When You Wish

WHEN YOU WISH
KRISTIN HARMEL
Contemporary Young Adult
Delacorte Press
ISBN# 978-0-385-73475-2
273 Pages
$15.99
Hardcover - Available Now

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Star Beck seems to have it all; fame, money, a fabulous life. But behind all the make up and P.R. there’s one thing Star has always longed for-her father who left her and her mom when she was a little girl.

When given the proof that her father is still out there, thinking about her, something her mother’s denied for years, Star decides to go after the one thing she’s always wanted. Knowing her overprotective mom/manager would never allow her to go off and meet him, so she decides to take matters into her own hands. And that’s where things really get interesting. One self-hair-cut later, she’s out the door and on her way to Florida and the address on the envelope, hoping to reunite with the father she doesn’t know.

I loved Star’s story, so much in fact that I stayed up till three in the morning reading it straight through. Star’s a great character, an extremely likeable girl who just happens to be famous. There was so much about this book I loved, especially when Star reaches Florida. On her own for the first time in her life, she’s struggling to adapt to her newfound independence and I loved the scene when she checks into the motel and realizes just how far the money she ‘borrowed’ from her mother is going to get her.

Through the course of the story, Star finds out that maybe the illusions she’s had about her father are just that-illusions, nothing more, nothing less. And maybe, her mom knew best after all, at least about keeping him out of her life. Star’s journey opens her eyes to what’s really been going on in her life and what matters most.

WHEN YOU WISH is Ms. Harmel’s first young adult novel. Ms. Harmel is also a reporter for PEOPLE magazine. You can visit her online at <http://www.kristinharmel.com>

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
April 2008