown out, but the fortunes don't sound anything like what a third grader would have written. Even weirder, the fortune seems to be in alignment with exactly what they need to hear.
Because of the fortune tellers, they end up reconnecting through social media, admitting they REALLY miss each other, and organizing an event to save their old school. It's all so neat and tidy, and yet so unrealistic. And I just couldn't get a good mental visual of their new lives. I seriously needed better description. It was like dry cookie dough, crumbly, without enough liquid holding it together. The alternating friendship series my students STILL love is The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Frederick. Well delineated characters and a strong plot. A standalone book my girls love is The Retake by Jen Calonita.
In this one, we have Bea, Nora, and Millie, three best friends who attended a private school in Manhattan, until Covid hit, closing the school and sending each girl elsewhere. Through a flashback technique, which was confusing, we learn that these best friends had a falling out in fifth grade. At one time they were obsessed with making paper fortune tellers, but by fifth grade Nora was over it, thinking it babyish, Millie was still into it, and Bea was caught somewhere in the middle. A fight ensued over a party Millie was not invited to, which put an end to the friendship. Typical tween drama.
Now they are living separate lives, in separate schools, not really adjusting. Millie's dad is managing a lakeside community. Bea's mom is trying to take care of her epileptic aunt while Bea deals with a very annoying friend. Nora has it the best. She's found the "in" crowd, but she's still not happy. Then the weird thing happens. All three girls start finding old fortune tellers they thought they'd thrown out, but the fortunes don't sound anything like what a third grader would have written. Even weirder, the fortune seems to be in alignment with exactly what they need to hear.
Because of the fortune tellers, they end up reconnecting through social media, admitting they REALLY miss each other, and organizing an event to save their old school. It's all so neat and tidy, and yet so unrealistic. And I just couldn't get a good mental visual of their new lives. I seriously needed better description. It was like dry cookie dough, crumbly, without enough liquid holding it together. The alternating friendship series my students STILL love is The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Frederick. Well delineated characters and a strong plot. A standalone book my girls love is The Retake by Jen Calonita.
April 22, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's for a digital review copy. All opinions are my own.
I wanted to like this more than I actually did. Bea, Nora, and Millie were best friends. They did everything together including getting absolutely obsessed with making fortune tellers in the 3rd grade. Their friendship gets interrupted by a falling out over popularity and a feeling of growing up which got extended by Covid. During that time, the three all moved away from New York City and had to start over. But the "magical" fortune tellers that they had created in 3rd grade started to come back to them and somehow manages to bring the group back together.
I think Greenwald was trying to do too much in this story. Bea moved to Brooklyn so that her mom could take care of Bea's aunt who had epilepsy and was dealing with progressively worse seizures. Nora moved to Westchester and had to deal with the popular girls there who were obsessed with dating and appearances. Millie moved to a camp ground type place and then meets a boy whose family is dealing with financial issues and is going through food insecurity.
The story felt forced at times. By the end I realized that it was about being honest with your friends and with yourself. That in the same way that you can never find love if you don't love yourself, you "can never really be that close someone until you open up to them."
I wanted to like this more than I actually did. Bea, Nora, and Millie were best friends. They did everything together including getting absolutely obsessed with making fortune tellers in the 3rd grade. Their friendship gets interrupted by a falling out over popularity and a feeling of growing up which got extended by Covid. During that time, the three all moved away from New York City and had to start over. But the "magical" fortune tellers that they had created in 3rd grade started to come back to them and somehow manages to bring the group back together.
I think Greenwald was trying to do too much in this story. Bea moved to Brooklyn so that her mom could take care of Bea's aunt who had epilepsy and was dealing with progressively worse seizures. Nora moved to Westchester and had to deal with the popular girls there who were obsessed with dating and appearances. Millie moved to a camp ground type place and then meets a boy whose family is dealing with financial issues and is going through food insecurity.
The story felt forced at times. By the end I realized that it was about being honest with your friends and with yourself. That in the same way that you can never find love if you don't love yourself, you "can never really be that close someone until you open up to them."
June 3, 2025
Wow it's been a while since I last read a novel by Lisa Greenwald! I originally bought this novel for my niece last year, because I remember hunting for Lisa Greenwald's books at her age when I'd go to the library, but she got super into the other series I'd bought her so I read it myself.
Millie was my favourite character. I found her charming, and her bursts of raw emotion were almost comforting, and her experiences with her friends were relatable. I liked Bea and Nora as well. I related to Bea and Sam's friendship from when I was that age...not as intense as someone just inviting themselves into my house, but I did know someone like Sam as well. Knew a few Quinn's too. Honestly, it was a really relatable read.
