As You Wish
As You Wish
Select a format:
Perma-Bound Edition ©2018--
Publisher's Hardcover ©2018--
Paperback ©2018--
To purchase this item, you must first login or register for a new account.
Sourcebooks, Inc
Annotation: In Madison, a small town in the Mojave Desert, everyone gets one wish that will come true on his or her eighteenth birthday, and Eldon takes his very seriously.
Genre: [Fantasy fiction]
 
Reviews: 5
Catalog Number: #6529884
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc
Copyright Date: 2018
Edition Date: 2018 Release Date: 12/01/18
Pages: 438 pages
ISBN: 1-492-66806-0
ISBN 13: 978-1-492-66806-0
Dewey: Fic
Dimensions: 21 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist

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.

Horn Book

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.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

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.)

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
ALA Booklist
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Horn Book
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Voice of Youth Advocates
Word Count: 89,625
Reading Level: 4.3
Interest Level: 7-12
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.3 / points: 13.0 / quiz: 195506 / grade: Upper Grades
Lexile: HL610L

If you could make one wish that was guaranteed to come true-what would you wish for? Rules for Wishing: Never let an outsider find out about wishing. (Zip your lips and throw away the key.) Wishes that would impact the world are off limits (i.e. no bringing back the dinosaurs). Do no harm. (Murder = no bueno.) No time travel. (What's done is done, pal.) No bringing back the dead. (Come on. You've seen what happens in THE WALKING DEAD.) NEVER BREAK THE RULES. (Seriously. We mean it. See Rule #7.) There are always consequences. Madison is a small town in the Mojave desert on the road between nothing and nowhere. It's an unremarkable speck on the map, which is perfect for protecting the town's secret. Because in Madison, everyone can make one wish on their eighteenth birthday-and that wish always comes true. Most of Eldon's classmates have had their wishes picked out for months, even years. Not Eldon. He's seen how wishing has hurt the people around him. His parents' marriage is strained, his sister is a virtual ghost in their house, his ex-girlfriend is dating his ex-friend...where does he even begin? One thing is for sure: Eldon has only twenty-six days to figure it out--and the rest of his life to live with the consequences.


*Prices subject to change without notice and listed in US dollars.
Perma-Bound bindings are unconditionally guaranteed (excludes textbook rebinding).
Paperbacks are not guaranteed.
Please Note: All Digital Material Sales Final.