fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsYA fantasy book reviews Alexandra Bullen WishWish by Alexandra Bullen

Olivia always lived in the shadow of her outgoing twin sister Violet — until Violet died. Now, Olivia is starting over, with a new home, a new school, parents who have become strangers to her, and a hole in her life where Violet should be. Everything changes when Olivia takes one of Violet’s dresses to be mended, and meets the mysterious seamstress Mariposa of the Mission, a.k.a. Posey. Instead of repairing Violet’s dress, Posey makes Olivia a beautiful new one. This is not just any dress; it comes with a wish, and the promise of two more dresses and two more wishes.

Olivia uses her first wish to ask for Violet back. Violet reappears, but as a ghost that only Olivia can see. Ghost-Violet guides Olivia through her adjustment to the new school, helping her shed her wallflower tendencies and make friends with the in-crowd. Soon Olivia is caught up in a love triangle when handsome Soren, who has been dating it-girl Calla, falls for Olivia instead.

The portions of the story dealing with Olivia’s family life are compelling. My heart broke for this girl whose parents utterly abdicated their responsibility in the wake of Violet’s death, and I was cheering for Olivia in the scene where her parents finally, at an inconvenient moment, decided to “parent” and she gave them a piece of her mind. The Olivia-Violet relationship is lovely; Olivia gets a chance to spend some more time with the sister who was so abruptly taken from her, and she learns that Violet wasn’t a saint but an ordinary, flawed girl. Olivia needs Violet’s help to start her on the road to finding herself, but there’s much more that Olivia will have to do on her own.

The love triangle is less interesting, at least to this reader. I think it will appeal more to the intended age group. I can’t muster up a lot of enthusiasm for the boyfriend-stealing drama, but I may just be an old curmudgeon. I loved these plots in Sweet Valley High when I was 12 or so.

There’s also something vaguely skeevy, something a little Magical Minority-ish, about a Latina seamstress who seems to exist solely to solve the problems of rich white girls (though, admittedly, the girl at the end may be poorer). We don’t get much more than glimpses of Posey, which makes her more plot device than character and adds to my discomfort with her portrayal. If she were more fleshed out, she’d probably be the most interesting character in the book.

Wish — (2010-2011) Young adult. Publisher: For broken-hearted Olivia Larsen, nothing can change the fact that her twin sister, Violet, is gone… until a mysterious, beautiful gown arrives on her doorstep. The dress doesn’t just look magical; it is magical. It has the power to grant her one wish, and the only thing Olivia wants is her sister back. With Violet again by her side, both girls get a second chance at life. And as the sisters soon discover, they have two more dresses — and two more wishes left. But magic can’t solve everything, and Olivia is forced to confront her ghosts to learn how to laugh, love, and live again. In a breathtaking debut from Alexandra Bullen, WISH asks the question: If you could have anything, what would you wish for?

YA fantasy book reviews Alexandra Bullen 1. Wish 2. Wishful Thinking YA fantasy book reviews Alexandra Bullen 1. Wish 2. Wishful Thinking

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  • Kelly Lasiter

    KELLY LASITER, with us since July 2008, is a mild-mannered academic administrative assistant by day, but at night she rules over a private empire of tottering bookshelves. Kelly is most fond of fantasy set in a historical setting (a la Jo Graham) or in a setting that echoes a real historical period (a la George RR Martin and Jacqueline Carey). She also enjoys urban fantasy and its close cousin, paranormal romance, though she believes these subgenres’ recent burst in popularity has resulted in an excess of dreck. She is a sucker for pretty prose (she majored in English, after all) and mythological themes.

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