Review of Advance Reader Copy
In the sandy desert town of Madison, Nevada, young people wait expectantly for their eighteenth birthday. On that day, they visit the wishing cave . . . and whatever they wish for comes true.
Torn about his soon-to-be-birthday-wish, Eldon Wilkes sees the aftermath of wishes come true all around him. Can he devise a wish that will make people happy? One that won’t disintegrate into regret? Can this wish make him happy? And just what is happiness, anyway?
Whatever happens, Eldon has very little time to decide about his wish . . . and then to live with it for the rest of his life.
As the story unfolds, it becomes more of a coming-of-age tale than a mystery surrounding the wishing cave. Well-developed characters populate the engaging narrative, and the town becomes a silent character as its unhappy, regretful residents interact with each other. But many of the young people, especially Eldon, are unlikeable and continually make questionable decisions. Additionally, the constant use of unnecessary vulgar language is a disservice to the unfolding narrative and is likely to be off-putting for many readers.
In the sandy desert town of Madison, Nevada, young people wait expectantly for their eighteenth birthday. On that day, they visit the wishing cave . . . and whatever they wish for comes true.
Torn about his soon-to-be-birthday-wish, Eldon Wilkes sees the aftermath of wishes come true all around him. Can he devise a wish that will make people happy? One that won’t disintegrate into regret? Can this wish make him happy? And just what is happiness, anyway?
Whatever happens, Eldon has very little time to decide about his wish . . . and then to live with it for the rest of his life.
As the story unfolds, it becomes more of a coming-of-age tale than a mystery surrounding the wishing cave. Well-developed characters populate the engaging narrative, and the town becomes a silent character as its unhappy, regretful residents interact with each other. But many of the young people, especially Eldon, are unlikeable and continually make questionable decisions. Additionally, the constant use of unnecessary vulgar language is a disservice to the unfolding narrative and is likely to be off-putting for many readers.