A coming of age story with a supernatural twist. 17 year old Eldon Wilkes lives in Madison, a town where each resident is granted one wish on their 18th birthday. Eldon is under a tremendous amount of pressure from his mother to wish for money and he's torn between doing what's best for his family and doing what his heart desires. Sometimes the wishes come with terrible consequences and a life time of regret.

Seventeen-year-old Eldon is approaching his birthday and in the town of Madison this means he has the opportunity to make a single wish that's guaranteed to come true. He agonises about his choice.

In the town of Madison, people spend their childhood counting down to their wish day and the rest of their lives in a state of paralysis, eyes fixed on that one choice and unable to take responsibility for any of the choices they made before or after their wish. Those hurt by the wishing range from Eldon's father, confined to a choice-less relationship, to one kid stuck in a zombie-like state. Even the one guy in the history of the town who chose not to make a wish seems somewhat plagued by regret.

For Eldon's mother the choice is simple, he must make a wish that will save his sister who is in a coma but the path is complicated and doomed to be fruitless in the best case and disastrous in the worst.
The story is imaginative and thought-provoking but also dark and morose. Eldon is bitterly unhappy and for most of the book not very likeable. Many of the characters featured are mean alcoholics or unrealistically chirpy. My favorite character is Eldon's sister who we hear about only through Eldon's voice and who was in a coma for the entire book. Eldon blames the wishes made by his classmates with earlier birthdays than his for his growing social problems without realizing that much of his discontent is in his own head. In the end, Eldon matures and the town is forced to grow up as well.

I enjoyed reading about the town's people's wishes and the stories behind them. However, as Eldon's ex-girlfriend points out, "You sought out people you knew were unhappy. You had your mind made up about wishing from the start, and this whole journey was your attempt to confirm how terrible wishing is.” I would have loved to have heard details of stories of some of the people who made selfless wishes that turned out well.
The author seems to have been making a point about religion. In one of the early scenes, Eldon has to distract a couple of tourists who are curious about the fact that Madison has no Church. One of the more clear-headed people in the town is a young lady teaching herself about Mormonism. Madison is a town where 'wishing is the only religion' but that idea is a minor theme which the author shies away from fleshing out fully.

All-in-all it's a well-written book and the main character's journey rings true despite the curious backdrop. Be prepared though, it's a sad journey with very little relief from the melancholy.

My fake deepness radar went crazy at the end. However, there is a decent chance that it might just be me and my intense dislike of the characters affecting my sobriety.

Eldon, the main character, despite his unique name, is, for lack of a better word, a jerk. Within the first quarter of reading As You Wish, I kind of already hated him. He acts like he's all that and everything bad that happens to him is because of his special town, which might be true, but it isn't a good enough reason to loathe almost everything and play a victim.

The author's writing style was ordinary, nothing special, but the extensive "something happened that changed me and I won't tell you exactly what it was yet because you have to get invested in my story by the time its revealed" vibes in the beginning really drove me insane. I guess Eldon's constant state of being pissed off is rubbing onto me. Fun.

I usually don't like putting quotes in my reviews, but wow, this was one of the early gems of the book:

"When I was thirteen, most of my wish daydreams revolved around sex."

First of all, whoa whoa whoa. I get it, you're human. I get it, but that is just SO al;skdjf;lasdkf;al to me that I don't have the right words to perfectly sum up how uncomfortable that statement is.

And, to be fair, I can't say I understand the thought process of a teenage guy, but his assholery is such a strong character trait that one of the main reasons I kept reading was the fact that I felt angry enough to move past it and simply laugh at how unbelievable Eldon is.

I'm not even sure if the author intentionally making such a detestably arrogant main character was the best course of action. It does pave the way for character development, but to what extent? Eldon's "growth" didn't make me proud of him, maybe because I'm feeling exceptionally detached at the moment, or maybe because I just find it incredibly difficult to like him, or anyone in the book, because of their textbook personalities.

Elaborating on the other characters, though some of them had wishing histories that were really interesting, it was difficult for me to get into the empathizing mindset. I was just really detached from the book, which is weird for me because I tend to get invested and super empathize-y when reading.

