Monday, September 11, 2017

Book Review: How to Make a Wish


Title: How to Make a Wish
Author: Ashley Herring Blake
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

It's official: How to Make a Wish is the first book I've EVER read that portrays a bisexual girl in a realistic and understood way. 


I've struggled in my life, a lot, to even figure out if (given I have a husband) it matters that I'm also attracted to girls. Ashley Herring Blake has reminded this 34-year-old that is most certainly does. Not because it makes me special, but because it's part of what makes me, me! You may think this is a silly thing to say but I think it's easy to loose track of who we are and not just who everyone else thinks we are. 


Quite often I struggle with contemporary "summer" young adult reads. They are either too annoying, too sappy or poorly written. This book is none of these things. It's a very fast read that is poignant, beautiful and yet totally plausible. 


The ex-boyfriend, the crazed mom, the dead mom, the best friend, the town, the lighthouse, the beach and even the summer job are all elements in the story that fit together nicely. The situations, scenarios and people are real. I wonder if Blake didn't base some of them on real people. 


Overall the biggest things to know about How to Make a Wish are:

1) a gorgeous bisexual relationship emerges, 

2) death and neglect are the major themes; 

but both these things are secondary to the major message which is: be sure to make a wish for something you can control and then work hard to make that wish come true. 


Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

1 comment:

Leonore Winterer said...

That sounds like a really sweet read, and I'm so glad this kind of topic does not qualify as 'scandalous' anymore (at least not with decent people!)