Gr 8 Up—The author of Wish (Scholastic, 2010) has created another mysterious fairy tale with strong, down-to-earth characters and an intriguing plot. On her 18th birthday, Hazel is given the name of her birth mother. She tracks her down and prepares to meet her for the first time. She has a dress altered, but when she puts it on, she sees that it isn't the one she had dropped off. She arrives at the fund-raiser Rosanna Scott is hosting, only to find that the woman has died. Shocked and upset, Hazel scrambles to the ferry, wishing that she had gotten to know her first and finds a note explaining that she has three magical dresses that will grant her wishes. She has unknowingly just made her first one. Hazel arrives on Martha's Vineyard, 18 years earlier, where she meets Rosanna, only to discover that she is not her mother after all. Instead her mother is a pregnant teen who lives with Rosanna. While there, Hazel falls in love with Luke and must decide whether to remain where she is or return to her own time. Bullen has done an outstanding job of pulling off the magic and realism to create a compelling novel that has love, mystery, and adventure. Time travel can always be tricky but the author has executed it well. The book ends with the first dress waiting for another needy girl to find it, thus hinting at a sequel.—Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI
While searching for her birth mother, Hazel acquires three dresses, each of which grants a wish. Using the first wish, Hazel is transported back in time eighteen years to Martha's Vineyard. She begins an adventure that leads to new understandings of her past and a fresh confidence in her future. This companion to Wish raises thought-provoking questions about identity and self-perception.
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