I gave it three stars overall because for me it was a good book, I just felt that the ending was a bit rushed? The magic part of it didn't seem to get explained at the end, and I almost wish that Rodge's character or Danny (Bea's twin brother) were involved in the discovery of that. I know this is a series, and the next book just released this year so I may consider reading the next book. Overall, it was fun reading a book by an old favourite author and I'm happy to know that kids get to read Lisa Greenwald, and I hope they're just as excited to see her books on the shelves as I was at that age.
I'd definitely recommend Fortune Tellers to a reader who is 8-10 and likes books with friendship or school drama, like The Babysitters Club.
Millie was my favourite character. I found her charming, and her bursts of raw emotion were almost comforting, and her experiences with her friends were relatable. I liked Bea and Nora as well. I related to Bea and Sam's friendship from when I was that age...not as intense as someone just inviting themselves into my house, but I did know someone like Sam as well. Knew a few Quinn's too. Honestly, it was a really relatable read.
I gave it three stars overall because for me it was a good book, I just felt that the ending was a bit rushed? The magic part of it didn't seem to get explained at the end, and I almost wish that Rodge's character or Danny (Bea's twin brother) were involved in the discovery of that. I know this is a series, and the next book just released this year so I may consider reading the next book. Overall, it was fun reading a book by an old favourite author and I'm happy to know that kids get to read Lisa Greenwald, and I hope they're just as excited to see her books on the shelves as I was at that age.
I'd definitely recommend Fortune Tellers to a reader who is 8-10 and likes books with friendship or school drama, like The Babysitters Club.
July 18, 2024
Audience: Upper Elementary/Middle School
Topics: friendships, COVID lockdowns, moving
Three best friends who were once inseparable break up when feelings are hurt when only one is invited to a party. Before the girls can work through their issues COVID lockdowns close their school and the friends all move away. Fast forward to the summer before 7th grade and the girls are still not on speaking terms that is until fortune tellers start magically appearing. Will the magic of the fortune tellers bring the girls back together or will they friendship be forever broken?
Girl drama is real especially in the middle grade years. Many times small things get blown out of proportion and friendships end. This book speaks to middle grade girls who may be going through friendship struggles. The multiple points of views reveal to the reader that all three friends miss each other, but are too afraid of rejection to reach out to their other friends. This was a sweet story about friendships lost and found. Hand this book to any readers who want a realistic story about the ups and downs friendship with just a hint of magic!
Cover Appeal: Will grab the attention of students familiar with fortune tellers. Does also have middle school appeal.
Overall Review: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Topics: friendships, COVID lockdowns, moving
Three best friends who were once inseparable break up when feelings are hurt when only one is invited to a party. Before the girls can work through their issues COVID lockdowns close their school and the friends all move away. Fast forward to the summer before 7th grade and the girls are still not on speaking terms that is until fortune tellers start magically appearing. Will the magic of the fortune tellers bring the girls back together or will they friendship be forever broken?
Girl drama is real especially in the middle grade years. Many times small things get blown out of proportion and friendships end. This book speaks to middle grade girls who may be going through friendship struggles. The multiple points of views reveal to the reader that all three friends miss each other, but are too afraid of rejection to reach out to their other friends. This was a sweet story about friendships lost and found. Hand this book to any readers who want a realistic story about the ups and downs friendship with just a hint of magic!
Cover Appeal: Will grab the attention of students familiar with fortune tellers. Does also have middle school appeal.
Overall Review: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
May 2, 2024
Bea, Millie, and Nora had been best friends since kindergarten. One of their favorite things to do was making paper fortune tellers. After a falling out, their friendship broke. Added to the situation was that the school closed due to a pandemic and family breakups caused moves for a couple of the girls. They miss each other terribly, but none want to take the initiative to contact the others.
Enter the mysterious appearance of fortune tellers. The fortunes the girls find in these are much wiser than any 3rd grader would write. Where did they come from? Hadn't the girls thrown away every last one of them after their fight? (Readers will be left using their imagination to understand the magic of the whole thing.)
It's an interesting journey as the fortune tellers bring the friends back together.
Middle-school girls will enjoy this tale of friendship. They can relate to the drama experienced when friendships are tested. They may enjoy the budding romance of first boyfriends. Ultimately, it's a story of friendship lost and found and teamwork to make something special happen. A good read for 4th and 5th grade girls.
Enter the mysterious appearance of fortune tellers. The fortunes the girls find in these are much wiser than any 3rd grader would write. Where did they come from? Hadn't the girls thrown away every last one of them after their fight? (Readers will be left using their imagination to understand the magic of the whole thing.)
It's an interesting journey as the fortune tellers bring the friends back together.
Middle-school girls will enjoy this tale of friendship. They can relate to the drama experienced when friendships are tested. They may enjoy the budding romance of first boyfriends. Ultimately, it's a story of friendship lost and found and teamwork to make something special happen. A good read for 4th and 5th grade girls.
