Sunday, September 26, 2010

[Review] You Wish by Mandy Hubbard

Title: You Wish
Author: Mandy Hubbard
Publication: 27 September 2010 (AU)
Publisher: Penguin (Razorbill)
Review Copy: Finished review copy (Thanks to Penguin Australia!)
Pages: 272
My Rating:


Blurb from Goodreads:
What if all your wishes really came true?

Kayla McHenry’s sweet sixteen sucks! Her dad left, her grades dropped, and her BFF is dating the boy Kayla’s secretly loved for years. Blowing out her candles, Kayla thinks: I wish my birthday wishes actually came true. Because they never freakin’ do.

Kayla wakes the next day to a life-sized, bright pink My Little Pony outside her window. Then a year’s supply of gumballs arrives. A boy named Ken with a disturbing resemblance to the doll of the same name stalks her. As the ghosts of Kayla’s wishes-past appear, they take her on a wild ride . . . but they MUST STOP. Because when she was fifteen? She wished Ben Mackenzie would kiss her. And Ben is her best friend’s boyfriend.

My thoughts: 

What a fun cover does You Wish have? It is so cute, and it's nice to have a little bit of pink on my bookshelf. :) So I really wanted to get a review of this one before the release date, which is tomorrow, for Australians! I'm glad I got to read it early and finish it on time, since this is such a fun and awesome book!

First off, I didn't know what I was getting into. I was only expecting a fun book, which I got, but there was more than that.

There was CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. There were characters that were relatable and interesting and likeable. I love the main character. I love Ben, her counterpart. I loved her best friend...and I was sad to finish the novel and know that that's where their story ends. Each new "wish", each new day brought on more laughter and chaos in Kayla's life. In particular, Ken was unbelievably hilarious! I found myself laughing out loud several times as a result of his actions. (check out my quote)

The writing, while a bit choppy or awkward at times, was so so suitable for the subject matter and voice of the book. In memory, there weren't any big words or hard to understand passages. Everything was so straight forward and easy to read. Part of why I love reading YA, actually. Also, this book would be suitable for pretty much all ages; for a YA, there is no violence, no swearing, no sexual references or scenes, no drugs or other riff-raff. Very safe, very cute; sweet.

Premise? I haven't seen anything like it before. I liked the way the story moved along. For the most part there was always something going on. There wasn't much time for dull moments, with its short length and all.

I think a sequel would be so cool (I don't want to let go of the characters!) but it's probably not going to happen, right?

Cute, fun, sweet--You Wish is definitely a novel that will satisfy and entertain all ages. I don't want to let go of the characters just yet! I grew to love them all more than I ever thought I could love characters within a novel.


Quote:
   There's no way I can miss messing with the Ken.
   "Have you seen my zebra lately?" I ask, turning to Ken in all seriousness. One of my favorite Barbie play sets had been the safari one, where Barbie is wearing khaki shorts and hiking boots and she comes with a slew of animals. I imagined myself going on all kinds of African adventures. "She seems to have wandered off. With my . . . lion cub. And panda bear." I'm actually not entirely sure Barbie has a panda bear, but the zebra and the lion cub ring a bell. "Those three, I swear . . . "
   I wag my finger like a stern librarian or something.
   Ken wrinkles his brow. "That's terrible. Do you know where they went?"
   I shake my head. It's getting harder and harder not to laugh. (p. 145)

Buy:
Live in Australia?
Fishpond | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

Live elsewhere?
Amazon | The Book Depository

MOVIE: It's official! Mandy Hubbard blogged about it. So far it's only optioned, and hopefully it'll go through, but it's still possible it won't. More news on that in future, I hope!

More from Mandy Hubbard: Prada and Prejudice, Ripple (Razorbill, July 2011)

I am in no way affiliated with the above sites, nor with Hubbard or publisher. I do not receive any money for reviewing or linking.

Learn more about You Wish and read more reviews at Goodreads!

11 comments:

Nomes said... [Reply]

such a cool review. the cover does look cute and i think i just thought it would be a cute read - but after reading this i think i'll have to pick it up for sure :) thanks for the heads up about the Australian release date!

x

Cass said... [Reply]

@Nomes Definitely should go pick it up. Was definitely much more than I expected. It really played up on the lesson: Be careful what you wish for. I should go to the local bookstore and see if they have it stocked! :) Since I have the US edition, I'd like to see how the AUS cover differs, if at all. (they have different release dates, so...)

Kathy Martin said... [Reply]

That book does sound like it would be a light, fun, and funny read. I just thought back in horror to some of my birthday wishes! I'll have to look for this one for my school media center.

Anonymous said... [Reply]

Great review! I bought this a while back and I can't wait to pick it up because it does look like so much fun!

danya said... [Reply]

This was sounds like it has a very fun premise!

Katie (The Literary Files) said... [Reply]

I have Prada and Prejudice, but I still haven't read it. I like how you said there was a lot of character development, I was afraid this book was going to be too soft and light. Your review definitely makes me want to go pick it up! Great review and thanks :)

The Insouciant Sophisticate said... [Reply]

Thanks for mentioning its clean content; I know some YA books are more gritty and dark so sometimes I just want a fun, clean book!

brandileigh2003 said... [Reply]

I have this on my shelf and I am excited to read it!

Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog

Tammy (The Book Fairy's Haven) said... [Reply]

Ok, your review has just made me add this to my TBR pile :) It sounds like an utterly cute read!

Bella@BeguileThySorrow said... [Reply]

I want a life-sized My Little Pony!lol
this book sounds really cute:)

Felicity Grace Terry said... [Reply]

Also participating in the September spectacular Reading Challenge, I thought I'd stop by and say hello. I agree the cover is cute, maybes a bit too pink for me but still cute. Anyway, nice to meet you, I've enjoyed my visit.

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