Book Review – Wish by Barbara O’Connor
I have been reading more middle grade and YA books lately. Not only to see what other authors are writing about, but because I genuinely love the stories. I went looking on Amazon.com the other day and I loved the cover of this book when I first saw it. A picture of a girl and her dog touched my heart. It reminded me of how special my relationship is with my dog Maggie. I was drawn into the book not just with the idea of a girl and her dog, but also by the title, Wish.
Also on the front cover, she has the statement, With a little luck, you can get what you wish for printed across the top. Just one more thing I was drawn in by. It instills a feeling of hope that anything you dream about can come true. What an inspiring message for young readers.
Selma’s Book Review
Book Title
Wish
Author
Barbara O’Connor
Type of Book
Middle Grade Fiction
Background
Junior Library Guild Selection, American Book Sellers Association Best Books of the Year 2016, Parents Choice Gold Award
Summary of the story
Charlemagne (Charlie) Reese felt like a child out of place from a broken family with her dad in jail and her mom dealing with depression. When her parents were unable to care for her, she moved from Raleigh, North Carolina to live with her aunt and uncle in Colby, North Carolina. Charlie relates her story to us about being the new girl at school, making friends with unlikely kids and finding her dog, Wishbone. Throughout the book, she believes in wishes coming true and was always looking for situations to make them. Like finding a four-leaved clover or wishing on a star. She tells the reader that she always wishes for the same thing every time. We don’t learn what her wish is until the end.
Reactions to the book
For middle grade reads, I think that having the stories written from the child characters’ point of view helps to make the story relatable to the audience that it has been written for. The same story told from an adult point of view, loses some of the feelings and innocence of being a kid. O’Connor does a great job of capturing the feelings and thoughts of the main character, Charlie Reese.
It is an inspiring read for any middle grade reader. The characters are easy to relate to and the story being told by Charlie is very real. Charlie shows us through her compassion for people and animals that all beings are worth caring about, even if they are stray or different.
I read in O’Connor’s bio that she grew up in South Carolina and that she mixes some of her personal experiences into her stories. Mixing those experiences in added depth and feeling to the reading experience of the book for me. I would definitely recommend it.
If you would like to learn more about the author, Barbara O’Connor, here is a link to her website Barbara O’Connor
If you would like to order a copy of the book, Wish, here is a link to it on Amazon Wish
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