The Wish

look at those mixed reviews...
I had a chance to add it as a bonus book in pbs, so let's see what I think...
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I liked it quite a bit. I like that Wilma is basically a nice girl, and actually gets a little nicer. I like that she's so believable; wanting to be popular is really a thing, and it's easy to get confused about having friends vs. being popular anyway. The kissing might be a bit over the top, but it's fine. I do wish we'd gotten to know some of the other characters better; this was just a bit too simple.

We do get to know Jared a bit. And he's smart, which is imo awfully appealing. "Ancient hunters might feel the same way about us. We don't hunt for our food, so to them we'd be like children."

I was going to say the message was show more obvious, the theme earnest, but I see that a lot of reviewers managed to miss it. So don't worry about that. If I had a tween girl, I'd absolutely recommend this. show less

In The Wish eigth grader Wilma wishes that she was the most popular person at school. Her wish is granted but, like many fairy granted wishes, it has disturbing effects. Wilma isn't sure who likes her for who she is and who likes her because of the wish, she is not popular with people who do not attend her school, her friends boyfriends hit on her, and graduation is rapidly approaching and Wilma wonders what will happen when she no longer attends her school.

Gail Carson Levine asks some tough questions about popularity and she gives some insights into what makes people, especially middle school students, act the way they do.

Wilma’s friends have moved, and she can’t seem to make any new ones, so when she gets a wish, she wishes to be the most popular girl in school. She befriends the most popular girls, but also befriends the other unpopular kids. She finds out that she can be popular and be a good person, so that when she stops being popular by default, people still like her.

This is a good text for middle school or 5th grade girls. It follows Wilma, an unpopular girl in middle school. Suddenly, Wilma's wish to be the most popular girl in school is granted! And life seems wonderful--she has tons of friends and dates to her school's dances. But she begins to wonder, how long will this last? Are these people really my friends? This is a great book to deal with the issue of popularity and being liked for who you are.

This is a dream that every middle school girl has (to be popular), so it is a great depiction of how Wilma became popular but didn't like it. At first she liked it, but then she realized that she missed her friends--the people who were true friends to her. This book really portrays the message of how great, strong, meaningful friendships are more important than superficial popularity.

refers to audio
Original review at The Little Bookworm

After writing a disastrous essay, Wilma is made fun of, then ignored. Tired of being a nobody, she makes a wish to be the most popular girl at her school when she is granted one wish from a fairy godmother for a good deed. Now everyone is school loves her and Wilma is very happy. But once she realizes how specific her wish was, Wilma has to figure out how to extend her wish or lose her popularity forever.

Ariadne Meyers is the reader of this audio book. I mention this first because she also read Meg Cabot's All American Girl series so it put me too much into the mindset of Meg Cabot. She is a good reader and I enjoy her voice, but sometimes I associate a reader with a series and it's show more hard not to filter what I'm listening now to that series. So The Wish actually comes off a little more Meg Cabot than it normally would have otherwise. (For my opinion on Meg Cabot, click here.)

That being said, I enjoyed The Wish. It was very cute and had a good lesson at the end. It was more contemporary than some of the other Levin books I've read. Wilma was a good girl, but she writes an embarrassing essay that her teacher reads aloud thus subjecting Wilma to social Siberia. But once she makes her wish, Wilma doesn't really change herself too much or act snotty or anything. She continues being a nice girl, just more outgoing and confident, a refreshing main character. So she makes "friends" with some of the other popular girl and enjoys her new status. She was a little slow about realizing her mistake when she makes her wish, but other than that I have no complaints about this books. It was just a very fun book. show less

A beautiful way of seeing into a teen girls life. This book is so detailed, it allows you to feel like you're the protagonist in the story.