Wish

by Alexandra Bullen

Hardcover, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

YA B Bul

Publication

Point (First Edition)

Pages

323

Description

After her vivacious twin sister dies, a shy teenaged girl moves with her parents to San Francisco, where she meets a magical seamstress who grants her one wish.

Collection

Barcode

1187

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

323 p.; 8.5 inches

ISBN

9780545139052

Media reviews

User reviews

LibraryThing member 4bbphoto
This is a story that transcends reality and makes the reader feel as if they are personally involved with the characters. We are not separated by pages and words in a book. We are engaged and vested in the fate of our character. This is the book that you stay in bed to read a bit longer, and this
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is the book that you clear your schedule to treat yourself to a quiet afternoon.

I am giving this book 5 stars because Bullen's writing is clear and articulate, and it is a story well-told. I think that she could have written sappier, but she didn't. She respects her readers enough to make this a real story with a magical element. Bonus: I was pleasantly surprised to find out this was set in San Francisco, with the ability to make this book a travelogue for a newbie in town.

In response to some feedback about the drinking in the story, I thought Bullen hit the nail on the head with her description of the children of wealthy parents who attend an exclusive school in a very open city. Teenagers experiment and when they have their own cars, keys to the summer home, and free reign, they are going to emulate adult behavior. It's what they've seen, and it's what they know. These are cues teens pick up from the adults in their lives. Does that mean Bullen is encouraging underage drinking? No. She is simply an observer who is writing about teen behavior. That's what makes this a real story. There is no sugar-coating here. Teens who want to experiment are going to do so.

Onto the story itself:

As the story unfolds, we learn that Olivia has been uprooted from all that she knows to find herself in a new school, in a new state, and without her fearless twin sister to help navigate the social mores. Her parents are distant. Her first friend at school exists only because their two moms work together, and – worse than that – he wears squishy mushroom-colored loafers. And then she sees a boy. One who meets her eyes and smiles like he knows her. But, of course, he is dating the prettiest and most popular girl at school.

In her complete and utter loss, Olivia does the very best she can with what she has. She finds a tailor, Posey, who can fix dresses to suit the wearer in a way that is unexpected. In fact, Olivia has no idea that her bad night had a purpose, and her wish to see her sister again is about to come true. It is only in re-tracing steps and asking questions that Olivia realizes what a gift she has been given.

So, if you had just one wish…what would you wish for?
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LibraryThing member stephxsu
Olivia Larsen doesn’t know how she will survive after the death of her more outgoing twin sister, Violet. When her parents move all the way across the country to San Francisco, Olivia stumbles across a mysterious seamstress’ shop and is given three beautiful, magic dresses, each with the
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ability to grant one wish. What Olivia wants above all else is to have Violet back, but everyone knows that making wishes is more complicated than you think…

Alexandra Bullen’s debut novel, WISH, is a quick and cute read that will appeal best to younger teen readers and fans of modern fairy tales in the style of the movie Enchanted. More experienced readers, however, may be less impressed by the average writing, characters, and plot.

WISH is less a fairy tale than it is a touching story about the complexities and intricacies of two sisters’ relationship with one another. While neither Olivia nor Violet are actually noteworthy as characters, you can’t help but be touched at the way they play off one another, the way Violet looks after Olivia, even after death. WISH is a very human book, and perhaps that may be startling to some, because that is not what we immediately think of with such a fairy tale-esque premise. But the magic element in the novel is muted, allowing interpersonal relationships—with all their ups and downs—to shine through and stand out.

Unfortunately, the writing left a bit to be desired. The prose was uninspiring: there was nothing particularly captivating or enchanting about it. In fact, the blandness of the writing often took away from the cute premise’s potential, leaving behind what felt like an overmanufactured fairy tale.

