As You Wish

November 1, 2024
A 13-year-old Ghanaian American girl's wish to go from weird to wonderful leads her through a web of relationship complications that she didn't bargain for. Bernadette "Birdie" Johnson-Nkrumah is a rising eighth grader with a laundry list of restrictions imposed by her overprotective mother. Her mom even used to make her wear latex gloves to school, but Birdie's father and her best friend, Deve Banerjee, offer support that helps her cope and understand her mother's anxiety. While Deve is her "crunchy-peanut-butter friend" (crunchy is far superior to creamy, if you ask Birdie), she worries that she's dragging him down socially. At a pool party, the friends are shocked by the sudden glow-up of the formerly dorky Ava, who's now dating a basketball player. Birdie decides that finding a boyfriend for herself and a girlfriend for Deve will help them become popular, too. But Birdie's desire to be "normal" causes a rift with Deve. Birdie is confused when Nancy, the new girl at school, claims that she's Anansi, the spider god of stories and knowledge, and that she owes Birdie three wishes. Birdie attempts to use them to heal her friendship with Deve, but each wish has unforeseen consequences. The appealing fantasy and humor elements drive the narrative, and the shifts and changes in Birdie and Deve's friendship over the course of the story are clever and satisfying. A delightful exploration of friendship, mental health, and first love with a touch of magic.(Fantasy. 10-14)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 1, 2024
Grades 6-8 When the trickster god of stories grants you three wishes, what's the worst that could happen? Birdie is on the lowest rung of the popularity ladder. While she has her best friends, Summer, Arlo, and Deve, she longs to be "normal." Cue her eighth-grade plan to find a boyfriend and gain the popularity she craves. When she tells Deve about this plan, it creates a riff in their friendship. All seems lost until new girl Nancy--Anansi, the Ghanaian trickster god of stories, in disguise--offers Birdie three wishes to get what she truly desires. Birdie quickly learns that no matter the wish, there are unexpected consequences. In this magic-flecked rom-com, it's clear the path that Birdie should take, but her humor and journey of self-discovery are what keep readers engaged. The diversity of the friend group (Birdie is Black, Deve is Indian, Summer and Arlo are a LGBTQIA+ couple who cue as white) naturally incorporates a variety of perspectives into the proceedings. This fun, middle-grade offering reminds readers that what you wish for is sometimes already there.

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