Clichéness is hard to avoid, and I'm not expecting anything to be completely void of clichés because nearly everything's been done to death, but, judging by the synopsis, I really was expecting a lot more from the book plot-wise and development-wise. I thought that I'd be, as cheesy as it sounds, growing with the character(s), empathizing with them, and, looking back, that might've been my downfall while reading As You Wish.

All that said, the book wasn't a horrible read and the plot was reasonable enough, but the characters got on my nerves, which more or less ruined the reading for me.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the opportunity to read As You Wish, but in the end, it just wasn't the right book for me.

P.S. I could look at the cover forever; it's so aesthetically pleasing.

I can do nothing but applaud the amazing scope of this novel. To have created such a compelling and realistic world as the one I found in Madison, a world based entirely on making wishes is nothing short of a marvel. Unfortunately its such a big world with so many possibilities for its characters that ultimately I just couldn't connect with this one.

Its a wonderful play on the fairy tale idea of a wish bringing a happily ever after to have a place where the exact opposite is what usually happens. Following Eldon as he tries to decide how to spend his wish and meeting the people who've had their lives destroyed by wishes or long for the chance to wish again or to never have wished at all is pretty profound but it also doesn't really seem to be the point of the story. Eldon is unfortunately such a totally unlikable sad sack, surrounded by equally unlikable sadsacks that I just didn't care how things were going to turn out.

The outcome is also more or less a forgone conclusion given the way the story is laid out. Eldon does nothing but talk to people who hate their lives because of wishes. We never meet a single person or see anything to lead us to believe that wishing is good. So his wish is more or less decided from page one.

There's also just too many "philosophies" running around the narrative. The weirdly Mormom and seriously self righteous Norie and the anarchist who's really a sheep Merrill are Eldon's closest friends and spend way, way too much time spouting various pseudo intellectual platitudes about what wishing is, why people should or shouldn't do it, blah blah blah. Everyone Eldon encounters has some deeply resonating statement to make about the natures of wishes but none of it advances the story.

I don't know if this book is about free will or taking responsibility for your life or learning from your mistakes or accepting that not everyone you love will love you back or that wishes are great or that they're terrible. There's just no clear narrative thru line to get invested in.

It doesn't help that these characters are seriously unlikable. Eldon just generally sucks. He's sort of the typical jock asshole who just assumes all the girls want to sleep with him and that never really changes. Wishing or not wishing isn't going to change him in any kind of meaningful way as a person because wishing or not wishing doesn't define him as a person. Norie and Merrell aren't much better and the various creepy as hell wishers we meet just make me very glad this place doesn't really exist.

This just didn't work for me.

I was very excited to read this one and there was a lot to love. AS YOU WISH has the kind of unique premise I love in YA, a vivid setting, and three-dimensional characters. Despite the strong elements of magical realism, this book is grounded in the very real life issues of family, friendship and self-discovery. While it felt a little lengthy and while the main character was sometimes difficult to connect with, I enjoyed being submerged in the world of Madison and am looking forward to reading whatever Sedoti writes next.

The whole concept was intriguing when I first heard of it. A town where wishes are real and that everyone has access to them? Enter Eldon, a guy who doesn't know what to do with his wish, try and save his sister or find the perfect wish to set his life right. After all, according to Eldon, everyone else in the town regrets the wish they've made. Thankfully, the overall reading experience failed to disappoint me! :) 

As I've said, I really like the paranormal world set up in this book, with it being set in a town called Madison, Nevada. I think it explains how a whole magical town can go unnoticed by the world pretty well, even though it doesn't really explain how wishing came to be (although it does hint at it near the end). That being said, I like how wishing is connected to adolescence and growing up. You get one wish on your eighteenth birthday, and it's practically a rite of passage that sets up the rest of your life. After that, you have to take responsibility for your actions (in this case, wishing). You learn so much about people just on their wishes and how they came to be! It makes me really wish an anthology of Madison's wishes was published for me to read, just like the one in the town museum! ;) 

Then there's Eldon, our protagonist that readers obtain all their info from. At first, you don't know much about him and just assume that he's being hard on himself. But as the novel progresses, readers learn more about Eldon of the past and how he was towards others. I found it kind of a funny setup. Usually, the character is made more redeemable by the end of the novel. In this case, Eldon kind of isn't after learning that he wasn't so nice to begin with. It was more about rounding out his character than any development really, if that makes any sense. ;) 

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and now want to read more by Chelsea Sedoti!

