Helpful Score: 1
What would happen if all your birthday wishes came true? Kayla finds out in this exciting and fun YA novel called You Wish.
Upon turning 16, Kayla's career drivin mother thows her a birthday bash she'd rather not have. To make matters worse, her best friend Nicole ditches her to be with Ben, (Kaylas forever crush). Having had a rotten night, Kayla wishes that her birthday wishes actually came true, because they never frikin do!
Kayla then exeperiences her wishes comming true, which turn her entire life upside down! The comedy begins with a lifetime supply of gumballs in her room, her Raggedy Ann doll comes to life.... then she gets a lifesize My Little pony, and a real live Ken doll/boyfriend! Letts not forget the foreign launguage, turning into a mermaid, and a huge set of boobs!
Once Kayla realises what is going on, she tries to figure out a way to stop the wishes, because when she was 15, her only wish was to kiss Ben, and Kayla is determined to not let that happen, so she doesnt ruin her friendship with Nicole.
I really really enjoyed this book! This was the perfect YA/slightly paranormal comical read I needed to read on my own Birthday. It was a ton of fun and the storyline was wonderful!
Upon turning 16, Kayla's career drivin mother thows her a birthday bash she'd rather not have. To make matters worse, her best friend Nicole ditches her to be with Ben, (Kaylas forever crush). Having had a rotten night, Kayla wishes that her birthday wishes actually came true, because they never frikin do!
Kayla then exeperiences her wishes comming true, which turn her entire life upside down! The comedy begins with a lifetime supply of gumballs in her room, her Raggedy Ann doll comes to life.... then she gets a lifesize My Little pony, and a real live Ken doll/boyfriend! Letts not forget the foreign launguage, turning into a mermaid, and a huge set of boobs!
Once Kayla realises what is going on, she tries to figure out a way to stop the wishes, because when she was 15, her only wish was to kiss Ben, and Kayla is determined to not let that happen, so she doesnt ruin her friendship with Nicole.
I really really enjoyed this book! This was the perfect YA/slightly paranormal comical read I needed to read on my own Birthday. It was a ton of fun and the storyline was wonderful!
YOU WISH is light and fun--if your idea of chick lit is something that's frenetic to the point of being irritating. It was a quick read, but definitely had more potential than how it ended up.
The good things: the synopsis is one of the most fun I've read. The wishes come true made for great comedy, though if you're like me you might have trouble stomaching the excessively ridiculous. I was also pleasantly surprised at the character development throughout this novel. While Kayla never completely loses her annoying characteristics (to be discussed in a minute), Mandy Hubbard does a great job of moving her through the ridiculousness and into the (relatively more) mature. The lesson she learns was an important and relatable one, and we can see how she comes about that revelation. Kayla's friend Nicole also undergoes an equally gradual yet realistic transformation.
The not-so-good: it IS overly ridiculous at many points. There are only so many times that the reappearance of the hot pink pony can be considered amusing. Furthermore, I found Kayla difficult to sympathize with at the beginning (perhaps because she DOES have a lot of growing up to do in the novel, but still. Not my cup of tea). Actually, I never ever fully ended up understanding or liking her, but Im chalking that up to her character being intended for readers with different tastes than mine. And Ben was flat throughout: I never saw what the two girls saw in him.
YOU WISH is a relatively pleasant diversion if this sort of magical realism comedic chick lit appeals to you. It's a quick read, and you'll be amused while you're reading it, but unfortunately it was in the end all too forgettable for me.
The good things: the synopsis is one of the most fun I've read. The wishes come true made for great comedy, though if you're like me you might have trouble stomaching the excessively ridiculous. I was also pleasantly surprised at the character development throughout this novel. While Kayla never completely loses her annoying characteristics (to be discussed in a minute), Mandy Hubbard does a great job of moving her through the ridiculousness and into the (relatively more) mature. The lesson she learns was an important and relatable one, and we can see how she comes about that revelation. Kayla's friend Nicole also undergoes an equally gradual yet realistic transformation.
The not-so-good: it IS overly ridiculous at many points. There are only so many times that the reappearance of the hot pink pony can be considered amusing. Furthermore, I found Kayla difficult to sympathize with at the beginning (perhaps because she DOES have a lot of growing up to do in the novel, but still. Not my cup of tea). Actually, I never ever fully ended up understanding or liking her, but Im chalking that up to her character being intended for readers with different tastes than mine. And Ben was flat throughout: I never saw what the two girls saw in him.
YOU WISH is a relatively pleasant diversion if this sort of magical realism comedic chick lit appeals to you. It's a quick read, and you'll be amused while you're reading it, but unfortunately it was in the end all too forgettable for me.
Reviewed by Andrea for TeensReadToo.com
In YOU WISH by Mandy Hubbard, Kayla is not excited about her sixteenth birthday - at all. Life is not happy right now: her dad has left, her best friend is dating the boy she secretly likes, and her grades are not good.
So when it's time to blow out her birthday candles, she made an impossible wish - for all her past birthday wishes to come true.
Little did she know that the impossible was about to happen! She had to stop the wishes before they all came true, because the one that she made last year was for a certain boy to kiss her. And that boy is now her best friend's boyfriend!
This is a cute contemporary fantasy story. It got me thinking about what would happen if I got all of my birthday wishes. I know that the ones during my teenage years were definitely boy related, but I have no idea what I wished for as a kid.
I really liked Kayla. Reading the back cover, I thought "Oh no - another book about a girl stealing her best friend's boyfriend." But this plot actually worked for me. I also liked the secondary characters of Nicole and Ann. I felt that Kayla and Nicole both grew throughout the story and Ann was just a fun character!
This book was light and fluffy, and I look forward to reading more by Mandy Hubbard.
In YOU WISH by Mandy Hubbard, Kayla is not excited about her sixteenth birthday - at all. Life is not happy right now: her dad has left, her best friend is dating the boy she secretly likes, and her grades are not good.
So when it's time to blow out her birthday candles, she made an impossible wish - for all her past birthday wishes to come true.
Little did she know that the impossible was about to happen! She had to stop the wishes before they all came true, because the one that she made last year was for a certain boy to kiss her. And that boy is now her best friend's boyfriend!
This is a cute contemporary fantasy story. It got me thinking about what would happen if I got all of my birthday wishes. I know that the ones during my teenage years were definitely boy related, but I have no idea what I wished for as a kid.
I really liked Kayla. Reading the back cover, I thought "Oh no - another book about a girl stealing her best friend's boyfriend." But this plot actually worked for me. I also liked the secondary characters of Nicole and Ann. I felt that Kayla and Nicole both grew throughout the story and Ann was just a fun character!
This book was light and fluffy, and I look forward to reading more by Mandy Hubbard.