You Wish

Sometimes I pick up a book and I think, “This is probably going to end in either A or B, like all the other books with this theme/storyline/idea/etc.” Now, I can’t say that this book breaks that mold, but the fun with those books is in getting to that end point. You Wish definitely has fun (I mean, Raggedy Ann come to life? How could that not be fun?), but there are also moments along the way that dive into some issues that are more serious.
So there’s Kayla, who’s in love with Nicole’s boyfriend, Ben, only Nicole has no clue because Kayla kept this a secret from everyone. At first I found this a little outrageous, since they were supposed to be so close and all, but then I realized that it wasn’t outrageous at all. show more That’s because when I was this age and I really liked someone (not just a crush but, like, firmly believed I was destined to be with someone), I wouldn’t even tell my best friend. On the outside, I did my best to pretend that the boy was just another guy in my school, so nobody ever knew. But enough about me. Kayla kept this a secret, but now she’s paying for it by having to see the boy she loves get cozy with her best friend. Obviously there’s going to be conflict there, with or without Kayla’s birthday wish coming true, and Hubbard does an excellent job of showing this tension between all three of the players.
Because of this tension, Kayla spends much of the book on her own (or with Ann, who becomes her replacement best friend). Although she is trying to figure out how to make the wishes stop coming true, there are other issues she has to deal with, including her absent father, workaholic mother, and the undeniable fact that Nicole is changing in a way that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Ben. The storyline with Kayla’s father felt a little underdeveloped, when compared to the other conflicts in the book, but her epiphany about their relationship felt authentic.
This is a fun read, full of both frustrations and heart-fluttering moments, and I was easily caught up in it from beginning to end. show less

Who wouldn't like a book where the main character has her very own, real live My Little Pony (hot pink with an ice cream cone on the rump)?

When we first meet Kayla she is just about to turn Sweet Sixteen. Her mother, a party and event planner, has the perfect party all planned out. But, perfect for who? Not Kayla who has be telling her mother all along that nothing about this party sounds fun or even her style. Kayla is more likely to wear a sailor style dress from Old Navy with fishnet stockings and Converse sneakers than to conform to what a typical teenage girl would wear. And her mother is creating a typical Sweet Sixteen party with pink decorations, punch and cake. The only positive point about this party is that her best friend show more Nicole promises to be there after an anniversary dinner with her boyfriend--not more than an hour late, she says. Several hours later Kayla is set to blow out the candles on her cake and her friend has yet to arrive. Miserable and angry Kayla wishes for all her past birthday wishes to come true since they never have before. And, wouldn't you know it? Kayla wakes up the next day and finds her own lifesize My Little Pony scampering around the yard. Her other wishes include Raggedy Ann coming to life, wanting to be a mermaid and, the one that may be the most detrimental to her life and friendship with Nicole, to be kissed by her crush of three years, Ben, who happens to be Nicole's boyfriend. Then follows a story that has Kayla trying to figure out who she is, who her friends are and how she wants to see the people in her school and life and how they ulitimately should be seeing her.

I liked this story, it was magical and fantasitical humorous and had a good plot that that led us along with Kayla on her journey to try and figure out who she really was--a snarky, against-the-flow loner with minimal friends or a more accepting, open joiner who allowed other people to see the real her and find out that she's pretty likeable after all. She also learns to understand that her father's leaving not only affected her and how she reacts to life but to her mother and brother, as well. The magical aspect of how and why the wishes were granted was pretty much skimmed over and didn't get a big plot point of explanation but that ended up being ok with me because I wanted more to see what the wishes were going to be and how and why she chose them at certain points in life. This book put me in mind of many wish granting movies such as Big, Freaky Friday, 13 Going on 30 and 16 Wishes (which is very much like the book when a Sweet Sixteen wish grants all the wishes of the previous birthdays) were all of the wish recipients learn a lesson about their life and what is best for them. show less

Things keep getting worse and worse for Kayla on her sixteenth birthday. Her best friend ditches her for a date, she is in love with said date, her mother it throwing her a huge party to show off her business, she hasn't heard from her father in ten years, and she knows absolutley no one at this monstrosity of a party. So when she is forced to blow out her birthday candles, she wishes- I wish my birthday wishes actually came true. Because they never freakin do. This sets off a chain reaction that forces Kayla deal not only with a pink pony, a living raggedy Ann doll, and a room full of gumballs but to examine her own attitude.

I really liked Kayla and how she grew throughout the book. It was not a sudden change nor a drastic change, show more just a shift in a way of thinking. She does not become an entirely different peson but nicer, less caustic version. It also helps that the supporting characters are so funny! I love Ann and how she only knows what ten year old Kayla knew or what she overheard in the closet. Ken was hilariously into himself and made one of the funniest scenes in the book. Ben was sweet and a great love interest. I especially appricate how Hubbard handled the best friend's boyfirend angle. Nichole is also growing in her own right and doesn't quite know how to tell Kayla.

