Big Wish

Gr 3–6—As Sam and his dad are watching the night sky, Sam sees a shooting star and decides to wish for a million wishes. The next day, he realizes that once he says a wish out loud it comes true—he wants a day off from school, then school is cancelled. Using his wishes, Sam attacks the school bully, becomes a superhero, fixes his sister's boyfriend troubles, gets his dad a promotion, and even cures his best friend's terminally ill dad. Some of the violence is over-the-top; Sam literally smashes the bully, drops his sister from 60 feet above the ground, and sends his best friend off with a bird of prey. He has to repair the damage to their bodies with more wishes. Near the end, Sam realizes that the only wishes that bring him satisfaction are the ones that help other people, but even that falls short when he asks to end human death. The theme of the story is thought provoking, but Sam's moral dilemma about how to use up so many wishes is addressed only in a few short pages at the end. Readers are not given enough time to watch Sam learn from his mistakes.