The Wish List

Summary: Meg isn't a bad person at heart, but she's done some pretty bad things. For example, she and another kid, Belch, are breaking into an old man's apartment (an activity about which Meg is having second thoughts) when she dies in a freak accident. But when she reaches the Other Side, there's a problem: her soul is perfectly balanced between good & evil, and so they can't decide whether to send her to Heaven or Hell. Meg must return to Earth as a ghost, and use her new lease on the afterlife to help someone - in her case, the same old man whose apartment she broke into - and he's got a very specific list about the life choices he'd like to rectify. But Hell's not going to let her soul escape their clutches without a fight...

Review: show more Eoin Colfer's books are a reliable mix of zany, snarky, and sweet, and The Wish List is no exception. It's not often that a kids' book starts with its protagonist dying in a gas explosion, but Colfer somehow makes it work, and what could be a very serious story about sin and souls and second chances is lightened up by the constant stream of Colfer's humor. Even though a lot of the action involves following an old man around Ireland as he (with Meg's help) rights 50-year-old wrongs, there's still a madcap feeling to a lot of it that reminded me of the Artemis Fowl books. It's not the most morally complex book, and there are a few plot elements and running gags that didn't always work for me. But even though it didn't knock my socks off, it definitely had some nice moments, Meg & Lowrie's bickering made me laugh, and it was short and sweet and kept me entertained. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Recommended for those who are looking for books that take a slightly skewed perspective on the afterlife, or for a fun mid-grade/YA adventure featuring ghosts. show less

Dropping the rating dramatically and removing from my home library because i finally reread this after like 10 years of having it on my shelf and it actually kinda sucks. I still have an appreciation for the overall story and feel nostalgically about several parts but other parts made me change the rating to one star (my "will physically fight this book" rating)

First off, this book uses the word oriental to describe an Asian person...this book was published in the early 2000s...what the fuck? Also the narrator of the audiobook version gave said Asian character a super racist fake Japanese accent for some reason?! Absolute mess. Im kind of worried if I read the Artemis Fowl books again Im gonna find similar trash.

This book also just show more doesnt make sense...its got random inconsistencies like the protagonist age (shes 12 when her mum dies but is 14 less than a year later when she dies?) and just gets a bit scrambled. i think the manuscript would have benefited from a competent editor who knows enough not to use outdated terms. show less

I remember when Artemis Fowl came out and reviewers lauded it to the skies as a "new kind of fantasy." It made me furious because it didn't sound like anything new at all to those of us who know and love the fantasy genre; in fact, I was so annoyed that I refused to read it or anything else by its author, Eoin Colfer. Years later, I learned he was tapped to write the sixth book in Douglas Adams' classic "trilogy," Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and thought that odd. But then I heard an interview with Colfer on the radio and he came across as very funny and engaging, enough so that I finally got curious about his writing. Rather than start with the book that annoyed me all those years ago, I picked an earlier book, The Wish List, and show more I'm glad I did. This is a dark YA comedy, about young Meg who dies at the tender age of 14 after participating in an attempted burglary of an old man. She is sent (with her killer) to the afterlife, but although the killer goes staight to hell, Meg is found to be perfectly balanced between good and bad, and as a result, she is sent back to Earth as a ghost, to assist the old man in completing his final wishes before he dies. How well she does that will determine whether her soul goes to heaven or hell....This is actually quite a gentle story, despite its early violence, and while I wouldn't put it on par with the great comic stories of our time, it is quite entertaining. Short too - it can be read in a day, if you're so inclined. Recommended. show less

While the Wish List has the same quirky characters as the Artemis Fowl series, the story didn't hold my attention as well. I found myself having to put the book down or go back to reread sections. The story turns direction and picks up speed at the Kissy Sissy chapter but somewhat to the determent of plot. Just suddenly the main character knows how her powers work. Then later the story stops dead in its tracks for some lengthy flashback chapters where a paragraph or two would have sufficed.

Meg Finn is a 14-year-old girl, trapped at home with an abusive stepfather after her mother's death. She has been lured by 16-year-old thug Belch to burglarize an old man, Lowrie McCall. Things go awry and both are killed in the act. Belch's spirit goes straight to Hell, but Meg has tipped the scales dead even by trying to protect the old man from Raptor, Belch's pit bull. So, to determine her afterlife address, she is sent back to the old man as a spirit with a mission: to help him in whatever way he decides important during his remaining time on Earth. Satan wants the girl, so sends Belch back to gum up the works. I've read a few other books with similar plots, but Colfer brings his unique style and humor to this one, and it is show more certainly the most entertaining of the lot. There's also a final paragraph that succeeded in getting me all teary-eyed. show less

A girl dies in the process of committing a crime in which she tries to keep her partner from hurting an old man. So she's bad for committing the crime but good for trying to protect the old man. Should she go to heaven or hell? Well, she gets sent back down to earth to make amends. She has to do this by helping the old man fulfill his list of things he wishes he had done -- like play ball in Yankee Stadium (or whichever stadium is in his town, I forget), kiss the girl he took out once and really liked, etc. Meanwhile, God and Satan are working to get her to their sides, and they have cell phones, computers, and holograms to work with.

This YA book was a breath of fresh air, something completely different than I have read lately. It is the belief that was we do in this world will determine where we go in the next. It is not what we believe it is what we do that defines us. The Wish List, invokes that belief to enlighten us with a story of a girl that had made many wrong decisions in her life, but the one right before she dies might have saved her. Now can she continue on a angelic path so that she will be graced with her eternity in heaven, or will she make another bad decision that could send her to hell.