Ah, the universal song of a wish comes in many forms: blurted out in desperation or agony; coolly uttered after eons of planning; thrown viciously to take revenge; offered up willingly to save another. But in Franny Billingsley's Well-Wished, a wish is a once-in-a-lifetime affair that must be planned out carefully and intricately worded - for the Wishing Well has a way of interpreting a wish that often results in your getting nothing of what you thought you'd asked for. I heard the author speak mention this book at a conference several years ago and I've wanted to read it since then. I am always intrigued by wish books (like the wonderful picture book "The Faerie's Gift") and I was intrigued by this one as well. I thought the pain and confusion brought about by Nuria's wish were well described and I was delighted that it had an all's-well-that-ends-well finale - particulary in regard to the fate of the wicked governess. That said, I must also say that sometimes I felt like I was reading two books joined by a wishing well -- Heidi (Avy & Nuria's story) and The Secret Garden (Catty's story).
No comments:
Post a Comment