The blink-and-you-miss-it town of Madison, Nevada, has nothing of interest so its residents say. In truth, the townsfolk are hiding a monumental secret: each person, upon turning 18, is granted a wish in the town's magic wishing cave. Eldon Wilkes, his birthday fast approaching, has no idea what to wish for. He tours around learning about others' past wishes and finds a common link between getting what you want and subsequent regret. Meanwhile, others ecifically his parents e his opportunity as a fix for their poor past decisions. What will he wish for in the end? Sedoti has taken a nifty premise and plumbed it for its emotional and existential potential. As Eldon carries on his interviews, the narrative pauses periodically, treating the reader to extended retellings of what fellow Madisonians wished for and why. Often these circumstances are heartbreaking, other times hilarious, but always thought-provoking. An unexpectedly affecting book that will have readers pondering what they would wish for if given the chance.

In this thoughtful contemporary fantasy, Eldon gets to make one wish on his eighteenth birthday and watch it come true. In the weeks prior, he learns about his neighbors' wishes and how each went wrong. On his wish day, Eldon changes his Nevada desert town's fate. Sedoti paints a vivid portrait of the town without veering into caricature in an engrossing read that is both fantastical and believable.

For 17-year-old Eldon, his windblown hometown in the Mojave Desert is -the kind of place you wanna leave as quick as you can.- What it isn-t, however, is ordinary: the town-s residents are able to make a wish on their 18th birthday, which comes true. Eldon has 25 days to figure out what matters most to him, and everyone has an opinion (his mother pressures him to wish for the money they desperately need to save his sister, who is on life support). Eldon decides to research past wishes and their outcomes; third-person interludes appear between Eldon-s first-person chapters, detailing various citizens- wishes. He discovers that most wishes have made the wishers- lives worse, and that a perfect wish may not exist. The countdown structure creates a natural hook, and Sedoti (The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett) makes good use of her what-if premise to give readers much to consider. She successfully captures the feelings of uncertainty that come with nascent adulthood, the desire to leave home, and waiting for one-s life to begin. Ages 14-up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media. (Jan.)