Hala Abdulaziz &
As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti

What really drew me in to As You Wish was the premise, because mysterious small desert towns have such a surreal setting. As You Wish is set in a small, middle-of-nowhere town called Madison, where nothing ever happens - except for that everyone, on their eighteenth birthday, gets to make one wish, and one wish only. And everyone always regrets their wish. Eldon's eighteenth birthday is coming up, and so is his wish. I was very frustrated with Eldon a lot of the time during this book, because he just was very self-centred. Which is totally a flaw that was brought up, but he doesn't really change in that aspect even though he does change in other ways. Even though I could emphasize with him, I kind of wanted him to notice more things that were going on around him and that even though he was going through some pretty tough events, other people were as well. As for plot and pacing, I felt like it was pretty slow, and not too much happened. However, the magical realism elements were fairly good - I don't usually like magical realism, and it was one of the more fascinating parts of this book. My favourite part of this book was the setting, because I feel like Sedoti got the aesthetic and mood of the mysterious desert town down pat. Everyone knows each other, and each other's secrets, and all the secondary characters were a lot more interesting than the main characters, honestly. For me, Fletcher and Penelope were the most interesting characters because it brought up the question: What happens when your wishes interfere with someone else's life? There were a lot of philosophical questions brought up in As You Wish and it was quite thought-provoking. If you like magical realism and Welcome to Night Vale, definitely check out As You Wish. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this book in exchange for review consideration. This review and others can be found on my blog.

This one really grew on me. The start was a little slow, but as I kept going I was really pulled in to the town and all its stories.

"Helping people is good, but it’s also a two-way street. You can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved." OK, remember how I just said I don't like magical realism?  Turns out, this is the kind of magical realism I like, the kind that borders on urban fantasy a bit. In the desert town of Madison, everyone gets one wish on their 18th birthday, and pretty much all of Madison revolves around wishing.  So much so that no one asks kids what they want to be when they grow up; instead they ask what they're going to wish for. Unlike every other kid in town, Eldon hasn't decided on his wish.  The book counts down the thirty days before Eldon's wish day, interspersed with "wish diaries" - recountings of other characters' wishes and the outcomes that Eldon is compiling in order to try to figure out what he wants to wish for. Eldon is seriously unlikeable.  I think, towards the end, that he did realize this and start taking steps to, well, not be such a huge jerk, but it really prevented me from connecting with him as a character at the start of the book.  Eldon is, basically, a screw-up, who, if he somehow manages into stumbling his way into doing the right thing, it's for all the wrong reasons.  I'd like to think that the jerkiness is the result his sister's recent tragedy, but it seems, from things the other characters say, that he's been that way his entire life.  His aimless selfishness is a reflection of the town around him, though, which may have been the author's intent. The main plot is pretty much as aimless as Eldon.  He hangs with his dad, gets badgered by his mom to wish for money, interviews townspeople, and basically acts like an ass to everyone, if he's not getting into actual physical fights with them.  But, still, I did feel drawn to come back and finish the book every time I had to put it down.  I wanted to find out what Eldon's wish would be, and if he'd actually grow the heck up. There's several weird side plots.  The first is that nobody in Madison believes in God, because they have wishes.  Oh, except for one girl, who meets a Mormon missionary in Las Vegas, but pretty much the whole town makes fun of her for that.  At one point, she tries to give the main character a copy of the Book of Mormon, and at another point asks them to take her to an LDS temple while they're in Las Vegas.  I don't understand the assertion that having wishes means that you can't believe in God, and the whole subplot felt weird and forced.  The other was that one gay character decides to wish away his attraction to men, and then later meets someone who he realized he would've fallen in love with previously, except now the relationship won't work because he has no romantic feelings.  Though I'm not that familiar with the ace/aro community, this struck me as something that could be hurtful to them. Overall, while I did like this book, there were enough problems that I can't give it four stars.  I will probably pick up the author's next release, though, because I thought the idea and writing style were excellent, just not my taste for the execution. I received this book for free from Bookish First in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

