How Not to Make a Wish: Good, but not as good as Jane Madison

How Not to Make a Wish by Mindy Klasky

A year after the fact, Kira Franklin is still recovering from a breakup. Thirty pounds heavier, practically jobless and in need of a miracle, she unexpectedly gets one in the shape of a genie. That’s right, a real rub-the-lamp genie named Teel. Kira’s troubles are over!

Or so she thinks. As it turns out, her wishes make her life anything but easier. She wishes for a new job that turns out to be a huge fiasco, and after she wishes away her extra thirty pounds, her friends and family start to think she’s anorexic.
But Kira doesn’t regret her wishes, and besides, it’s not like she can take them back…right?

Did I like How Not to Make a Wish? I’m on the fence. I like Mindy Klasky. I’m a huge fan of her Jane Madison series, but How Not to Make a Wish lacked some of the charm that Sorcery and the Single Girl and Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft oozed in excess.

Instead of a fantasy with a love story thrown in as her previous books were, How Not to Make a Wish was more like a love story/coming of age story with a genie thrown in to stir things up. I was really surprised that Mindy Klasky did not reveal more about the character of Teel the genie. The story focused mostly on Kira and her friends, while Teel just popped in every now and then to help move the story along.

Don’t get me wrong, I thought Kira had a lot of depth as a character and I related to her in many different ways. I guess I just didn’t find her as loveable as Jane Madison. I really wanted to fall in love with How Not to Make a Wish the way I have with Klasky’s other novels, but I wasn’t able to enjoy every page as I had in the past.

Will I read the rest of the Wish series? Sure I will. I’m still a fan of Klasky and am curious as to how she’s going to shake up the next book (When Good Wishes Go Bad) and make it different from How Not to Make a Wish. Will I be first in line at the bookstore at midnight? Probably not.

Julie Waineo, one of our earliest guest reviewers, earned an MBA at Bowling Green State University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies with a minor in French. Now living in Virginia with her husband and dog, Julie is an avid reader of not only fantasy, but historical fiction, the occasional “chick lit,” and children’s literature.