This is an excellent example of a great humor book for teens. There have been complaints that everything is dark and grim but this book proves that there is still a selection for light hearted literature. Not to say that there is not any weight to the book, there are several story lines that made me think and evaluate how things are going in my life. How can I be a supportive friend? Will anything ever go my way? Why do birthdays suck? Those kind of questions. All I know is that I finished the book with a smile and would recommend it to anyone. There were several scenes where I could not hold the giggles in... much like Kayla. show less

It's not really fair to this book that I read it right after the event that was Sloppy Firsts. But maybe that helped me see why some books are 5s and some are 3s.
I liked the concept, sweet sixteen turns into sweet hell when the girl starts getting every birthday wish she ever made including a life-sized My Little Pony, Ken for a boyfriend and gumballs. I liked the characters although they were very flat outside of the mains. Even her love interest was very cardboard. In fact based on description I would have stuck with plastic, meat-head Ken. At least he had a Jeep and a credit card. That and the story also wrapped up a little too nicely and quickly. Large character changes happen fast, too fast. I know people change and that YA time is show more when that change is most noticeable and damaging. So it was fun and fluffy but not one to stick with you ever. show less

You wish is a funny, cute and quick read! It is light but there are underlying themes that make it more than just a fluffy read (not that there is anything wrong with that!) I love it when books make me laugh and this one made me laugh throughout- Kayla's responses to things, what is actually going on in the plot, and her snarky comments.
Kayla is an "outcast" and makes quirps at the popular crowd throughout, and I can totally relate- I was that girl in high school! I like the growth that we see in her especially toward the end, she realizes that she can be herself, instead of the self imposed image she put on herself of being everything that "they" are not.
Her friendship with Nicole and Ann are great, and both had something to teach show more Kayla and to contribute to the novel. Ben, the love interest of the semi-triangle, is cute and quirky himself, and it is fun to watch him and Kayla interact. Kayla does somewhat fall under the absentee parent trend in YA, but I like that there is at least acknowledgement of this and some resolution to it.
The wishes are all great in their own aspects, and I was kept wondering what would come next! It really makes you think about the things you wish for and how it could effect you if it came true later in life.
I would definitely recommend this one! show less

Full review at Amaterasu ReadsThis is a very amusing read. My little pony? Gumballs. Lots and lots of gumballs! Raggedy Ann doll coming to life? And Ken, looking for his Barbie. All of which came crashing into Kayla's life after she blew the candles on her huge pink birthday cake when she turned 16. One by one her birthday wishes are coming true, which isn't fun at all. Especially when she wished she can kiss Ben, who happens to be her best friend's boyfriend. And believe me, you do not want to cross that line, especially with your friend.I connected with Kayla's character in a lot of ways, and as I read through, I find myself reacting to the story so much. So very passionately at times that I feel like it was me in the story. I guess I show more can relate to her in a lot of ways.Placing myself in Kayla's shoes made the reading experience enjoyable. I was in tune with her emotions while reading. I guess its just not about the magic, that it's just a way to show how Kayla goes through her life, accepting that people change, that through her "wishes" coming through, she'll discover her own self, understand herself more and finally being what she really wants to be like. Not an outsider who mocks everyone because they're so different from her, but herself. The Kayla who loves ballet and the motocross track.I like it how Mandy Hubbard didn't focus much on the magical side of the story, but how Kayla eventually grows as her wishes come true.I guess my terrible misconception when I first picked up this book off the shelf as that this will be a YA novel overflowing in sweetness it'll be a breeze to finish it. But no, Mandy Hubbard was able to write a really beautiful novel about friendship, love, family and accepting one's self, no matter how flawed one is.And that is just plain awesome.I guess the moral of the story is: Be careful what you wish for. ;) show less

I really enjoyed this book. It was a super duper fast read (I finished it in just about two hours which is pretty much unheard of for me) filled with the cutest scenarios. A fabulous read for tweens and teens this book spans ages all the way up to adults longing to relive some of their fondest childhood memories.

Now, let me tell you, most of the plot of the book is given away in the jacket flap. There isn’t a whole lot to the plot outside of the wish scenario and there isn’t super in depth character development and analysis. But you know what? It doesn’t need it. It works perfectly just the way it is.

You Wish is seriously just a nice dose of good old fashioned fun. Don’t get me wrong, there is a fair share of angst — Kayla’s show more got some pretty heavy family issues and her life-long best friend is starting to move in a different direction socially. How these are dealt with is where the power of the story resides. How Kayla works through these issues are focused on through this unique idea where Kayla is suddenly granted all of her birthday wishes. Every day something new happens — a real life My Little Pony wagging it’s blue and pink tail in the yard, a room full of gumballs, a real life Ken doll to date, and worst of all great big giant knockers that grow from A to D cup over night! All of these different childhood hopes and dreams just magically appear to her and start wreaking havoc and changing the direction of her life.

Tremendously witty and filled with humor and fun You Wish also has the requisite cute boy crush going on. Of course said cute boy is the aforementioned distance creating best friend’s boyfriend. This could be a problem but the way Hubbard has handled it is respectful and mature. I appreciated that Kayla had respect for her friend’s feelings. She wasn’t some scheming trampy girl manipulating Ben away at the expense of her relationship with Nicole. She genuinely wanted to maintain her friendship at all costs. Watching her struggle with her own desire in an attempt to maintain that proprietary was an excellent part of the story. One that I think could teach teen girls a thing or two.

This is the perfect book to escape with, it’s not heavy lifting but it’s not without depth. It’s got a wonderfully quirky and interesting main character and a fun concept. The best part, by far, was trying to guess what each new day would bring with it. What wish would be granted and how would it affect Kayla’s life. It was so much fun and written in a way that a person could actually believe it was happening. Was it a joke? Was it a dream? Was it really happening? Well you’ll have to read it to find out! show less