February 17, 2024
Bea, Millie, and Nora became best friends in 3rd grade while attending The Shire, a private school in Manhattan. They loved to make paper fortune tellers, even selling them as a school fundraiser. In 5th grade, they got into a fight about attending another student's birthday party. Covid hit, the school closed, and the three girls' families moved out of the city. Fastforward to the summer before 7th grade and the three girls find a paper fortune teller despite having ripped them apart due to their fight. Will this be what it takes to reconnect?
I found this book to realistically examine how students felt when schools closed in 2020 due to Covid. Each girl is trying to cope with making new friends and rebuilding their lives after leaving a school they loved. The "mystical" nature of the fortune tellers maybe a little out of the realm of believability, but I enjoyed the themes of friendship, the importance of communication, and forgiveness.
I found this book to realistically examine how students felt when schools closed in 2020 due to Covid. Each girl is trying to cope with making new friends and rebuilding their lives after leaving a school they loved. The "mystical" nature of the fortune tellers maybe a little out of the realm of believability, but I enjoyed the themes of friendship, the importance of communication, and forgiveness.
September 16, 2024
Reminding me of With a Little Luck, though this is a middle grade and Luck is YA, it's about a little magic to believe in. Three girls living in the city going into seventh grade come back together after being separated by moves, the pandemic, and a fight but their fortune tellers come back. A teacher sends a box that she found, the other has found some in her closet that she swore she threw away, yet their prescient tidbits seem to be telling them something-- reach out. And that they do in part because there's a very real threat- the school they attended may be shutting down and if they get together they could possibly help.
It's a problem and solution middle grade centering around friendship that is a delightful tale.
It's a problem and solution middle grade centering around friendship that is a delightful tale.
December 17, 2025
More like 2.5 stars.
This was a cute, teeny-bopping jaunt of a Magical Realism tale! I am a fan of Greenwald's writing style, which maintains an even pace, keeps the reader interested, and surges ever-onward through the plot. I appreciate the authenticity of the characters and their co-dynamics; these girls could easily exist in reality.
I have a few complaints, such as lack of parental involvement regarding the girls' independence. I also wish that the plot had a little more depth. I feel like there is a really good story here, but Greenwald is just giving us the middle version, not the TL;DR, but not the fully fleshed out fantasy epic that this story could be. (Although, I accept that Fortune Tellers' audience is probably not in the market for a 400-page epic.)
Overall, a nice escape with nostalgic kitsch for adult readers like myself. I will be reading the sequel soon!
This was a cute, teeny-bopping jaunt of a Magical Realism tale! I am a fan of Greenwald's writing style, which maintains an even pace, keeps the reader interested, and surges ever-onward through the plot. I appreciate the authenticity of the characters and their co-dynamics; these girls could easily exist in reality.
I have a few complaints, such as lack of parental involvement regarding the girls' independence. I also wish that the plot had a little more depth. I feel like there is a really good story here, but Greenwald is just giving us the middle version, not the TL;DR, but not the fully fleshed out fantasy epic that this story could be. (Although, I accept that Fortune Tellers' audience is probably not in the market for a 400-page epic.)
Overall, a nice escape with nostalgic kitsch for adult readers like myself. I will be reading the sequel soon!
May 4, 2024
Brand new seventh graders, Millie, Nora, and Bea were best friends from kindergarten through fifth grade. In fifth grade, their friendship fell apart (the cause is revealed through flashbacks). Before they could make up, the pandemic happens, school closes, and each of their families move away for different reasons. They are each missing the other two as they get ready to start seventh grade, but none of them wants to be the first to reach out. Until the fortune tellers that they made in third grade start appearing in unexpected places. Told from multiple perspectives, with flashbacks scattered throughout, this is a good look at how easy it is to let friendships fall apart and also how worthwhile it is to fight to save them. Recommended for grades 4 & up.
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
June 2, 2024
I liked the overall premise of this one, three best friends who have a falling out and then find themselves on diverging paths, then discovering their old fortune tellers which seem to have some magical power. I thought this would be a nice mix of realistic fiction and whimsy and it definitely had some aspects of that but there some elements that didn't quite get there for me. I really wanted the girls to be more individual, but in some ways they didn't seem to have unique personalities. That being said I did enjoy the themes, tweens and teens are always going through friendship break ups etc and this displayed them going through the fights, their time apart and them coming back together once they've grown a bit. I will say as someone who made many a fortune teller as a kid I enjoyed seeing them represented and the whimsy was a nice touch.
