{"id":37355,"date":"2020-05-17T17:01:27","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T21:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37355"},"modified":"2020-05-17T17:01:27","modified_gmt":"2020-05-17T21:01:27","slug":"review-of-as-you-wish-by-chelsea-sedoti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37355","title":{"rendered":"Review of As You Wish, by Chelsea Sedoti"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>As You Wish<\/em><\/p>\n

by Chelsea Sedoti<\/p>\n

Sourcebooks Fire, January 2018. 412 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written August 2017 from an advance reader copy
\n2018 Sonderbooks Stand-out<\/a>:
\n#7 Teen Speculative Fiction<\/p>\n

I\u2019m so excited! As You Wish<\/em> is the first book I\u2019ve read that\u2019s eligible for the 2019 Newbery Award, being a book published in America during 2018 for an audience that includes some group between the ages of 0 and 14. (In this case, it\u2019s for 14 and up.)<\/p>\n

I\u2019m writing this review in August 2017 after finishing the book and before having discussed it with anyone at all. So this is entirely my opinion and not the opinion of anyone else \u2013 and I have no idea at this writing if the committee will consider it (or even if they\u2019ll decide that the age range doesn\u2019t fit the criteria) or what anyone else on the committee thinks of it. That\u2019s my disclaimer \u2013 but I can still post this review after our decision has been announced in 2019. Writing a review will also help me remember what happened in this book as the year goes on and the number of books I\u2019ve read gets bigger and bigger.<\/p>\n

As You Wish<\/em> is about a small town in Nevada near the site of Area 51. Alien hunters come through town often \u2013 but the town conspires to give them the message, \u201cNothing to see here! Move along!\u201d Because the town of Madison, Nevada, has a secret.<\/p>\n

That secret is that on their eighteenth birthday, every teen living in Madison gets a wish. And the wish will come true.<\/p>\n

There are rules about wishing. The scope of the wishing is the town itself. You can\u2019t wish for something that will affect things outside Madison and thus bring the attention of outsiders. For example, you can\u2019t wish to be the best football player in the country, but you can wish to be the best football player in Madison.<\/p>\n

The book starts 25 days before Eldon Wilkes\u2019 wish day. Eldon used to be the best football player in town \u2013 he was always naturally talented. But that was before this year, when his friends started getting their wishes. Now he\u2019s a bit at loose ends, not used to being an average player. He doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s going to wish for.<\/p>\n

Eldon has seen lots of wishes go wrong. His dad wished to be the best football player in town \u2013 and then he got injured. Now he coaches their team. Eldon\u2019s mother Luella wished that Harmon Wilkes (Eldon\u2019s dad) would love her and only her forever. Trouble is, somewhere along the way, Luella stopped loving him.<\/p>\n

She knows there\u2019s no reversing her wish. She could divorce Harmon and move out of Madison. She could go to the other side of the world. But no matter what she says or does or how far away she moves, Harmon Wilkes will never stop loving her.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Eldon does some exploring. He asks people about their wishes. What did they wish? Why did they wish for that thing? Are they happy with it?<\/p>\n

I like the way this premise is explored. I like how wishing has taken over the dynamics of the town. People in Madison don\u2019t ask kids what they\u2019re going to be when they grow up. They ask kids what they are going to wish for.<\/p>\n

And so many people regret making the wish they did. Even the one person Eldon meets who gave up his wish regrets giving it up. There\u2019s a lot riding on his choice \u2013 what will Eldon do?<\/p>\n

This book also presents a realistic picture of a jock in a small town who is no longer the star of the team and looking for some meaning, dealing with friends, and also with missing his little sister, who was in a horrible accident when hit by a speeding car driven by a kid who was late for making his wish. If only they hadn\u2019t taken his sister out of Madison so soon, but now she\u2019s in a hospital in Las Vegas in a vegetative state.<\/p>\n

My reading year is off to a great start!<\/p>\n

chelseasedoti.com<\/a>
\nsourcebooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/as_you_wish.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on an advance reader copy.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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