See the FULL review of this book on my blog at: shesgoingbookcrazy.com I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! Content Warning: Underaged drinking, drug abuse, attempted suicide, premarital sex. Have you ever thought about how much you said, "I wish..."? It's funny because I hadn't; not until just a few weeks before I read this book. Coincidence? Maybe. Either way, whether you think about how much you wish for something, or not, this book will force you to do so. Wishing never gets you anywhere. Except, of course, in Madison, it does. If you're lucky, that is. Wishing either gets you everything or nothing. And it's a gamble everyone is willing to take. Welcome to Madison, a small, secluded town situated in the Mojave Desert. Little goes on in Madison. People come and go, passing the establishment without hesitation. The people in Madison don't mind either. They encourage passers-through to pass through---as quickly as possible. Madison holds a secret, only known to those who were born and raised there. Everyone on their eighteenth birthday gets to ask one wish in the magical wishing cave. The wishes aren't a hoax, they come true. However, wishing isn't quite so simple, as Eldon comes to discover. With his upcoming eighteenth birthday, he has no clue what to wish for. It's unusual for Madison kids to not have an idea what they want---beauty, popularity, position, intelligence, wealth---but for someone like Eldon, who has experienced more of the dark sides of life, wishing isn't quite so simple. Several major themes stand out within Eldon's character alone. One of the main ones includes this "dark side," or his experience with processing grief from losing his sister. Even though she's still alive, she's left brain dead after being struck by a vehicle on her bike. Having been close with his sister, Eldon is still trying to figure out how to feel about her situation. He can't wish for her to heal because of the stipulations put on wishing. Yet, he doesn't want to have to let her go. When someone dies, it doesn't just take them. It takes a piece of everyone who ever loved them and everyone they ever loved. His grief is not the only thing factoring into Eldon's identity crisis. Why can't I come up with things I care about? What's wrong with me? When the reader meets Eldon, it is immediately clear that there is some indecisiveness in his character. Externally, he seems cool and confident, yet when there is a glimpse beneath the surface, it's obvious that he is enduring a lot of emotional turmoil. What I'm saying is, these days, I'm nothing special. And that messes with you, you know? Makes you think maybe you weren't that special to begin with. Makes you wonder what you're actually good at. These days, I walk around with a big question mark over my head. Feeling replaced as other classmates get their wishes granted before him, Eldon finds himself girlfriendless, no longer the star of the football team, and no longer popular. In his quest to discover who he is and what he wants, he also begins to question everything that he knows about himself, about wishing, and about the town of Madison. It is through this process that he understands the importance of a wish. Eldon's transition from adolescence to adulthood becomes apparent in how he realizes wishes aren't so simple; all wishes have consequences. "How many other people you think keep quiet about their wishes?" Merrill asks. I'm wondering the same thing. The residents of Madison are so focused on keeping secrets from outsiders, I never stopped to consider what we've been keeping from each other. The struggle with human nature and selfishness in all of us, is represented by the city of Madison. Instead of thinking of one another, most everyone used their wish for themselves. This approach to wishing is supported and nearly enforced by the town's mayor. In the end, most everyone ends up miserable. Maybe dissatisfaction is human nature. Maybe there's no running from it. The fact that everyone in Madison gets to make a wish means they get the opportunity to change something about themselves or their situation to their liking. By doing so, they are never pushed to learn how to reach a goal on their own, the concept of sacrifice, or to look within themselves. "Accomplishment comes from toil," Othello says. "Growth is a result of sacrifice." Let's go through the things I liked: #1 There are a lot of teachable points throughout As You Wish, many I deem beneficial for young readers. They aren't necessarily easy discussion points either. However, for someone around the same ages as Eldon and his friends, they might really relate. #2 The conflict in the main character Eldon, as well as the major growth he goes through is impressive. He grows from a self-centered (unlikeable) teen to a conscious, considerate (and likable) young man. #3 As You Wish forces the reader to contemplate contentment within oneself. I found myself reflecting many times about how much "I wish" for things in my life, but forget to realize how much I already have. Things I didn't like: #1 I felt there were some loose ends in terms of the wishing cave itself. It's never told how it got there, by who, and how it was discovered. I felt discontent as it was supposed to be a major "issue" which was taken care of rather easily. The entire book I was waiting for this reveal, but it never occurred. #2 There is an attempted-suicide by one of the characters that I think could have been approached differently. Instead of the character realizing his worth after the fact, he trudges around, never really resolving anything. I felt that it could have been a better teaching point for readers, yet the opportunity was left untouched. #3 Overall, this book has a rather depressive tone. I don't expect all books to end happily ever after, but I felt like there wasn't a reprieve, even in the end. #4 I don't think it's OK to have so much swearing and inappropriate content in a YA read. I noticed the amount of language right from the get-go and found it distasteful and inappropriate for this genre. Vulgarity: Far too much. Sexual content: While there are no scenes, there is a lot of discussion surrounding the topic in unpleasant ways. Violence: There is an attempted suicide, with some details given. Also, there are a few fist fights. My Rating: 3.5 stars.