Still, if you like the idea of a contemporary fairy tale, WISH is good for a quick read.
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LibraryThing member pacey1927
"Wish" is a young adult tale about a teenage girl, Olivia, who moves with her parents to start a new life in a new town. The move is Olivia's family's attempt to move forward after the death of Olivia's twin sister Violet. Olivia is struggling to make friends and be happy in the wake of Violet's
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death. Her parents are bickering and all Olivia wants to be with Violet again. When Olivia needs a dress for her mother's office party, Olivia finds herself in an odd shop where she later learns from the equally odd seamstress that she has been chosen to receive three magical dresses. Each dress will grant the wearer one wish. Olivia wishes for her sister back. Violet returns to Olivia but as a ghost who only Olivia can see. Violet follows her to school and parties and makes an obvious effort to help Olivia in her relationships. Once she has Violet back, Olivia's focus is turned to a boy and several friends. The second wish comes about because of a boy and the third comes about because of the second wish...or does it? The story was good and I think it deserves at least three stars. The plot is fairly predictable although the author appears to have planted a few red herrings in an effort to keep it from being too predictable. The characters are nice enough and interesting enough but nothing makes them remarkable. While the book does a fair job of dealing with grief, "The Hollows" recently did a much better job with a more unique magical twist. The thing is there was enough room with this general plotline, for the author to have given us something new and original but it just feels like everything about the story is good, not great. Still the book was enjoyable and worth the time to read.
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LibraryThing member Manderiffic
In Alexandra Bullen's debut novel, Wish, Olivia Larsen is starting life in a new school and a new city. The reason behind her families big move is not what most would expect. Last summer, Violet, Olivia's twin sister, passed away. Moving to San Fransisco is a fresh start for Olivia and her parents,
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but not necessarily the start Olivia is ready for. When a visit to a seamstress brings her three wishes, Olivia can't help but wish for Violet back. With her sister by her side again and two more wishes to make, Olivia has to learn to live life and take things as they come. A tale of sisterhood, loss and living life to the fullest, Wish is more than just a fairy tale.

I really enjoyed this novel. I decided to read it solely on the fact that it had a pretty cover and the synopsis sounded like a fun and relaxing, Young Adult read. I was pleasantly surprised when I was immediately drawn into this story and had a hard time tearing myself away. For the most part it's a funny and bubbly story of young love, fairy tales, and magic, but there is also a bit of a tear jerker and some emotional times. The characters are lovable and enduring and you will absolutely adore Olivia. She has this amazing charisma and personality that makes her an fantastic lead character. I was expecting major fluff and a quick, easy read and I got so much more. I can honestly say that Wish is up there with my favorite books so far in 2010 and I can't wait to read more from Alexandra Bullen. This has been an amazing year to date for YA novels and Bullen's debut novel, Wish, is among the bests.

Review originally posted on my blog Draw A Blank.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I got this book from my local public library! I can say whatever I want. :)
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LibraryThing member BookWhisperer
I enjoyed reading this book, but felt that it lacks the punch of many other new releases I have been reading. I found this book to be a quick read; even though it lacked the intensity that I desire. Wish’s innocence and care free feeling is better for the younger reading generation.
LibraryThing member krau0098
I got an advanced reading copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program. The book sounded like an interesting read and I really like fairy-tale retelling types of books...so I was excited to read it. The book is okay; it is fairly engaging and an interesting take on the classic three wishes
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type of a tale. Special attention is given to clothing/style in this book; so if you are really into that this book might be a good one to pick up.

Olivia has been a shadow of herself since her twin Violet died. It seems like all of Olivia's friends were actually Violet's friends and that without Violet, Olivia has faded away. When Olivia's parents decide to leave their sleepy suburban town and move to San Francisco; Olivia finds that she just doesn't even have the energy to care. Then Olivia meets a dressmaker who makes her a beautiful dress. When Olivia wishes out-loud while wearing the dress that her sister would be returned, well suddenly Violet is kind of there with her. Just like anything though, with the dresses there are rules. Olivia can only have three dresses (hence wishes) made, along with a few other rules. Will these wishes give Olivia the courage she needs to get interested in her new life?

