Name: Esme's Wish
ISBN: 9781925652246

Elizabeth Foster

Esme Silver's mother has been mysteriously ''lost at sea'', but when her father remarries, Esme protests at the wedding. After Esme is accidentally swept to the enchanted world of Aeolia, the truth begins to unfold...

Esme's Wish

Alice

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion.

Before starting, I just wanted to say that Esme's Wish is labeled as an MG book, but the writing is more YA, complexity-speaking. However, it deserves its 3,5 rounded up because it is technically a Middle-Grade novel and I considered the dynamics/adventures/characters according to that. 

Story/Plot

Esme's Wish does have a slow start (it perked up at around 33%). The beginning is uneventful and lasts too long without any exciting action. However, if you stick around for long enough, things do get more interesting when you're introduced to the new world.

The ending is a cliffhanger, but most subplot conflicts were resolved (even if some answers were a tad rushed). The right amount of question marks was left floating in the air to assure the readers' interest in the sequel (Esme's Gift). 

There is no denying it, the pace is rather slow during the introduction and rising action, but falls definitively too fast when it comes to the climax, which is resolved in about four pages. I was a bit bummed that the antagonists were dismissed so quickly.

Characters

Esme is a sweet main character, even if she feels a little papery at some moments of the story. Apart from her and Daniel and Lillian, we don't really get to know the characters, so they all feel a little flat and mainly filling holes in the background. 

Some of the conflicts Esme has to fight are internal ones: she has to discover truths about herself and her mother, as well as about friendship. These are very important topics for early teens, so kudos for that.

As someone who has suffered bullying and has trust issues, I really appreciate the message of healthy friendship: Esme's friends stick by, no matter her struggles or the truths they uncover, because they care about her and want to help her.

Worldbuilding

Perhaps, two full stars of my rating are entirely awarded to the setting of the novel. Even if some of the descriptive paragraphs dragged a little, the scenery was beautiful (I dreamt of it). I would have enjoyed more worldbuilding (this is not entirely a complaint, just a remark to stress how much I loved the magic of it). 

Aeolia is a world parallel to ours, accessed through portals that are almost impossible to find, where magic is an everyday thing and people can breathe underwater. There are dragons, sirens, people with the Gift of walking on water, flying lights of the sea, and more dream-like details, including a magic postal service. If you're looking for Atlantis- or Lemuria-like worlds, then you should consider visiting Aeolia.

Problematic issues

There was this talk of Daniel burning Lilian when they were kids. It was disturbing, most of all because it was laughed at and Lilian somehow ended up being at fault for being upset??

Even if Esme dislikes her step-aunt (and I take her side), it was incredibly wrong to have disappeared from home for over a month without any concern for her. The step-aunt most probably had to call the police and got into huge trouble. Plus, what if Esme's father had been contacted a few days after her disappearance? Even if he was on honeymoon, he must have been reachable in some way.

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Becca Futrell

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Esme's Wish is a struggle to review -- because it wasn't bad, not at all -- it was very well-written, took place in a beautiful mystical setting & had dragons. I love dragons. However, there were parts where my attention shifted elsewhere & I just couldn't get into this read. 

This MG-to-YA novel was adorable & told a beautiful story of found friendship. Lillian & Daniel were fun characters to put alongside Esme, even if their bickering got a little annoying. The three stuck together through all obstacles. The friendship aspect is probably my favorite part of Esme's Wish. 

Esme's Wish is a perfect start to a series & I think that placed in the right hands, this book will get a lot of love. The execution of this story was great -- unfortunately, it just wasn't a book for me.

Jagoda Nowak

I liked this book a lot - it was quite an easy read. However, I found certain descriptions of the city boring, and nothing really happened in the middle of the book. I think this book would be perfect for middle-graders, who are just starting their adventure with fantasy. What I loved the most about 'Esme's Wish' were the dragons. I absolutely adore dragons, and I was really happy to find them in this book, even though there could be more of them. I really liked the world-building, but the characters annoyed me - but which sixteen year olds don't? Overally, I liked this book, though I think I might be a bit too mature for it.

Esme's Wish

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