Rating: 4/5 Genre: YA Contemporary with a Touch of Magic Recommended Age: 16+ (mature content, underage alcohol consumption, drug usage, language, and illicit wishing) I received a free copy of this book courtesy of KidLitExchange. All opinions are my own. Rules for Wishing: Never let an outsider find out about wishing. (Zip your lips and throw away the key.) Wishes that would impact the world are off limits (i.e. no bringing back the dinosaurs). Do no harm. (Murder = no bueno.) No time travel. (What's done is done, pal.) No bringing back the dead. (Come on. You've seen what happens in THE WALKING DEAD.) NEVER BREAK THE RULES. (Seriously. We mean it. See Rule #7.) There are always consequences. Madison is a small town in the Mojave desert on the road between nothing and nowhere. It's an unremarkable speck on the map, which is perfect for protecting the town's secret. Because in Madison, everyone can make one wish on their eighteenth birthday-and that wish always comes true. Most of Eldon's classmates have had their wishes picked out for months, even years. Not Eldon. He's seen how wishing has hurt the people around him. His parents' marriage is strained, his sister is a virtual ghost in their house, his ex-girlfriend is dating his ex-friend...where does he even begin? One thing is for sure: Eldon has only twenty-five days to figure it out―and the rest of his life to live with the consequences. - Amazon.com If you could have one wish what would it be? You would think everyone would ask for money, but that's not the case in this book. Some wish for love, some wish for smarts, and some don't know what to wish for. That's where we meet Eldon. Throughout the book we follow Eldon and his journey to discover what he should wish for. For the most part I enjoyed this book. The plot was intriguing and the pacing was well done. The book touched on very morally grey areas and had a very morally gray ending. While I liked the book overall I did feel that there were some issues with the book. The main character was a jerk in the book. That I didn't have an issue with. I actually like the angry angsty characters because they're more real to me. Not every teen is full of sunshine and rainbows and they don't come up with the perfect solution to every problem. They also make a ton of mistakes and sometimes those mistakes effect more than just them. That's what the book did right, it told the reader that your actions effect more than just you. Outside of Eldon though the other characters felt a little flat. I felt like there could have been room to make Norie and Juniper more developed because they did play a huge part in Eldon's life during the course of this book. I also felt that the writing was a bit weird in places. The writing tone changes everytime Eldon writes about other people's wishes, which is great! Eldon would have a different writing style then an older female author. But I don't think the way she wrote Eldon's writing style fit him. It felt too much like a ringleader and the rapidly changing time periods could make a reader very confused. Verdict: While I think this book was good there were some issues with the writing of the book and the fact that this book is morally gray and doesn't really have a true ending. However, if you're looking for a good cry, this book is the one you need to lean on.