As You Wish

By: Chelsea Sedoti
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: January, 2018

Eldon is a high school senior in Madison. It’s a dusty, desert town on Nevada State Road 375. His afternoon job is to man the full service gas station and charm people into thinking the town is ordinary and unimportant. But Madison has a secret.

There is a secret cave where everyone on the day and hour of their eighteenth birthday gets to make a wish. One wish. And that wish will come true. You can wish to be thin, popular, rich, the football star or anything else. But most of the people in Madison seem to regret their decisions. His birthday is coming up. What will Eldon wish for?

Honestly, I wondered at the start of the book if Eldon would wish for what eventually happened. The premise was set in the first three chapters. Eldon is the book’s narrator and while you want to like him, all of his encounters with other high school students seem rude or offensive. At the end of the book, he admits he needs to grow up, but I was waiting for it much earlier. Then there’s the premise that any magical cave would hand over the power of a wish to an 18 year old. Or that the townsfolk, with years of experience in bad wishes, doesn’t keep a chart and explain to students what they should wish for and how to word it. Or even how large an effect it can be.

I do think the title needs changing. As You Wish by Carey Elwes is a favorite (as is the movie The Princess Bride) and this is just so far removed from that humorous story.

Mildly recommended: Grades 6-8 (middle school only); I don’t think high school students would enjoy this.

Be careful what you wish for, because it may come true....
This is a NetGalley review of an ARC.
How amazing would it be to be granted a wish on your 18th birthday that would really come true, unlike the ones we wish before we blow out the candles on our cake year after year? To be the best football player in school, to be the most beautiful, to have an endless bank account? Sounds too good to be true? One teenager in Madison, Nevada, feels this way about the magical cave that exists in his small, otherwise boring town that actually does grant these wishes- and the sequela that follows every one of them.

As Eldon approaches his 18th birthday he feels more burdened than excited about his wish day. He begins to research the wishes of his fellow townsfolk and finds that most of their wishes have brought more misery than happiness to their lives- there will always be another wish for beauty, or athleticism to negate the current king or queen, money keeps those who wished it focused only on their bank accounts, and love? That's the worst one because he's lived with its consequences his whole life: his mom wished for his dad to love her unconditionally when they were 18 and his dad lives under this magic, acquiescing to everything his mom wants. Not exactly how she thought it would be.... And there are rules! You cannot wish for something that would profoundly change the world- no world peace or magical cures for cancer! Wishes that only focus within the limits of the town line turn people into self serving egocentric people, Eldon feels, and he wants no part of this. Rarely do kids leave the town either- or if they do they return to marry and raise a family. The furthest Eldon has traveled is to Las Vegas- and this is to see his younger sister who exists in a vegetative coma as a result of an accident. His mother pressures Eldon to use his wish to save his sister, Ebba, but is this even a possibility? The doctors believe her brain damage is irreversible, so nothing short of a miracle will save her- but wouldn't Ebba popping up and walking out of the hospital in front of all that staff be breaking the rules? The story follows Eldon as he processes all this info and guilt as he traverses his decision of what to do, or not do, on his 18th birthday.

I really liked the unusual concept of this book, which really brought to light the idea of being careful what we wish for. If you get something by wishing and not be your own hard work and planning, does it mean the same thing? We all have to live with our decisions, but the people in Madison are really stuck with their decision forever. We hear through the book that Eldon was a pretty narcissistic guy before his sister's accident and some other readers didn't like him as a character, but I didn't find him to be much different than most 17 year old boys- and his feelings and memories about his sister made him quite likeable to me. Whether I agreed with his decision in the end or not I did feel for the kid and respect that he tried to do what he felt was best for many, not just himself. THe one thing that I didn't understand is why the kids don't leave- it is done but rarely. Because they are harboring this secret about the town? There is no focus on college or exploring anywhere outside of Madison, other than day trips to Vegas. Why? I wished this was explained more rather than 'stated' this is how it was. It felt like something was missing. The town didn't seem big enough to sustain generation after generation. But it was an interesting read!

Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Check out all my book reviews at www.myliterary2cents.blogspot.com

Plot Summary: In a little town called Madison in the Mojave desert, wishes come true. Each person in the town gets one wish on their 18th birthday as long as the wish doesn't affect anyone outside of the town or bring someone back to life. Eldon is a high school senior who is on the cusp of turning 18. He is having a very hard time trying to figure out what his wish should be. He spends almost a month interviewing people about their wishes and how it affected them. He finds out that everyone has regrets about their wish. At the same time that Eldon is trying to figure out his wish, he is also going through the devastation of practically losing his sister (she's brain dead) in a car accident, losing popularity with his peers and football teammates, and lots of girlfriend/best friend drama. In the end, Eldon, who for most of the book is seen as a very selfish and egocentric young man changes dramatically.

Notes about the author/writing style: I have really enjoyed the author's writing style in this book. It looks like she's only written one other book, and I might just have to read that one too. This book was written for young adults and I think she gets into the mind of a young adult very well. She doesn't ramble about things that are unimportant, all the characters are believable and well rounded.

What I loved about the book: This book has all the "feels". There are times when this book makes you laugh, sit on the edge of your seat, and even cry. There is also a really good moral in this book that will be very appropriate for teens and young adults. I think the resounding lesson here is be careful what you wish for and the grass is not greener on the other side.

What I disliked about the book: The only thing that disappointed me a little with this book was the language. I get that the main character is a typical 17 year old boy and some of the language is part of his character, I just would rather not read it.

Who should read this book? This is a great book for young adults and teens, but adults would enjoy it too. I certainly did!

So. Let’s talk jackassery. From the very beginning, As You Wish got me thinking about what would I do if I were in the main character’s shoes.

Imagine a town named Madison in the desert where everyone gets one wish. On the night that they turn eighteen, they’re allowed to make one wish for almost anything they want. There are only a couple rules. One is that no one can know about the town, so you can’t wish to become the next international superstar. The other rules are basically the same as the Genie’s from Aladdin. No wishing for more wishes and you can’t bring someone back from the dead.


Already my mind went to some terrifying conclusions with this, conclusions that (to be fair) As You Wish doesn’t shy away from.

The jackassery that I mentioned above comes from our main protagonist and eyes into the world, Eldon. He’s jaded and bitter, carrying around a lot of the tragedy that comes with growing up in a town like Madison. Imagine the kids from The Fault in Our Stars, but without the optimism and you’ve got Eldon. Which, to my mind, makes him a much more relateable teen.

So fair warning, if you can’t handle anyone who’s bitter and complains a lot, then you’re not going to be able to get into this book.

For me though, this worked. Eldon is a prick, but that makes sense in the context of the emotional baggage that he’s carrying around, combined with the confusing times of being a teenager, and then multiplied by the fact that the most important decision he will ever have to make in his life is coming up in a matter of weeks.

I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil anything, but As You Wish is a book of tiny tragedies and triumphs. What would have been a fairy tale in another novel or a romantic comedy with hilarious shenanigans is a surprisingly sober look at what the reality of a town like this would be like.

There are these little interludes within the novel that tell the stories of what people wished for previously and I loved these breaks. They were my favourite part of the book and I think I would read an entire book of just these little stories.

Wishing comes with consequences. Being given something at all comes with consequences.

The true story of As You Wish is learning how to live with the choices you’ve made in the past and whether or not those choices will define you.

There are times when the novel takes on a tone that wouldn’t be out of place in Welcome to Nightvale, but As You Wish doesn’t sink into the absurd or the dreamy. It holds people accountable for their actions and that’s something that I really appreciated.

Eldon, for example, is someone we can empathize with if we choose to, but the characters around him aren’t going to let him off the hook if he’s too much of a jerk. The wishes that people make which are harmful or which push the boundaries of consent don’t come without consequences either.

If you’re looking for YA novel that doesn’t focus around the romance of its main characters and has a unique presence to boot, I can’t recommend As You Wish highly enough.

8.5/10
Terrifying thought experiment? Engrossing YA novel? Either way, I’m into it.

In one word FANTASTIC!!! I thought the concept was brilliant, I was right there with Eldon wondering what would I wish for? and some of the consequences of other people's wishes were great!! I would 110% recommend this book and I wish you would all go read this NOW!!! (Haha see what I did there!!!)

