Wishful Thinking

December 15, 2010

For 18 years, Hazel has dreamed about meeting her birth mother, but when she's given the opportunity she realizes she might be too late. A sequel to Wish (2010), this outing reuses the concept of wish-lined magical dresses tailored to grant the heroine's heartfelt desires, but it takes a more fantastical turn. Hazel travels back in time from present-day San Francisco to 18 years in the past on Martha's Vineyard, where she finds herself face to face with her mom. Looking back on a lifetime of bouncing between foster homes, Hazel attempts to leverage her wishes to alter her life's painful past and in the process makes peace with her own present identity. Without missing a stitch, the text unfolds easily and enjoyably for readers new to the series. However, despite its unique initial premise and well-developed protagonist, portions feel predictable, and certain elements of time travel are glossed over. The result is good-enough fun without much staying power. (Fantasy. 14 & up)  

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February 1, 2011

Gr 8 Up-The author of Wish (Scholastic, 2010) has created another mysterious fairy tale with strong, down-to-earth characters and an intriguing plot. On her 18th birthday, Hazel is given the name of her birth mother. She tracks her down and prepares to meet her for the first time. She has a dress altered, but when she puts it on, she sees that it isn't the one she had dropped off. She arrives at the fund-raiser Rosanna Scott is hosting, only to find that the woman has died. Shocked and upset, Hazel scrambles to the ferry, wishing that she had gotten to know her first and finds a note explaining that she has three magical dresses that will grant her wishes. She has unknowingly just made her first one. Hazel arrives on Martha's Vineyard, 18 years earlier, where she meets Rosanna, only to discover that she is not her mother after all. Instead her mother is a pregnant teen who lives with Rosanna. While there, Hazel falls in love with Luke and must decide whether to remain where she is or return to her own time. Bullen has done an outstanding job of pulling off the magic and realism to create a compelling novel that has love, mystery, and adventure. Time travel can always be tricky but the author has executed it well. The book ends with the first dress waiting for another needy girl to find it, thus hinting at a sequel.-Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI

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