Wish by Barbara O'Connor. 227 p. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, August, 2016. 9780374302733.
Publisher synopsis: Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite. But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is until she meets
Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all.
From award-winning author Barbara O'Connor comes a middle-grade novel about a girl who, with the help of a true-blue friend, a big-hearted aunt and uncle, and the dog of her dreams, unexpectedly learns the true meaning of family in the least likely of places.
Page 56: When had this gap-toothed little girl turned into that sad woman in her dark bedroom in Raleigh?
"Did y'all love each other?" I asked Bertha.
"We sure din." Then she showed me some more photographs. Mama opening a present beside a Christmas tree. The two of them playing with a puppy in the snow. Bertha pulling Mama in a wagon on a dirt road.
"Why don't y'all see each other anymore? I said.
Bertha let out a big sigh and shook her head. "We grew up," she said. "When you grow up, sometimes life gets complicated."
I adore Barbara O'Connor's books. I finished this one in two big gulps and hope to review it this weekend.
Happy Friday!
This sounds touching. I am spotlighting The Whizbang Machine by Danielle A. Vann this week. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteCute cover! Love the 56 too, it rings so true!
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend!
This looks like a cute story. Thanks for mentioning it.
ReplyDeleteThe last few sentences of your 56 quote are just so poignant and lovely. I've seen this cover around Amazon before (I have to admit, the cover is GORGEOUS!) and been curious about picking it up; I might just do that now, thanks to you! Thank you so SO much for sharing with us!
ReplyDeleteHere is my Friday 56, if you're interested in checking it out. No pressure or worries if you're not, though! Happy book-ing to you in the near future, and happy Friday. Keep rockin'! <3
The cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous! Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteHere is my 56: http://shoshireads.weebly.com/home/friday-569548264
I'm always looking for children's books with a strong sense of place. This sounds like it fits the bill.
ReplyDelete(Just FYI, I remember you from Nonfiction Monday. I used to review children's nonfiction at Wrapped in Foil blog. Now I started a blog about thrillers/mysteries at http://blog.robertagibsonwrites.com/ It's a Mystery.)
Sounds like a great MG! :)
ReplyDelete