Tag Archives: Genre: YA Fantasy

Jul20

Review: As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti

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as you wish.jpg

Title: As You Wish

Author: Chelsea Sedoti

Genre: YA Fantasy

Summary:

What if you could ask for anything- and get it? 

In the sandy Mojave Desert, Madison is a small town on the road between nothing and nowhere. But Eldon wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, because in Madison, everyone gets one wish—and that wish always comes true.

Some people wish for money, some people wish for love, but Eldon has seen how wishes have broken the people around him. And with the lives of his family and friends in chaos, he’s left with more questions than answers. Can he make their lives better? How can he be happy if the people around him aren’t? And what hope is there for any of them if happiness isn’t an achievable dream? Doubts build, leading Eldon to a more outlandish and scary thought: maybe you can’t wish for happiness…maybe, just maybe, you have to make it for yourself.

<b>Received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review</b>

This book is an intriguing premise. What would you wish for if you could wish for anything and get it? (As long as it doesn’t impact the outside world).

It seems like an easy answer, but unfortunately the language you use matters, and it shows in this novel as Eldon, one of the main characters tries to figure out what his birthday wish will be.

You can wish for a business, but it might not be successful. You can wish for unlimited donuts, but it won’t stop you from gaining weight if you don’t specify (no this is not an example of a wish in the book).

The struggle in this novel is extremely well written, even as Eldon is almost irredeemably arrogant and immature. But then, some teenagers are. However he is not without growth, even as he naivete takes him to some interesting places emotionally.

The characters I liked most were Eldon’s father, who is a warm, put sad character, stuck in Madison like most of them, and Merrill, Eldon’s best friend who is loyal even when he should probably walk away.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes their YA sprinkled with existential crisis’ as I definitely enjoyed this.

Jan21

2 for the Price of 1: The Golden Compass and Reality Boy

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the golden compass

This is a book I’d wanted to read for quite some time, since having seen the movie and learning about the controversy. I picked it up quite some time ago at a library sale, and regret not having read it before this.

Lyra is a very precocious, often selfish little girl, but the character progression throughout the novel is brilliant. From someone who thinks only to themselves, to someone who cares deeply about others Lyra is definitely a good example of a how to, how to make your character grow that is.

This books is filled with the sort of fantasy I can find myself falling into quite easily, with daemons and Dust. It is brilliantly written and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I can’t wait to pick up the next book and give it a read.

reality boy

All I have to say is that YA fiction has changed quite a bit since I was one, and I’m hardly complaining.

A.S King pulls no punches with the way in which she writes her characters, or the language she uses in doing so. She also doesn’t seem too fearful of giving her characters very real problems.

There is true tragedy found in the pages of this book and it has nothing to do with the quality of the writing, which is really good. The two main characters lead very tragic, very real lives, and it’s easy to see why A.S King is a favourite among teens and adults alike.

This book is harsh, but never too melodramatic, and I developed a real fear for the characters as they battled their personal demons.