The Wish Book

I usually like books from this author- Ella Enchanted, Fairest, etc. But this one was horrible.

A fairy gives a wish to a girl who wants to be popular. Then, as that happens, she realizes that she really doesn't have to act different and that being popular can mean a lot of things- such as, just being nice to other people or helping those who are in need. It seems that the author is really showing that people can be liked just for being who they are. But, at the end when the spell wears off, no one likes her anymore. So what's the moral of that story?

Then, she's an 8th grader who gets a boyfriend and their plan for their second date is to find a secluded place to kiss... which they do, for a full hour. This is children's literature. Do kids need to be reading this?

To top it all off... here are a few excerpts from the back of the cover. "A modern-day fairy tale by the autor of the..." and "the most popular girl at claverford Junior High." and "someone is even writing her love poetry. life is like a fairy tale..." What happened to capitalizing proper names and the first word of a sentence, let alone using spell check. (I realize that this is an editing problem vs. the actual writing, but it just adds to my frustration.)

I usually donate the children's books I read to the school, but this one belongs in the recycling bin.