Love at first sight is something many of us wish
for. We’ve all been there. That newly released hardback that you just know you will love the instant you lay
eyes the cover. These are books that stir something within our book loving souls
and transport us to a new place. Wish by Barbara O’Connor was that book
for me. A friend had posted an image in our Voxer chat and it was book love at
first sight. I wished I had a copy.
As luck would have it, my wish came true. I entered
and won a Twitter ARC giveaway and soon had my own copy to read. Upon its
arrival, I stared longingly at the cover. The purple haze and swirls of color
pulled me into Barbara’s world without having read a single word. I was
developing a major book crush. In my heart, I was there in the twilight with a
girl and her dog. I wished to know them.
I started Wish and met Charlie. A young girl
who is moving in with her aunt and uncle until her mom is able to “get on her
feet” again. She’s leaving her home, friends, and even his sister behind as
she’s thrust into a new town filled with strangers. Charlie reminded me of
beloved characters like Hollis Woods and Carly Conners. She was smart yet
standoffish. And a little bit, okay a lot, feisty. Charlie didn’t need to like
this new town or new family because she wasn’t going to be there long. Charlie
knew her mom was bound get out of bed and get her feet on the ground in no
time. For her sake, I too wished for
Charlie’s mom to crawl out of her depression.
Yet, Charlie finds herself chasing after a stray dog
and making friends despite her own objections to these “squirrel eating
hillbillies.” As Charlie began to settle into her new home among the Blue Ridge
Mountains, I too began to feel at home in North Carolina. I was there watching
fireflies dance from the porch with a snoring dog at my feet. I was sipping
sweet tea and smelling rain soaked tomatoes ripening on the vine. I was
immersed completely in Charlie’s world. Like fog off the mountains, Bertha and
Gus’ home settled around me and blurred the lines of reality. I wished for Charlie to realize the beauty
of the people and place surrounding her.
Slowly, Charlie discovers what I had seen all along,
the magic within the mountains. Howard, her new best friend is insightful and
honest beyond his years. Soon Charlie finds loyalty among friends, family, and
a dog. She begins to know and love a world that she always wished for. As a
reader, how could I not too fall deeper
in love with Charlie and her family? As Charlie kept her making her own secret
wish, I too began finding ways to make my own wish as well. A soft blow on a
dandelion or silent wish on a twinkling star. Would Charlie’s wish come true? Would mine?
I had wished for a book to love and share, and I found
that story within Barbara O’Connors’ Wish. This story was a work of the
heart. Barbara’s craft and storytelling are nothing short of magical. Wish
transports you to summer in the Blue Ridge Mountains and you won’t want to
leave. Pieces of Wish are still lingering within my heart. Pulling at
the strings and weaving its way into a forever favorite. Sharing Wish
with teachers and students has allowed me to live a little longer in the foggy
haze between fiction and reality.
Alas, did my
wish come true? My secret wish is that my students will find a warm spot on
the front porch and allow Wish to settle in their hearts and transport
them to a world filled with fireflies and friendship.
