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In the Cards #3
Life
Can you make something happen just by worrying about it? All Syd has ever wanted is to keep her family (human and animal) and friends safe and sound. Shy and quiet, Syd hides from the spotlight, despite her talent on the piano, and is happiest when she's with her best friends or her cat, Beesley. Syd's always been in the middle between Anna and Eve, and she's never had a problem with that until now. Because now Syd really needs someone to listen to her, but it doesn't feel like anyone's paying attention. Eve can't think about anything other than her upcoming TV audition, and Anna and Nelson's relationship seems to be imploding before it even starts. Frustrated by the fact that her two best friends are growing away from her and frightened by her dad's mounting illness, she decides to consult the tarot cards for a look into her future. But what Syd sees scares her more than any fight with Anna or Eve ever could, because as her final card, Syd draws Death. What do the cards have in store for her? Is it possible for Syd to change her destiny?
272 pages, Paperback
First published August 5, 2008
2 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Mariah Fredericks
27 books685 followersMariah Fredericks was born, raised, and still lives in New York City. She graduated from Vassar College with a degree in history. She is the author of the Jane Prescott mystery series as well as The Lindbergh Nanny, which Nelson DeMille called, "a masterful blending of fact and fiction that is as compelling as it is entertaining." The Wharton Plot, was named one of the best mysteries of 2024 by Library Journal. "An Edith Wharton scholar could read Ms. Frederick’s novel with profit and amusement."—Wall Street Journal. Her next novel, The Girl in the Green Dress, featuring Zelda Fitzgerald and New Yorker writer Morris Markey, is out September 2, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 2, 2011
It's a great book about that your life should not be predicted by a bunch of cards.
When Syd finally wants to read the cards, what she had read was certainly not what she expected. Could her life really be what those cards said/ If it is then Syd will have to go through betray, rival, fear, and worse yet, death.
When Syd finally wants to read the cards, what she had read was certainly not what she expected. Could her life really be what those cards said/ If it is then Syd will have to go through betray, rival, fear, and worse yet, death.
August 6, 2009
AWESOME!! its the best of the 3!!! is sad and actually made me cry but really good!!!
June 24, 2022
It was absolutely incredible. I loved it so much!
November 10, 2012
Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com
Against her better judgment, Sydney asks her friends, Anna and Eve, to do a tarot card reading for her.
Something is going on with her dad; she's afraid he may have lost his job again and that her mother might be too fed up with him this time for them to stay married. Although Sydney has never really believed that the cards can tell the future, both Anna and Eve have had such good luck with their recent readings--Anna getting a good boyfriend and Eve auditioning for a reality show--and Syd finally grows worried enough to find out what the future holds for her father.
Instead of reassuring her, the reading turns up bad, even ending with the Death card. Sydney swears that this is her punishment for trying to cheat the system and look ahead, but maybe it's not real. Maybe, if she believes hard enough, she can prevent her dad spiraling out of control and the breakdown of her family. She resolves that she's going to maintain her trust in her father, the only person who really understands her shyness, dedication to music, and love of all living things.
With Anna and Eve overly involved in their own lives and promising futures, Syd starts to feel that she and her friends are growing apart, and she doesn't have the tools to handle it yet. When things start to go awry in the lives of her friends, Sydney holds on to her hope that, if the cards were wrong about her friends, then maybe they were wrong about her father, too.
But then her father makes a devastating mistake that rips away Sydney's trust, and it becomes painfully obvious to Syd that there may be little she can do about her father's problems, or the changes that she and her friends must experience.
Third in a series, I enjoyed the characterizations and storytelling in this book so much that I'm going to be hunting down the first two books very soon. I also appreciated the author's approach to presenting tarot cards to younger readers, demonstrating how such fortune-telling techniques can be open to all kinds of interpretation, not necessarily good or bad.
Against her better judgment, Sydney asks her friends, Anna and Eve, to do a tarot card reading for her.
