“You almost never get it, of course. Instead, you get a card that’s about your current mental state, telling you to chill out. Or you get a card that answers the question you should have been asking but didn’t. Or you get a card that seems utterly meaningless. I can hear Annelise’s voice now: ‘That’s because nobody ever asks the one right question.’”
The Fortune Seller, Rachel Kapelke-Dale
The Fortune Seller follows Rosie Macalister through her senior year of college and her first year after college. Each chapter starts with a reading of a specific tarot card. It’s quickly revealed that the person doing each reading is Annelise, Rosie’s newest roommate. Rosie was set to live with her three best friends–Cressida, Lila, and Andra–and Anenlise was a late addition.
The story focuses on Rosie and her roommates’ experiences as they attend Yale and are part of the equestrian team. There’s a lot of privilege within the group, which leads to a lot of tension and resentment. Rosie is at school with a scholarship, but feels the need to hide that from the other girls. And as senior year goes on, she discovers she’s not the only one lying about family wealth.
Each girl’s personality shines through in the book, and helps make the story feel even more realistic. Each girl is flawed, prejudiced, and slightly self-absorbed, which makes them come across as believable 20-somethings. Their decisions and thought processes match with their individual personalities, and with the general mindset of college students.
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I really enjoyed this book, but I’m not sure exactly what to classify it as. It’s got thriller aspects, but the slower pacing pushes it towards a mystery instead. It also takes place in an academic setting, but isn’t truly an academia-based book. Even though it’s hard to categorize, I think this book will appeal to a large market. It has a unique plot between the tarot readings and equestrian training, a tantalizing mystery, and great characters.
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