In the small desert town of Madison, everyone is granted one wish when they turn 18. Eldon, struggling with his decision, can only see how the townspeople are full of regrets.

I thought this was an interesting premise but the characters were very stereotypical. The book also became very preachy towards the middle, which was off putting. Even though the book wasn't for me, I think pre-teens will enjoy it.

I have mixed feelings about this books. Overall I enjoyed it, but it felt like there was something lacking to the story.

I loved the writing style and how the story was structured. It was really interesting to hear about the other characters' wishes and how they have affected their lives. The style was beautiful and poetic. I also absolutely loved how the story ended. Towards the end it did feel (at first) like the ending was going to be dragged out; however I feel that it was a very fitting ending.

However there was something lacking in the characters themselves and how their relationships are portrayed. Whilst we find out their history and information about them, it never felt like I got to know them properly. This was the weaker side of the story.

In short, I enjoyed the story and writing style but the characters needed more development and fleshing out.

A mountain of a book! Amazing plot! Can't wait to read this again!

I really enjoyed this book. It is lovely to read something original. The whole idea of being allowed to make one wish and the consequences it can have is brilliant. The whole book is well written and well thought out. It is really funny in places and very sad in others. It talks so much about life and the lessons to be learned from it. This is an excellent book which I will definitely be reading again.

I mostly enjoyed this novel, and it was original and made me think. I think that's the overall feeling I have about it upon finishing it. The ending was not altogether surprising, but it was kind of unsettling.

I read some other reviews criticizing the narrator for being unlikable, but I found that in his honesty with himself and in the fact that he's still young, he wasn't awful. I liked how the author wove his story with the town and his sister, and that showed a lot about who he was and why he was that way.

Some things I did not enjoy about the book were all of the strange names of the characters. It seemed excessive, unnecessary, and distracting. At first I thought it was to give the novel an unidentified, kind of timeless era, but then the trip to Las Vegas and the usage of cell phones destroyed that theory. Another thing that was weird and distracting was the constant "yeah?" at the end of some sentences. I teach high school and I have never heard anyone use that filler. I'm not sure what the purpose of that was, except to annoy me, yeah?

Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 stars.

I wish I could have loved As You Wish…

As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti is a stand-alone teen/YA fictional novel. I received As you Wish from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Eldon is on the verge of his 18th birthday. Most teenagers are very excited to reach this milestone but in Madison, Nevada its extra special because in this small desert town on your 18th birthday you get to make a wish and it comes true. For the month leading up to his 18th birthday Eldon goes on a quest researching the past wishes of others in the town and if those wishes have had a positive impact on their lives. He wants to learn what wishes work and which don’t so that when his time comes he can form the perfect wish. He finds in his research that the wishes have not made people’s lives better and in fact have made them pretty miserable. Eldon learns that perhaps happiness doesn’t come from a wish but its something you need to create for yourself.

I loved the premise of this story. How many times do we say I wish for this or I wish for that? And in the town of Madison you actually get granted a single wish. What I loved about this book was in alternating chapters you get the story of some of the townspeople and the wishes they made and how it impacted their lives for better or worse. In most cases it was for the worse. There are a few things that didn’t work for me though in this story. The first, Eldon was not a likable character and I didn’t bond with him at all. I kept expecting he would become a likeable character as his journey progressed. In the end I did start liking him but it wasn’t until the last few chapters of the book, which was unfortunate. The second problem for me was there were quite a few rules to making your wish and you didn’t learn some of these rules until later in the book. It was a bit confusing because as you were reading it seemed there was some kind of instructions to wishing but they weren’t apparent to the reader yet. Overall, I did enjoy this story and I think teen/YA readers will also enjoy.

I had a bit of a difficult time getting through this story,
I loved the style of writing, and the topics that this book touched on - there were quite a few difficult ones
however, the main character was really a bit mean, I felt.

I loved the idea behind the story - with everyone receiving a wish. The main character really felt a lot of pressure from others to wish for things they wanted him too, rather than wish for what he wanted.
The story dragged a bit around the middle, but the outcome was enjoyable

Interesting story. I liked the idea but was expecting something different. Also, the main character is very unlikable.