Something is going on with her dad; she's afraid he may have lost his job again and that her mother might be too fed up with him this time for them to stay married. Although Sydney has never really believed that the cards can tell the future, both Anna and Eve have had such good luck with their recent readings--Anna getting a good boyfriend and Eve auditioning for a reality show--and Syd finally grows worried enough to find out what the future holds for her father.
Instead of reassuring her, the reading turns up bad, even ending with the Death card. Sydney swears that this is her punishment for trying to cheat the system and look ahead, but maybe it's not real. Maybe, if she believes hard enough, she can prevent her dad spiraling out of control and the breakdown of her family. She resolves that she's going to maintain her trust in her father, the only person who really understands her shyness, dedication to music, and love of all living things.
With Anna and Eve overly involved in their own lives and promising futures, Syd starts to feel that she and her friends are growing apart, and she doesn't have the tools to handle it yet. When things start to go awry in the lives of her friends, Sydney holds on to her hope that, if the cards were wrong about her friends, then maybe they were wrong about her father, too.
But then her father makes a devastating mistake that rips away Sydney's trust, and it becomes painfully obvious to Syd that there may be little she can do about her father's problems, or the changes that she and her friends must experience.
Third in a series, I enjoyed the characterizations and storytelling in this book so much that I'm going to be hunting down the first two books very soon. I also appreciated the author's approach to presenting tarot cards to younger readers, demonstrating how such fortune-telling techniques can be open to all kinds of interpretation, not necessarily good or bad.
October 3, 2012
Okay, book number three.
The first book in this series, Love, was by far the best. It was humorous and mysterious.
The second book, Fame, fell a little flat. Eve's narration was snobbish and annoying, and not nearly as comedic.
But in this book, thing's get a little deep. It's not just about talent or love anymore; it's about life and death (not nearly as dramatic as I made it sound though.)
Syd is a piano genius, though she doesn't believe so herself. She's shy and awkward, never quite feeling right. The only person she can trust not to do anything wrong is her father.
But lately her father's doing a lot of things wrong--fighting with Syd's mother, drinking too much, and throwing a chair in his classroom that almost got him fired.
Syd's terrified. So of course she does the reading.
And she gets bad results.
While Anna's crying about her break-up with Nelson (they're in middle school, and they're unpopular. Is it realistic to have them making out already?); Eve's practicing for her audition on the TV show Making It , and Syd can't seem to ask them for help with her own problems. Not to mention her prohibited crush on Eve's brother, Mark Baylor.
Syd is a very easy character to connect with if you've ever felt that anti-social or unconfident. It goes past the other two books in emotion, though trails behind in humor. With better narration or better details, it could've been a much better book.
The first book in this series, Love, was by far the best. It was humorous and mysterious.
The second book, Fame, fell a little flat. Eve's narration was snobbish and annoying, and not nearly as comedic.
But in this book, thing's get a little deep. It's not just about talent or love anymore; it's about life and death (not nearly as dramatic as I made it sound though.)
Syd is a piano genius, though she doesn't believe so herself. She's shy and awkward, never quite feeling right. The only person she can trust not to do anything wrong is her father.
But lately her father's doing a lot of things wrong--fighting with Syd's mother, drinking too much, and throwing a chair in his classroom that almost got him fired.
Syd's terrified. So of course she does the reading.
And she gets bad results.
While Anna's crying about her break-up with Nelson (they're in middle school, and they're unpopular. Is it realistic to have them making out already?); Eve's practicing for her audition on the TV show Making It , and Syd can't seem to ask them for help with her own problems. Not to mention her prohibited crush on Eve's brother, Mark Baylor.
Syd is a very easy character to connect with if you've ever felt that anti-social or unconfident. It goes past the other two books in emotion, though trails behind in humor. With better narration or better details, it could've been a much better book.
September 10, 2009
" In the cards Life" was about this girl named Syd turns to the tarot cards for a little peek on what's gonna happen in her life. You see, Syd's two best friends, Anna and Eve are in the biggest argument that they ever been in. Since Anna and Eve are in an argument, their friendship is growing apart each time they fight. Can Syd make the right choice to turn to the cards or will she have to face the deadly truth.
