How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017
• Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQ+
• Format: Ebook
• Page Count: 336 pages
• My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

In short, this book is about wounded characters doing their best to heal each other with love. Ashley captures every possible emotion for the readers to experience: we get annoyed at how incompetent Maggie is, astonished by Grace’s unrequited love for her mother, compassionate towards the recovering Eva, warmed by Luca’s forever-loving family, etc.

You’re just a kid who’s had to be a grownup way too many times. (Luca)

I felt joy and sweetness as well as anger and frustration throughout the book. While a lot of stories are about negligent parents and children dealing with life on their own, this one is about a teenage daughter feeling obliged to look out for her problematic mother. It is refreshing and thrilling, yet infuriating at the same time. How can Maggie do all these things to Grace?

Why Grace did not need to practise the piano all day everyday before audition beats me. But the few confusing matters did not degrade the overall quality. The romance between Grace and Eva, both suffering from respective griefs, is no doubt cute and the supportive kind. While Grace relaxes through music, Eva has dancing, even though it is a horrible reminder of her losing her mum. They helped each other out emotionally, and became a whole in the process (with the aid of peanut butter and lighthouse, I suspect). The story ended well with most problems resolved, so it left me feeling nice and happy. [31 May 2018]