Wish by Beth Bracken

The artwork really is very pretty

Friendships aren't always smooth and fun and exciting, as we all know. They take understanding, dedication, and time, and even then, sometimes they fail. In Wish, a friendship is thoroughly tested through magic, separation and hurt feelings. Soli and Lucy have been best friends for years, but when one of them kisses the guy that the other one like, it nearly destroys their close bond. When Soli makes a very reckless wish, Lucy disappears. She becomes a prisoners of some very frightening fae. Both girls learn more about themselves as Soli seeks to rescue Lucy.

Overall, this is a decent tale of friendship, love and the bonds between people, with a good deal of magic thrown in. The story was sort of slow, and the images seemed mostly static and a little lifeless, though they were very pretty. I liked the design of the fae creatures in this book; they were more like the scary, slightly creepy faerie folk of old stories instead of the sprightly, perky, wand-wielding sprites of today's tales. I sort of prefer the somewhat scary versions, and the story had some properly villainous fair folk. Heck yeah. Preteen girls are most likely the best audience for this book, and upper elementary students with an interest in fairytales will probably enjoy it.

Thank you Netgalley and Capstone Young Readers for the galley!