Melanie isn’t in the mood to believe in magic, but it comes looking for her anyway in the form of a most eccentric character in Elizabeth Varadan’s The Fourth Wish (CreateSpace, reprinted in 2010).
Eleven-year-old Melanie McCormick thinks her school vacation will be, at best, boring, although she suspects it will be something much worse. Her parents have recently divorced, her mother is working longer hours and Melanie has to help out more around the house. If that weren’t enough, her younger brother and sister and her brother’s best friend are tagging along everywhere she goes. How will she ever manage to catch the eye of the school’s newest heartthrob or talk privately on the phone with her best friend, Jenny?
While on their way to see a magic show, Melanie, Cory, Erin and Arthur help a stranger pick up the spilled contents of a shopping bag. What the four don’t realize is the stranger, who introduces herself as Mrs. Seraphina, is the one who really is magic. When she grants a wish to Melanie’s brother, the first to volunteer to help Mrs. Seraphina, a domino effect of complications ensues, sending ripples into the lives of not only the four children but the magician, The Great Mondo, a struggling performer who adds his own unique, and unintended, magic to the plot.
Filled with mystery and enchantment, this fast-paced and gripping story will make you wonder what would you ask for if granted one wish. Would it be a wise choice without any unexpected consequences? What about the person who is the recipient of your wish—how will it change his or her life? And what if one day you were the recipient of someone else’s wish, for remember Mrs. Seraphina can grant four of them, and Melanie, Erin and Arthur still have theirs to make …
This is a book whose characters, dialogue and setting are all on target, and the mystery is both magical and satisfying. You’ll wish you didn’t have to reach the end. And you’ll find yourself wishing for a sequel. It's a great summer read for youth.
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| Elizabeth Varadan |
A retired elementary-school teacher, Elizabeth Varadan’s work has been published in Story Friends and Ladybug magazines. In addition to two picture books, Varadan has written two middle-grade novels, a story collection for children and an early chapter book. Presently she is working on a chapter-book mystery. She also writes children’s book reviews for Sacramento Book Review (http://sacramentobookreview.com/) and teaches art classes for 8 to 12 year olds one day a week. The Fourth Wish is her first published book.
Varadan lives in Sacramento with her husband, Rajan, and their dog, Cezar. Visit her at
http://elizabethvaradansfourthwish.blogspot.com.
Support your local library! Ask for a copy of The Fourth Wish. It’s also available at http://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Wish-Elizabeth-Varadan/dp/1440413061 and https://www.createspace.com/3353849.
WIN A COPY OF THE FOURTH WISH!
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What’s on your book list for this summer?
22 comments:
This looks great. It is on my "to read" list. This summer I hope to revisit the Laura Ingall Wilder books and write a couple of books!
Rosi, I'm just finishing the last book in a series that I think you'll greatly enjoy. HarperTrophy published these a few years ago, and although the majority of them are about Laura, Almanzo and Rose after they moved to Mansfield, Missouri, (told from Rose's point of view), there also are others about Ma and Laura's grandmother and great-grandmother; the last book is set in Scotland. Let me know if you'd like any of the titles. :)
Oh, yes, please send me the titles. I had no idea these existed! Thanks.
Here you go!
Laura's great-grandmother Martha: Little House in the Highlands
Laura's grandmother Charlotte: Little House By Boston Bay
Laura's Ma, Caroline: Little House in Brookfield, Little Town at the Crossroads, Little Clearing in the Woods and On Top of Concord Hill
Laura's daughter, Rose: Little House on Rocky Ridge, Little Farm in the Ozarks, In the Land of the Big Red Apple, On the Other Side of the Hill, Little Town in the Ozarks, New Dawn on Rocky Ridge, On the Banks of the Bayou and Bachelor Girl
I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. :)
Thanks for the great review, Michelle!
Mitty, I am delighted this review earned a gold star from you. You are a gifted book reviewer as evidenced by your blog postings and work for Sacramento Book Review, so yours is a compliment well worth receiving.
Thank you very much as well for the Facebook plug; I cross promoted the review for The Fourth Wish on my FB Notes and News Feed as well.
Thanks, Michelle. Our library has some, but not all of these. Do you recommend I read them in order?
I had to interlibrary loan several of the titles, and even though I'm the type of person who would prefer to read a series chronologically, I had to read them as they came in, and it worked out better than I expected. If you can arrange it to read them in order, I think it adds that special something, but the great news is you don't need to read one book first to understand and enjoy a later volume. I can feel a blog post about your reading experience coming on. :)
Great review! This sounds like a wonderful story. I've love to be entered and I'm a new follower.
Hi, Kimberly, welcome to Bird's-eye View! Thank you as well for your comment and for being a follower.
Your blog has the most beautiful background. If it came in purple, it would be perfect for Mitty, since it's her favorite color and she's an artist as well as a writer. Oh, or how about as end paper for the next reprint of The Fourth Wish? :)
This books sound wonderful! Forget my children: I'd like to read it! Thank you.
I agree with you, Annie. This is a book for all ages!
I want to read this book and I would like it in our local library!
It's on my "books to read" list too. I just requested it so I can pick it up at the library closest to me. Can't wait to read it!
JaNay
Matthew and JaNay, I am delighted you not only are looking forward to reading The Fourth Wish but are supporting your local libraries. :)
Michelle
Sounds very interesting. I realized it's the name of Elizabeth's blog, but didn't realize it was also a book. Is it going to be on Kindle?
Oh, a Kindle book would be great for this title! I am copying Elizabeth Varadan on this response as well, since we're probably not the only two interested in the answer. :)
Michelle
Okay. Sounds like it would make a good read for my ten-year-old.
Hi, Joy, your ten-year-old would like it. A friend's grandson liked it so much (same age) he took it to school and read it to his class. Both boys and girls like this book.
I don't have it on Kindle yet. I'll look into that.
Hi, Matthew, where is your libary?
Junction City, Oregon
Hi, again, Matthew,
The order information is on the blogpost. I'd love it if you would pass it on to your library. It's in a branch library here in Sacramento (with a wait list), and a friend wants to get it into the Placerville library as ell.
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