Wish by Barbara O'Connor

I picked it up Wish to read during the final week of the month-long writing workshop I just completed last Friday, partly because I couldn't concentrate with my brain pre-occupied with class work. But, let's face it, I just love children's books, especially picture books and middle grade readers with heart. 

Wish by Barbara O'Connor is the middle grade tale of a girl who is sent to live with her aunt and uncle after her father is imprisoned and her mother becomes too unstable to care for her. Her big sister stays behind with a friend because she's about to graduate from high school. Every day, young Charlie makes a wish. She's got a huge list of things to wish upon and somehow always manages to find a way to make her wish before she goes to sleep. 

Meanwhile, Charlie is learning how to live in a small town with people who are totally new to her. She's annoyed by the pillow cases her aunt buys and the stack of canning jars in her room. She's not so certain she wants to make friends with the boy with the funny walk because she's certain her mother will get her feet on the ground any day now and she'll be going home. But in spite of it all, she finds herself becoming the best of friends with the boy, who is absolutely true to her even when she says something mean and who helps her catch a stray dog that she names Wishbone.

Recommended - While I didn't love the voice because I found the vernacular a little irritating, I really enjoyed the story. A lovely tale of friendship, kindness, and the discovery that sometimes we wish for the wrong things when what we really need is what we already have. Absolutely heartwarming. 

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