This book was a fun read, but nothing special. The writing style was readable and the book engaging. Olivia is a realistic and down-to-earth character; but you can see how her personality is dull compared to Violet. The reasons behind the magic and the dressmaker choosing Olivia are kind of glossed over, so the story doesn't pay much attention to that. Most of the book is spent following Olivia around, looking at how Violet influences Olivia's decisions, and then watching the decisions as their affects play themselves out. Of course most of this centers around Olivia getting in with the popular crowd at school and with a sexy hunky guy Olivia wants to get with. This is not an action book but is more of your typical teenager struggling through the social trials of high school kind of read.

The book tries to deliver a deeper moral but it flounders in this effort. Violet is trying to teach Olivia the lesson to live life to the fullest; so initially this seems to be the message the author is sending. Then as Violet's influence goes bad; Olivia turns her back on her sister's advice and suddenly the message the author is sending is to be yourself; even if you don't do anything and hate who you are. Okay maybe that's a bit harsh...Olivia does change some throughout the book but not much. I just thought that the message to the story was inconsistent and that Olivia didn't grow much as a character.

Bullen does and excellent job describing the characters. We always know what everyone is wearing and how they look. She goes into exquisite detail on the dresses; which I enjoyed. The way Bullen deals with the wishes is kind of blah and typical; but it is okay.

Overall this was an okay read, it was entertaining and engaging. Teens struggling with a sibling loss or fitting in at high school may find it enjoyable. The fantasy aspects of the novel are kind of blah and not all that creative. Also the novel delivers an inconsistent message to the reader. If you are looking for a light summer read, this may fit the bill. I personal didn't like the book enough to check out anything else by this author; but I am not exactly the demographic (30 year old and female) that this book is targeted at. That being said I do read and enjoy a ton of young adult books; this one just didn't make me say "Wow!".
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LibraryThing member snaprebelx
I enjoyed reading this book but I found it rather slow. It was one of those books that kinda dragged for a while, then gets exciting....then its over. It was a quick easy read and I do plan on reading the next book.

A little too much attention was paid to the clothes in this book, which got a bit
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annoying to me.
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LibraryThing member ForgottenDoll
Very unique. I honestly haven't read or heard of anything with this book's same plot. Would recommend to any YA reader. Got it on my Kindle for free and ended up being one of my favorite books. Now I'm contemplating on buying the next book, Wishful Thinking!
LibraryThing member pocketmermaid
This was a very weak novel, with a very poor premise, and a very crappy cast of characters.

The only reason I kept reading was to see how much worse it could possibly get. It played out like a hilariously bad made-for-TV movie that you only ever find on television because you're home sick and you
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keep watching it partially because you can't believe something could ever really be that bad, but mostly because you don't have the energy to reach the remote. This novel was a flu-induced Hallucination of Badness. Only this novel about magical wish-granting-dresses is for real (I think?), and I read the whole damn thing. What a waste of time.

There was no spark, no life in these characters, nothing special in the prose. The characters moved around and said and did things and moved from one scene to the next, but nothing actually mattered. Everything felt flat and stiff. The entire plot hinges on the death of the main character's sister, but the emotions were all completely mishandled and the entire thing felt cheap.

Sometimes things just happened for no reason at all, like the author couldn't find a way to connect scenes. The writer also got on my nerves for explaining something, then contradicting it a paragraph or two later. Example: The ghost in the story is described as being non-corporeal, then less than a page later she manages to program a GPS without the main character knowing. Um, okay. Whatever.
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LibraryThing member AnnaKay21
This book was a lot deeper subject matter than what I expected. It was a hard book to read and while it was about Olivia, mostly the focus was on her finally letting go of her sister Violet. She needed to learn how to live life again. This was a truly good book and Iwould definitely recommend it!

Rating

(52 ratings; 3.4)

Call number

YA B Bul
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