Dreamer, Wisher, Liar

February 10, 2014
Harper’s voice-driven story glows with slow-growing optimism and moments of magic. Ashley’s summer is off to a rough start when she learns that her best friend Lucy is moving away; besides the all-around awfulness of losing a friend, Ashley relies on Lucy because of her own face blindness, an inability to recognize people. Then Lucy’s mother announces that Claire, the seven-year-old daughter of a family friend, will be staying with them for a while. Upset at these turns of events (as well as Lucy’s temporary departure for summer camp), Ashley is shocked to discover a jar full of paper wishes in the basement, which magically allows her to be an invisible witness to the changing friendship between two unfamiliar girls. In between fulfilling Claire’s various demands for their days together, Ashley pieces together the girls’ story, though readers may guess the connection long before she does. Still, Ashley’s colorful interior life and growing self-confidence, along with dashes of romance and mystery, combine elegantly in this story about growing up and the way friendships evolve. Ages 8–12.

March 1, 2014
Bracing for a lonely summer, Ash is surprised when the little girl she babysits and some unexpected time travel open new horizons. Ash begins her summer knowing her best friend's moving to Oregon, leaving her to cope alone with prosopagnosia, a condition that prevents her from recognizing faces. Additionally, her mother expects her to babysit a 7-year-old named Claire for three weeks. An enthusiastic, high-maintenance child whose mother recently died after abandoning her family, Claire's armed with a wish list of things she wants to do, and Ash finds herself unwillingly escorting Claire to thrift shops and senior center events where she meets new people. Though she's busy with Claire, Ash becomes distracted after finding a jar labeled "wishes" in the basement that transports her into the lives of two girls living when her parents were young. As she becomes obsessed with the past, Ash gradually realizes there's a relevant connection to her own life. Ash tells her summer saga in a humorous, chatty, somewhat-vulnerable voice, and although the time-travel thread initially feels disconnected from the plotline, the past and present eventually sync. Spot art line drawings feature chapter elements. Amusing, heartfelt time travel about friends and wishes--old and new. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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April 1, 2014

Gr 4-6-Ashley is ready for the worst summer of her life. Her best friend, Lucy, is going to camp and then moving away forever and Ashley's mom has roped her into babysitting for a friend's daughter for three weeks before she can meet Lucy at camp. While she is wallowing in her sadness, Ashley stumbles upon a magic jar full of wishes among her mom's junk. Soon after seven-year-old Claire arrives-full of enthusiasm, energy, and surprises. She has a long list of things that she wants to do while she is visiting. But all Ashley can think about is her wish jar, reading her new P. J. Walker novel, and getting through the next three weeks so that she can finally spend time with Lucy. Ashley decides that Claire is "like the golden retriever of people-everyone loves her." And, although her enthusiasm is exhausting, Claire turns out to be exactly what Ash needs to get through all the upheaval of the summer. Harper connects people and events seamlessly throughout the story, keeping readers engaged to the end. It will be easy for kids to empathize with Claire as she comes to terms with the loss of her mom, and with Ashley, as she grapples with all of the changes in her life. Fans of Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me (Random, 2009) and E. L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (S. & S., 1967) will enjoy this refreshing novel.-Annette Herbert, F. E. Smith Elementary School, Cortland, NY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2014
Grades 4-6 When a best friend is leaving you, what can you do? Ashley dreads the upcoming summer and her last few weeks at camp with her best friend, Lucy, who is moving away. Ash feels further unmoored by the arrival of young Claire, a girl who will be spending the summer with Ash's family under nebulous circumstances. The only place Ash can get a little privacy is in her mom's overflowing basement, where she finds a jar marked wishes. Ash discovers that when she pulls out a wish, she's transported magically to the past, where she views another friendshipthis one between another Ashley and her friend Shue, who are moving through their own funny, strange, and painful summer. Through Harper's skillful combination of fantastical and wholly realistic situations, readers are presented with gently larger-than-life characters, who are magnified through Ash's eyes and take on the roles she needs them to as she steps into her coming-of-age journey. As sweet and tart as a strawberry lemonade, readers will want to sip slowly and savor every page.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)