My text-to-self connection would be that In fourth grade my two friends, Kristina and Gloriela were fighting over who was the best student in the class. And well it got so serious that they got into a fist fight and I had to get in the middle of it and Gloriela slaped me. After she did that, I pushed her against the metal gate and started to twist her hair and punched her in the neck and she got sent to the hospital. As for Eve and Anna, they were just arguments.
I thought that this book was amazing. I gave it a total of 5 stars. The reason why is because this is probably the only book that I've read that in reality it really did relate to me. In other words, all the other books that i have read did relate to me in some ways. Yet this book really does touches me. I would recommend this book to a person who likes mysterious books.
My text-to-self connection would be that In fourth grade my two friends, Kristina and Gloriela were fighting over who was the best student in the class. And well it got so serious that they got into a fist fight and I had to get in the middle of it and Gloriela slaped me. After she did that, I pushed her against the metal gate and started to twist her hair and punched her in the neck and she got sent to the hospital. As for Eve and Anna, they were just arguments.
I thought that this book was amazing. I gave it a total of 5 stars. The reason why is because this is probably the only book that I've read that in reality it really did relate to me. In other words, all the other books that i have read did relate to me in some ways. Yet this book really does touches me. I would recommend this book to a person who likes mysterious books.
June 30, 2013
Everybody knows a Syd- that quiet girl who just tags along with her friends, seemingly the peace keeper and never one to get in trouble or start anything. Everybody's used to her being in the shadows that they just stop trying to pull her out. Now that Syd needs to talk to someone however- the shadows have swallowed her completely. She just needs somebody to listen to her, to try to help her- but with two best friends who are busy with their own lives and interests- Syd feels like she, as usual, has to deal with this by herself. But will the pressure building up inside of her- break?
March 3, 2014
This will appeal as much to young adults as to middle readers, but our heroines are only 13, and while two of them think they are ready for romance, the third is still in the stick-your-finger-down-your-throat-and-throw-up stage at the idea of anyone wanting to kiss somebody. They think and act like real 13 year olds. And they are starting to learn that friends are way more than the people you hang out with. Enjoyable read
July 23, 2016
The third book in the In the Cards series finds Syd finally sitting down for her reading. All she ever wanted was to keep her family and friends safe and together. She's always been in the middle between her parents and between Anna and Eve. Now she sees the death card! Is it for her or someone else? Will her friendship or her parent's marriage die? Is there really any truth "in the cards"?
June 23, 2014
This is one of the more serious books in the series, but I like it. She seems to make fewer decisions based on the cards, but instead lets fear hinder her. I appreciate that she decides to be a little more brave and self-confident, and not let others dictate to her so much, but that she remains respectful of others as well.
March 10, 2016
Out of all the Life series books, I think I liked this one the best. (I haven't read the other 2, but even though, I think I'll like this one better than the rest.) So, because of that, I won't read the other 2, because I will have already have seen it coming. This book is totally awesome tho! All girls should read it--a GREAT summer read!
June 19, 2013
This trilogy is about 3 best friends which was very fun to read- this final book was the most intense for me. I was sobbing through one entire section of it- must be just the timing and where I am at in life.
May 22, 2010
saddest book
October 10, 2013
I think it was pretty good, but HARRY POTTER AND TMI WILL ALWAYS BEAT IT!
November 1, 2013
this book was sad it was also great.
it was sad when syds dad got made and left syd and her mom .. it was also good when her dad said sorry for what he did and he will never do it agian.
it was sad when syds dad got made and left syd and her mom .. it was also good when her dad said sorry for what he did and he will never do it agian.
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October 22, 2014296fc593-9220-4619-81ea-2248a8aed3b1
February 3, 2016
I liked the book, especially because I can relate to Syd. I always wonder, will my friends ever abandon me? But, of course they wouldn't. I also know how it is to be pressured.
February 22, 2010
It is about syndey. her cat has died.eve cats born 5 kittens.
I love the book.
I love the book.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews