A great coming of age novel about Charlie and her dog wishbone. Be prepared for them to steal your heart! O'Connor writes a beautiful inner dialogue of Charlie when she has been removed from her home because her dad is in jail and her mom is dealing with severe depression. 

I used this novel in a girls small group when we focused on empathy and friendship. Would recommend to 4th grade and up.

This is a heartwarming story of 11 year old Charlie who has a wish she wants granted. She wishes every day and even comes up with many different ways she can wish. Her home life is in shambles with dad in jail and mom completely uninvolved. When she gets sent to NC to live with her aunt she’s certain that she will not get her wish. When she finds Wishbone, a dog and slowly she starts forming relationships and realizes that maybe all she needed all along was just a little bit of love. This is a must read, and I will be sharing with my students.

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to download this title before it was archived

Such a heartfelt story about a girl coming to terms with her new family situation. Barbara O'Connor, true to her craft, creates a story centered around a change in family circumstances. I loved how the main character's internal struggle to accept those people in her life who truly care about her and want her to be happy.

5 out of 5 stars

Wish is a stand-alone children's novel by Barbara O'Connor. It's meant for the Middle Grades (4th-6th) and is wonderful, poignant, and is just all-around delightful.
I'm pretty fond of children's literature, but I have to say, this is one of the best children's books I've read in a long time!  The story line is so realistic and believable, as are the characters in this book. It's wonderful.
All her life Charlie's made a wish every day. She has a whole list of ways that one can make wishes, 11:11 on the clock, first star, crossing the state line (clapping 3 times), bird singing at night, etc. We never know what this wish is until the very end of the book because after all, if you tell someone what your wish is for, it won't come true. In the end, Charlie gets her wish even though it's a little different looking than what she thought it would be.
Charlie goes through a lot of character growth throughout the book. When we meet her, her world has just been turned upside down. Her father's been sent to jail, her mother's too sick to get out of bed and take care of her, and she's being sent to live with an aunt and uncle she's never met before. She's scared. She's mad at the world for changing. She's mad that her sister, Jackie, isn't coming with her. She's not really a very nice little girl to be around. She gets into fights at school and at Vacation Bible School, she says mean things in the heat of the moment, etc.. Bertha and Gus, her aunt and uncle seem to take it all in stride. They don't yell at her, they don't punish her, they simply love her. Little by little that's all it takes for her to start changing.
The supporting characters in this story - Bertha, Gus, Howard, his brothers, his parents, and Charlie's sister, Jackie are just wonderful. They all teach Charlie something about life and love and family. Jackie's afraid that Charlie will hate her because she can't take care of her, but Charlie doesn't hate her. She maybe doesn't completely understand, but by that point in the book she's starting to settle in and get comfortable at Bertha & Gus's place. She's feeling a little more secure so she takes it in stride.
The settings, the story line, everything about this book is just delightful and fantastic. It's seriously one of the best children's Middle Grade books I've ever read. I can see I'll probably be enjoying it more than once!
All in all this is a WONDERFUL book for Middle Grade kids and I HIGHLY recommend it!

** I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley. I was not compensated for my review. All opinions and conclusions expressed are my own. **