As You Wish

I couldn’t put this book down once I started reading. It’s a great journey of one boy and his life. It leaves you thinking.

Imagine, if you will, the ability to make a single wish and to have that wish come true. Now imagine having that incredible power (or curse, depending on which way you look at it) at the age of 18. In Madison, Nevada, that’s exactly what happens. Each resident celebrates something called Wish Day, where on their 18th birthday, they get to visit the wishing cave and have their one wish granted. The entire town it seems is built on wishes of the past, but there’s an undercurrent of unhappiness that permeates everything from the landscape to the buildings to the residents. Granted wishes are dreams come true, aren’t they? As You Wish had such an interesting and unique premise that I immediately wanted to get my hands on it as soon as I heard of it. And for the most part I enjoyed the heck out of it. The entire storyline surrounding the wishes was something I’ve not read prior to this, and I loved that it got me thinking. At 18, I’m not entirely too sure that any wish I made would have had any sort of impact, other than a selfish one, and such is the case with many residents. And many of them regret it. It seems only a handful of people are truly happy with their one and only shot at having a wish granted, and I’m still thinking of what my 18 year old self would have done with that incredible responsibility. The characters were also incredibly dimensional and fleshed out, and I loved how each and every one was just as quirky as the town itself. There’s also a fair bit of heartbreak, and I felt my own heart breaking right alongside Fletcher and right alongside Eldon and his family. My only gripe was Eldon and how much of a jerk he was, and continued to be a jerk through the entire book. Not just a jerk, but a selfish one, and I wanted (wished!) to see a little bit of growth on his part but the Eldon we start and end with are pretty much the same guy. All in all, As You Wish was an incredibly unique story with a small town feel to it, and I love me a small town. Add in some magic, which this story has, and it’s almost a guarantee that I’ll love it. Or in this case, like strongly. Such an interesting book that got me thinking, and definitely one I’m going to recommend the heck out of.