ONE TRUE WISH

Four kids help a fallen fairy return home.

Sixth graders Birdie and Gem have been best friends since they were 3, but lately things have been a little off. Gem is uncomfortable about the changes puberty has brought to her body and the objectifying remarks a boy at school keeps making; Birdie, meanwhile, is confused about her friend’s volatile emotions and is feeling left behind. Van, new to Texas from Ireland, is homesick and missing their friends. The three, along with Marley, Gem’s slightly younger brother, are thrown together when disgraced fairy Phoebe crash-lands on Earth. The only way to save her is to help her manifest each of their true wishes. Each kid thinks they know their deepest desire, but they have to peel away the layers to get to the wish’s true core. Told through alternating points of view and swiftly paced, the book homes in on understanding and acknowledging the real reasons why we want things, not just the solutions we think will bring us happiness. It steers clear of becoming a tired allegory about adolescence, instead thoughtfully focusing on navigating the challenges of changing bodies and relationships. The young people ultimately discover what matters most: friendship. Van is nonbinary. Most characters read White; Gem and Marley are Jewish.

A charming and engaging story in which friendship prevails.