WEDNESDAY WILSON GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS

All Wednesday August Wilson needs is one good, moneymaking idea.

Problem is that even with two self-employed moms providing advice and an allowance, Wednesday can’t seem to make progress. But if necessity is the mother of invention, desperation is the mother of half-baked, just-might-work business plans, and after an unfortunate incident puts Wednesday in the crosshairs of her classroom’s queen bee, the only way to save herself is to launch a Secret Keeper business overnight. Miraculously, an amazing team and the small sacrifice of a few problematic library books see the plan fall into place, and everyone loves the product—except the teacher. Turns out destruction of library property and breaking school rules aren’t the most sound business decisions, but with apologies, restitution, and volunteering on a new committee to choose materials without stereotypes, Wednesday is free to pursue her next big business idea. Galbraith packs a lot of energy into a relatively small package. Frank background and vocabulary details provide rich depth to Wednesday’s world, and Wednesday herself is a detail-oriented, enthusiastically scattered narrator. Despite teeing up expectations with a multiracial cast, plotlines about stereotypes, and a note about writing across racialized identities, the narrative delivers a color-blind story rather than exploring how Wednesday’s mixed-race identity informs the way she navigates her world. Wednesday’s moms are an interracial couple, one Black and the other White.

A series opener for young fans of Shark Tank and anyone who enjoys bringing ideas to life.