Will I love Wish?

“Wish” may be more about the children in the story finding the love they need, but a dog is the core of much of the story and is probably why it still hits the “New York Times” bestseller list now and then almost ten years after publication.

Just the other day, I handed it to someone shopping at my local library’s used book store, confident it would meet the needs of a reluctant reader in her life. It's a charming, heart-warming story.  

I like beautiful writing and storytelling, and Wish by Barbara O’Connor is a perfect example of how beautifully written a children’s book can be.

The story takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, one of my favorite places in the world, and includes a skinny, stray dog named Wishbone and a neighbor boy named Howard who change the main character’s life forever. Many of my best friends have been dogs, and Wishbone is one of my all-time favorite fictional friends.

Brash eleven-year-old Charlie Reese battles her emotions, especially her anger, as a result of her parents’ inability to appropriately care for her.

When she is sent to Colby, North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, her anger bubbles over, spilling onto the new people in her life—people who have shown her nothing but kindness.

While I didn’t necessarily find Charlie’s tendency to blurt out cruel comments and call people “hillbillies” very endearing, the townsfolk moved me when they only showed this girl love and forgiveness in return. Wish inspires me to love difficult people with the same gusto… show more.