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Summary
Summary
In the sandy Mojave Desert, Madison is a small town on the road between nothing and nowhere. But Eldon wouldn't want to live anywhere else, because in Madison, everyone gets one wish-and that wish always comes true.
Some people wish for money, some people wish for love, but Eldon has seen how wishes have broken the people around him. And with the lives of his family and friends in chaos, he's left with more questions than answers. Can he make their lives better? How can he be happy if the people around him aren't? And what hope is there for any of them if happiness isn't an achievable dream? Doubts build, leading Eldon to a more outlandish and scary thought- maybe you can't wish for happiness...maybe, just maybe, you have to make it for yourself.
Author Notes
Chelsea Sedoti fell in love with writing at a young age after discovering that making up stories was more fun than doing her schoolwork. (Her teachers didn't always appreciate this.) She now focuses that passion by writing about flawed teenagers who are also afraid of growing up, like in her novels, The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett and As You Wish . She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she avoids casinos but loves roaming the Mojave Desert. Visit her at chelseasedoti.com.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-In the small desert town of Madison, UT, everyone is given a single wish on their 18th birthday. In the past, people have been granted beauty, love, athletic prowess, and wealth-things with no impact outside of their secretive community. Eldon's 18th birthday is fast approaching, and his mother wants him to wish for money in hopes that it will help Eldon's sister who is in a vegetative state after an accident. Meanwhile, Eldon thinks he'd be happier not having to go through with it at all after having spoken to others about their experiences. As it turns out, getting exactly what you want isn't all it's cracked up to be. Brian Hutchison narrates and does a credible job reading Eldon's character while also differentiating among the supporting cast. His warm, approachable voice leads listeners to relate more closely with the conflicted Eldon, whose selfishness, confusion about wishing, and hostility toward many of his classmates and former friends make him often unlikeable. The Wish Diary interludes, which are third-person accounts of selected Madisonians, are handled by Hutchison with appropriate somberness, and he perseveres though the thought-provoking yet slow-moving plot. VERDICT An additional purchase only where magical realism and studies of human nature are popular.-Julie Paladino, formerly at East Chapel Hill High School, NC © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
For 17-year-old Eldon, his windblown hometown in the Mojave Desert is "the kind of place you wanna leave as quick as you can." What it isn't, however, is ordinary: the town's residents are able to make a wish on their 18th birthday, which comes true. Eldon has 25 days to figure out what matters most to him, and everyone has an opinion (his mother pressures him to wish for the money they desperately need to save his sister, who is on life support). Eldon decides to research past wishes and their outcomes; third-person interludes appear between Eldon's first-person chapters, detailing various citizens' wishes. He discovers that most wishes have made the wishers' lives worse, and that a perfect wish may not exist. The countdown structure creates a natural hook, and Sedoti (The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett) makes good use of her what-if premise to give readers much to consider. She successfully captures the feelings of uncertainty that come with nascent adulthood, the desire to leave home, and waiting for one's life to begin. Ages 14-up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
In a Nevada desert town where everyone gets a wish on his or her eighteenth birthday (and it comes true), seventeen-year-old Eldon doesnt know what to choose. Whats more, hes convinced that most of the towns citizens secretly regret their wishes, which have a way of turning upon people. Hutchison perfectly voices the male leads (Eldon and his best friend Merrill) with variations of a Keanu Reeves mutter, complete with teenage-boy profanity. He also credibly delivers the voice of Norie, the female lead, with a light but not overly feminized inflection and puts an egghead spin on the schools guidance counselor. The story takes several unexpected turns, drawing the climax out, but Hutchisons unhurried narration will keep listeners buckled in for the ride. anita l. burkam (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
The blink-and-you-miss-it town of Madison, Nevada, has nothing of interest or so its residents say. In truth, the townsfolk are hiding a monumental secret: each person, upon turning 18, is granted a wish in the town's magic wishing cave. Eldon Wilkes, his birthday fast approaching, has no idea what to wish for. He tours around learning about others' past wishes and finds a common link between getting what you want and subsequent regret. Meanwhile, others specifically his parents see his opportunity as a fix for their poor past decisions. What will he wish for in the end? Sedoti has taken a nifty premise and plumbed it for its emotional and existential potential. As Eldon carries on his interviews, the narrative pauses periodically, treating the reader to extended retellings of what fellow Madisonians wished for and why. Often these circumstances are heartbreaking, other times hilarious, but always thought-provoking. An unexpectedly affecting book that will have readers pondering what they would wish for if given the chance.--Suarez, Reinhardt Copyright 2017 Booklist
