Dream

Gr 4-6–The sound of guitar-picking music sets the tone for O’Connor’s companion to Wish, with the delightful Jackson returning as narrator. Idalee (a friend of Charlie, protagonist of the previous book) dreams that one day she will become a famous ­songwriter for her mother’s band, Lovey Lovett and the Junkyard Dogs. Jackson fully captures the character’s roller coaster of emotions as she shares the young girl’s story, flavoring it with a Southern twang. Idalee is disappointed when she learns she must stay in Colby, but her spirit lifts when she spots a blue guitar in an Asheville music shop and starts to soar when she enters a local songwriting contest. The pace picks up as Idalee, Charlie, and other friends stealthily search through every room in the boarding house looking for a long-lost treasure Idalee’s Granddaddy mentioned on his deathbed. With it, Idalee plans to buy the guitar and win the contest. Jackson gives each of the characters a well-developed personality that feels just right for a North Carolina mountain town.