Basic Premise: In the Mojave Desert is the small town of Madison, Nevada. To anybody passing through, it seems like an unremarkable town. That’s just what the residents want you to think. In truth, Madison is quite remarkable: on the outskirts of town is a cave where, on their 18th birthday, the residents are granted one wish, guaranteed to come true. Some people wish for money, some wish for love, some wish for material things. But one young man, Eldon Wilkes, has no idea what he’s going to wish for. As his 18th birthday quickly draws near, he must decide what path he will take, as it will decide his entire future.
Now, I’m not a huge YA fan. Half of it is depressing dystopian’s where some white girl has to save the world while deciding which white boy who’s in love with her she’ll choose. The other half is just sappy romance or some John Green tearjerker that will break your soul (no offense, Mr. Green, I’m a huge fan of your YouTube history videos). As You Wish is different. First off, there’s hardly any romance, a huge bonus to me. Second, well, it’s really hard to describe how it’s different. It’s different from a lot of adult books I’ve read. It’s just really good.
Having a guaranteed wish seems amazing. Before I even started reading, I thought, ‘What I wouldn’t give for a chance like that!’ But pretty quickly you realize that Madison’s wishing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Wishes can’t be revoked, no matter how badly they bite you in the ass. Not that everyone gets bitten by their wish. But the more you read, the more you find out that most people never really think about the consequences of their wish. And no matter what you wish for, you’re basically stuck in Madison for the rest of your life.
This is all shown to us through the protagonist, Eldon Wilkes. Eldon was once the star football player, but thanks to a wish, he loses his star status to a teammate. His parents are stuck in a loveless marriage thanks to a wish made before he was born. And it was a person running late to their wish time that caused an accident that turned his younger sister into a vegetable, wasting away in a nursing home in Las Vegas. Despite all that, Eldon has been raised to believe that wishing is the greatest gift a person from Madison could get. But because of all that, Eldon questions the value of wishing.
When the book begins, it is 25 days until Eldon’s 18th birthday. Eldon is not the most sympathetic character. He’s angry and somewhat selfish. While you can understand why, he’s still kind of a shit. But as the story progresses, something changes inside him, and all of a sudden, he’s different. He still has some maturing and growing to do, but he realizes this, and actually starts making steps to become a better person. I won’t say I hated Eldon at the start, but there were times I caught myself shaking my head at some of his decisions and reactions. But about halfway through the book, I caught myself rooting for the guy, and couldn’t pinpoint when that started. By the end, that little bastard stole my heart.
That’s the thing about Sedoti’s writing: it’s beautifully subtle. The emotions brought on by the book creep up on you in a delightful way. For all the subtlety, the writing is very straightforward, almost conversational, which is something I absolutely love. There’s no puzzling what she’s trying to say, no confusion about what the wishing really is for Madison. There are a few surprises, but even just the basic day-to-day stuff is just really interesting to read. Sedoti has created a tiny world, and within the first two chapters, you may as well be living in Madison yourself. Hopefully, you made the right wish!
One of the ways Eldon tries to help decide what wish to make is to go around town and ask people about their wishes. Not just what they wished for, but why, and how it affected their lives. These are probably some of my favorite sections of the book, as it really rounds out the citizens of the town, which lends to making the town come to life. It also really shows how wishing can kind of screw up people’s lives. But most importantly it shows how the folks of Madison have completely deluded themselves into accepting this way of life. At one point, after meeting some outsiders, Eldon asks “Is it true that adults actually ask kids what they want to be when they grow up?” Because in Madison, nobody cares what you want to be; they want to know what you’ll wish for. How messed up is that?
Basically, this book shows the importance of free will and finding your own path in life, something that isn’t really an option if one wish basically plans the entire course of your life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to have dreams; dreams fuel us, drive our decisions and help shape us into the people we become. I wouldn’t be writing this if I didn’t dream of sharing the love of literature with the world. But a wish, that’s something we can’t change. Most Disney princesses get their wish, but we never see what happens after. I think there’s a good reason for that, and this book gives an idea of why we never see the fallout.
