Wish

By: Barbara O'Connor

Narrated by: Suzy Jackson

Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite.

But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true.

That is until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all.

From award-winning author Barbara O'Connor comes a middle-grade novel about a girl who, with the help of a true-blue friend, a big-hearted aunt and uncle, and the dog of her dreams, unexpectedly learns the true meaning of family in the least likely of places.

©2016 Barbara O'Connor (P)2016 Recorded Books

Wishing upon ten stars for this review!

Five stars simply isn’t enough to express my pleasure and appreciation to the author and narrator of WISH. As a foster parent to a child near the age of Charli, I can relate to her emotional vulnerability and longing for stability and normalcy. After listening to the book myself, I am now sharing it with my sweet charge. I believe that it is refreshing for her to follow the story of a protagonist so like herself. There is so much hope and simply joy in the story. Here’s to wishes coming true for all such hurting children.

I “WISH”

I “WISH” every child and grown-up would read this book. Attention grabbing from the very first sentence, this book wound its way into my heart. I laughed and cried and enjoyed every minute spent listening to this gem of a book! As an English teacher with 27 year’s experience teaching high school and middle school, this book resonates with so many “real-life” situations that students face. I “WISH” I could place this book in the hands of every student I teach. For those who live in loving environments, it would help them understand the other side of the coin, and for those who live in less nurturing environments, this book would help them see they are not alone and maybe, just maybe, saying “pineapple,” when things get rough, would result in a little less anger and the consequences that often follow. This is a “six” star book and the reading performance is a “six” star, as well.

Beautiful.

Love this book and I am a 58 year old woman. I would highly recommend it to all. We all need a friend like Howard!

A must read great book

I Loved this book must read!! It was an emotional rollercoaster but worth reading it.

Great story

I think I loved listening to this story as much as my grandson enjoyed it

CUTEEEEEEE

Such a cute lovely story that children need to read. Even being an adult, I enjoyed this book.

Great read!

Beautiful and well written story. Very real and heartfelt. The aspects of this story. I'm sure resonate on many young readers! A clean read.

Good for kids with parents who aren’t there for them.

A great book for anyone who has a parental void in their life. Charlie is a lovable character who helps us realize it’s okay to wish, but at the same time it’s also good understand a wish is not needed to have a great life.

Amazing

I'm 10 and I have a temper glad to know I ain't the only one

Heartfelt and captivating

This story was absolutely SOMETHING The storyline, the reader, everything! Read this! Trust me! You will not regret it!