4.5

Tells the story of Peter who comes from a family who always makes noises while he just wants to be still and quiet, and Annie who is sick and just wants to make art. Together in a magical valley, they make art with nature and keep a unique friendship that is threatened to fall apart. Heartwarming yet explores deep topics just like a thick blanket of dandelion fluffs. Recommended for those seeking a magical story.

Wish Girl is one of those special books that so clearly demonstrates the magic and agelessness of children's literature. This third novel from Nikki Loftin is an incredibly beautiful novel, filled with characters and prose that will undoubtedly wriggle deep into your heart.

“Turns out, it's not running away when no one notices you're gone.”

Peter Stone is a quiet boy who feels perpetually adrift. Quiet and introspective, he struggles to make friends and bullies find him an easy target. Even at home Peter feels alienated; his family, loud and extroverted, struggle to understand and connect with him. After his mother discovers dark and hopeless entries in his journal, the family packs up and leaves the city behind, hoping that escaping the bullies and negativity will allow Peter to start over. Of course, Peter can't outrun what's in his head. The pressing need to be alone drives him out into the nearby tranquil valley, where he finally feels like he has escaped and can be himself. I love that it is through nature, this beautiful but sometimes dangerous valley, that Peter finally finds and accepts himself.

“'It's part of the art,' she explained, motioning toward the stream. 'The bringing together of the pieces, then the way they disappear when it time - the wind, or water, or gravity, whatever - makes the art lose its hold. It's not meant to stay forever. Some people,' and she paused. 'Some people wouldn't get it. They'd do all sorts of unnatural things to make it stay just like it was. Glue it, staple it, cement it. Even though that would ruin it.'”

When Peter first encounters Annie Blythe, he's angry. Finally, finally he has found a place that is his, where he can be alone, and there she is. But, despite his initial reaction, he finds he likes Annie. Instead of cutting conversations short, he can't help but ask her questions and, before he knows it, he's aiding in her crazy artistic pursuits. Much to Peter's surprise, with Annie he finds companionable silence and reflective conversation. She isn't like the people Peter wants to escape and she isn't quite like Peter either. Instead, she is just unapologetically herself. Artistic, opinionated, bossy, and devoted to living the fullest, most artistic life she can in the time she has left. The friendship between Peter and Annie is hands down one of my absolute favorites. It's honest and deep and powerful.

The valley where Peter and Annie meet begins as a way for each of them to escape the 'real' world, where they feel overwhelmed and unwelcome. Readers soon realize, however, that the valley is more than just a place, it's a character in its own right - a unique, stubborn, magical character, just like Peter and Annie.

"'No,' she said again, 'I don't want to die. Not at all! But don't you see, I'm going to anyway?' She pointed at her chest. 'What is death, Peter? It's when you stop being you, right? When that something, that spark or whatever, goes out. And that's what's coming for me.'”

Because Annie is terminally ill and Peter struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts, conversations of death do play an important part in this novel. While Annie doesn't want to die, she thinks it preferable to the brain damage and loss of self and autonomy her impending treatment will likely cause. Peter's friendship with Annie, seeing her fear and lack of choice, forces him to confront his own depression and thoughts of self harm. I often hear adults protesting to the inclusion of these themes and discussion in MG literature because they feel their young readers need something lighter or cannot handle talk of illness, depression, and death, but I truly feel that younger readers need books like Wish Girl. As much as these difficult and often taboo topics are uncomfortable and scary to talk about, they are real and they affect people everyday. Hiding from them, choosing ignorance, benefits no one.

“'Sometimes,' she said, after a few more seconds of silence, 'sometimes you got to act. You can't wait. You got to do what needs doing, before the world makes the decision for you.'”

I know it's early, but I feel this book is a likely 2015 Newbery contender... It's one I'll be recommending for years to come, award or no.

Highly recommended.

It was a great book!

Thanks to self-quarantine mandatory, now I can read a whole book only in a day! Since English is not my first language and commuting usually kept me busy — ah well, anyway, this book is simply mesmerizing. It's a children story, I can easily guess the whole plot just by reading the first pages. But the way the writer describes each moment, it feels magical to me.

Someday, she would come back. I knew it, like I knew how to be quiet, how to be still, how to listen. She would return to the valley and run with me through the soft thorn bushes, past the sleeping snakes, across meadows of fossils and flowers, through streams that flowed with water cleaner and purer than rain, followed by clouds of dragonflies and sparrows, butterflies and lightning bugs playing games in the sky. She would come back to us, and we would all be transformed, again and again.

Lyrical language, definite sense of place, magical realism contrasted with the harshness of disease. A boy deals with moving to a new place when he finds a new friend, a younger girl dealing with a resurgence of brain cancer. More uplifting than I'm making it sound.

Good for grades 4-7 or so, and good for book groups.

This book is truly beautiful. It shows us the astounding way a frienship can change our lives forever. I totally recommend it to all the warm-hearted people.

It's a weird thing how people whom we call family felt like stranger being around them, and how a stranger could make us fell like we have known them for so long. That's exactly what Peter Stone is going through. On every typical family's issue most of the time it's the lack of 'right' communication that lead into the family members' relationship being distanced apart -- people do too much of the talking and less of listening.

The story ended magically. And reading this book I do wish that the valley of such does exist, or -- on more realistically -- a person like Annie exist; more people like Annie exist. And more people choose to listen.

Equal parts sweet and tense as you follow Peter trying desperately to find inner and outer peace alongside a new friend who has problems of her own. The magic realism was not as mysteriously done as Nightingale's Nest, but I didn't need it to be. Great characterization and setting.

Great characters, really poignant story with a hopeful ending.

I just finished this book and loved it. Magical Realism. Friendship. Acceptance. Hard Decisions.

Recently, I re-read Tuck Everlasting and when I got to the end I remembered why I loved that book. It strikes an emotional chord. You are better because you read the book. When I finished Wish Girl I had that same feeling - an emotional chord was struck and life is better for having read it.