I would recommend this book fans of YA (older YA, there’s a tiny amount of coarse language), fans of speculative fiction, and fans of flawed protagonists. This book is sweet, a little sad, and really makes you think about free will and the choices we make in life. It’s one you won’t want to end.
But remember: Be careful what you wish for.
Final grade: A
Now, I’m not a huge YA fan. Half of it is depressing dystopian’s where some white girl has to save the world while deciding which white boy who’s in love with her she’ll choose. The other half is just sappy romance or some John Green tearjerker that will break your soul (no offense, Mr. Green, I’m a huge fan of your YouTube history videos). As You Wish is different. First off, there’s hardly any romance, a huge bonus to me. Second, well, it’s really hard to describe how it’s different. It’s different from a lot of adult books I’ve read. It’s just really good.
Having a guaranteed wish seems amazing. Before I even started reading, I thought, ‘What I wouldn’t give for a chance like that!’ But pretty quickly you realize that Madison’s wishing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Wishes can’t be revoked, no matter how badly they bite you in the ass. Not that everyone gets bitten by their wish. But the more you read, the more you find out that most people never really think about the consequences of their wish. And no matter what you wish for, you’re basically stuck in Madison for the rest of your life.
This is all shown to us through the protagonist, Eldon Wilkes. Eldon was once the star football player, but thanks to a wish, he loses his star status to a teammate. His parents are stuck in a loveless marriage thanks to a wish made before he was born. And it was a person running late to their wish time that caused an accident that turned his younger sister into a vegetable, wasting away in a nursing home in Las Vegas. Despite all that, Eldon has been raised to believe that wishing is the greatest gift a person from Madison could get. But because of all that, Eldon questions the value of wishing.
When the book begins, it is 25 days until Eldon’s 18th birthday. Eldon is not the most sympathetic character. He’s angry and somewhat selfish. While you can understand why, he’s still kind of a shit. But as the story progresses, something changes inside him, and all of a sudden, he’s different. He still has some maturing and growing to do, but he realizes this, and actually starts making steps to become a better person. I won’t say I hated Eldon at the start, but there were times I caught myself shaking my head at some of his decisions and reactions. But about halfway through the book, I caught myself rooting for the guy, and couldn’t pinpoint when that started. By the end, that little bastard stole my heart.
That’s the thing about Sedoti’s writing: it’s beautifully subtle. The emotions brought on by the book creep up on you in a delightful way. For all the subtlety, the writing is very straightforward, almost conversational, which is something I absolutely love. There’s no puzzling what she’s trying to say, no confusion about what the wishing really is for Madison. There are a few surprises, but even just the basic day-to-day stuff is just really interesting to read. Sedoti has created a tiny world, and within the first two chapters, you may as well be living in Madison yourself. Hopefully, you made the right wish!
One of the ways Eldon tries to help decide what wish to make is to go around town and ask people about their wishes. Not just what they wished for, but why, and how it affected their lives. These are probably some of my favorite sections of the book, as it really rounds out the citizens of the town, which lends to making the town come to life. It also really shows how wishing can kind of screw up people’s lives. But most importantly it shows how the folks of Madison have completely deluded themselves into accepting this way of life. At one point, after meeting some outsiders, Eldon asks “Is it true that adults actually ask kids what they want to be when they grow up?” Because in Madison, nobody cares what you want to be; they want to know what you’ll wish for. How messed up is that?
Basically, this book shows the importance of free will and finding your own path in life, something that isn’t really an option if one wish basically plans the entire course of your life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to have dreams; dreams fuel us, drive our decisions and help shape us into the people we become. I wouldn’t be writing this if I didn’t dream of sharing the love of literature with the world. But a wish, that’s something we can’t change. Most Disney princesses get their wish, but we never see what happens after. I think there’s a good reason for that, and this book gives an idea of why we never see the fallout.
I would recommend this book fans of YA (older YA, there’s a tiny amount of coarse language), fans of speculative fiction, and fans of flawed protagonists. This book is sweet, a little sad, and really makes you think about free will and the choices we make in life. It’s one you won’t want to end.
But remember: Be careful what you wish for.
Final grade: A