June 17, 2025
Three sixth graders have had their lives uprooted, and their once close friendship fell apart. Now all three girls have been trying to live their new lives away from each other, but nothing feels as comfortable and nice. They used to make fortune tellers a lot. Each girl is now randomly finding fortune tellers that seem like ones they could have made, but they don't remember them. Eventually that's the catalyst that brings the girls back together.
This was pretty dull for me as an adult reader. The magical realism touch of fortune tellers appearing to each girl with pertinent messages was fun, and there are some good friendship topics covered. I actually expected my 9 year old to be more interested in it (reading about older girls and real life stuff), but she hasn't been keen to pick it up after reading the first few chapters.
This was pretty dull for me as an adult reader. The magical realism touch of fortune tellers appearing to each girl with pertinent messages was fun, and there are some good friendship topics covered. I actually expected my 9 year old to be more interested in it (reading about older girls and real life stuff), but she hasn't been keen to pick it up after reading the first few chapters.
November 6, 2024
This fun and unique middle school read follows three school mates who have a serious falling out and are forced to change schools post-pandemic. At the heart of their argument lies paper fortune tellers that they once created for fun and passed around the school. Due to differences and upset feelings they continue to live their lives apart with no communication. Now that the girls live in different cities the fortunes are showing up in odd places with messages that appear to be straight from a tarot reading.
I loved the idea of this story and how Greenwald dives into how sometimes friendships are not all sunshine and roses. Although the book starts off slow, it is a fun worthy read for middle school students.
I loved the idea of this story and how Greenwald dives into how sometimes friendships are not all sunshine and roses. Although the book starts off slow, it is a fun worthy read for middle school students.
September 28, 2024
Millie, Nora, and Bea, once best friends, were now living in different places and attending different schools. They hadn't spoken since fifth grade and the pandemic and their friendship had fallen apart over a birthday party and making paper fortune tellers. Now, at the beginning of seventh grade, the mysterious appearance of more paper fortune tellers that they never wrote, but which are written in their handwriting, has provided the impetus for conversation. Although reconnecting doesn't solve all of their problems, the three are finally able to work through old grievances and to move forward into the futures that none of them had previously been able to embrace.
May 6, 2024
Lisa Greenwald always does such a great job of representing friendship between her characters.
I loved Bea, Nora, and Millie, and their differences, but that they still were such great friends.
This story is a great look at how the pandemic hurt certain areas and schools and families.
It shows how people rebuilt their lives but still wanted to keep in touch with old friends.
I liked that Mille, Bea, and Nora still really thought of the others and how we get to see pieces of their lives now, but how much they still want to be apart of each other's lives.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC
I loved Bea, Nora, and Millie, and their differences, but that they still were such great friends.
This story is a great look at how the pandemic hurt certain areas and schools and families.
It shows how people rebuilt their lives but still wanted to keep in touch with old friends.
I liked that Mille, Bea, and Nora still really thought of the others and how we get to see pieces of their lives now, but how much they still want to be apart of each other's lives.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC
July 8, 2024
What a fun read! Nora, Bea, and Millie were best friends, making fortune tellers with magic? markers. The girls have all moved away after the pandemic, and just before this something happened and Nora blames herself. When the girls start finding fortune tellers in weird places with special messages they wonder if the fortunes have appeared for a reason.There's a meeting to discuss their old school and the girls decide to meet up. Can they mend their friendship? What happens when they find their old magic? markers?
July 20, 2024
I can see an audience for this in 4th or 5th graders. Three friends broken apart by a friend issue in fifth grade and then physically separated by the pandemic are all having a hard time two years later. The fortune tellers they made in third grade start appearing, making them wonder if it's time to reconnect.
June 29, 2025
This book is a sweet, inspirational story with a lovely message. Three girls, Nora, Millie and Bea were inseparable until a miserable fight, a pandemic and each girl went a different way, leaving behind each other and their beloved school, Shire. As great as this book was, I think it defiantly could have been written better, making it more entertaining and more enjoyable to read.
January 30, 2024
This book was great! I love the author, and she did not disappoint. It was such an interesting story, and it all came together nicely in the end. I loved the themes of forgiveness and discovering who you are!
September 28, 2024
The only reason why I am rating this book 2 stars is because I just really don’t have time for it at the moment. Plus I’ve been reading it for a while and am a little lost on the plot at times. I’m probably going to come back to it, but it’s just too many books right now.
January 20, 2025
A cute middle grade story about three best friends, and what happens when they start to drift apart as middle school approaches. It’s a great lesson in being true to yourself, being honest and open with your feelings, and finding your way back again.
July 6, 2025
I read this as a possible Iowa Children’s choice book for next year. The target audience is 4-6 grade. It was a cute friendship book and I think my 4th graders would really like it, but I’m not so sure about older students. I felt it was boring, but I can see the appeal for younger students.
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