Customer Reviews

As You Wish

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jackson Pearce is a lightning-fast genius, funny, slick, who puts very real teen characters in the midst of a rollicking magical adventure. That's hard to do. When you're reading, the book itself is the jinn, serving up so much wish fulfillment that it rightly earns the AS YOU WISH title. Don't be fooled into thinking that the lightness of the tone or the likeably comic beats of the story imply in any way that Jackson Pearce is a lightweight;JP is nothing if not clever. She's a structural craftsman, she's blazingly good at what she does, and she's here to stay.

Jackson Pearce's first book, As You Wish, has set the bar high! In alternating viewpoints, this book details the story of a teenage girl, Viola, who accidentally summons a genie, Jinn. Jinn must remain on Earth until Viola makes three wishes, and it's only after the first wish when they discover they have feelings for one another. Viola and Jinn are forced to make a choice- if she doesn't make all three wishes, the guardian of the genies will push her to wish by hurting the people she loves. But if she makes her three wishes, Jinn will leave her life forever.

This book is full of beautiful details and scenes that will delight even the most reluctant reader. Jackson's vivid imagery makes the characters come alive. The book is great for middle-school age kids and the young at heart. I couldn't put this book down!

I pretty much adore everything about this novel - so much more than I ever expected.

I'm sure there are other books out there about genies but I felt Pearce built a world completely new and original to the YA world. I really enjoyed hearing about the jinn world and all of the complicated rules related to the wishes.

The charcters were amazing. Each had their own detailed personality and the emotions were heartfelt. Even the supporting characters were important - there were no filler characters. The relationships between the characters were also so true. I loved reading about Lawrence and Violia's previous history and Viola and Jinn's new relationship. Lawrence and Jinn have to be two of my all-time favorite characters. They added so much to the story and without their personalities, the story would have been nothing.

It was told from two POVs - Viola and Jinn - which I normally don't like but it added so much to the story. It gave an insight on how each of them were feeling and thinking about it each, plus Jinn's struggle.

Overall, I can't recommend this one enough. Go out and pick up a copy ASAP. I know I'll be buying one.

This was reviewed as part of a Traveling to Teens tour.

Don't think that this is the same hashed out story as Aladdin. This is much more. The book was a quick read and finished it in a weekend. What a perfect ending to a weekend that started with seeing New Moon. I really recommend this book for all of you romantics out there. I liked the main characters and I liked how there was so much more to each of them, except for Aaron. Get this book and then pass it on.

The first thing I thought when I saw this book was, "Will it be like all these other sub-par fantasies on the shelves?" But I bought it anyways- because, finally! Something interesting I can read, and that's original. Something not about zombies, vampires, ghosts, faeries, fairies... all the other things populating the YA shelves today.

My first thought when I read the book was, "OMG I LUUURVE THIS BOOK!" Well, maybe a bit less peppy. But you get the point.

As You Wish was a gorgeous mix of most everthing good in YA- funny, believable dialogue, honest to life characters, an original plot, a sprinkling of magic, an amazing male lead who you can't help but fall in love with, fast paced writing, and romance that makes you swoon involuntarily.

I loved how the chapters alternated between Jinn and Viola's point of view- showing what they each thought of the events. I think it made both of them more developed and loveable than had only one of them been the narrator. And the writing was great- funny, quick moving, and the way I only wish I could write!

As You Wish is a fun, original, and wholesomely sweet creation that'll leave you wishing for more- pick up a copy as soon as possible!

-Meggin Jones, reviewer at: [...]

I normally read long epic novels with drawn out jaded love stories. I have to say as you wish delivered a quick and witty love story to me. I really enjoyed the concept of the book. And although I wish the book was longer, I really enjoyed the development of the characters.

I don't want to spoil anything about the book, but I have to say the ending was very emotional and good (I was at work reading it, so I held back). Definitely worth the read.

If you think this book looks cute, you're right--As You Wish is all kinds of adorable. On top of that, it's also funny, insightful, thrilling, and incredibly un-putdownable. Seriously. I finished it in just over a day and I already want to whirl through it again.

As You Wish is told in alternating first person narration between Viola and Jinn. While the two viewpoints add more dimension to the story, I couldn't distinguish the two voices from one another. The plot, however, sucked me in so absolutely that I quickly got over this complaint and sat back to enjoy the story. The resulting single voice of Viola's and Jinn's near identical narration is appealing and enjoyable.

At the opening of As You Wish, it's been just over seven months since Viola's childhood-best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Lawrence, informed Viola that he was gay and broke up with her. While Viola and Lawrence are still close, Viola feels that she's become an "Invisible Girl" since the breakup--with Lawrence, she was special and felt like she belonged. Now, however, Lawrence is invited to parties and Viola gets to hear about them. She feels ignored and out of place and is obsessed with the idea of belonging--how do other people do it? How can she belong again?

And then Jinn, a genie, walks into her life, offers her three wishes, and suggests she make them quickly.

Jackson Pearce's cast of characters is irresistable--except for a few bad apples, I liked them all instantly. I had fun watching Viola and Jinn fall in love. I was happy when they were happy, and breathless with suspense when they encountered obstacles--I was so invested in the story I was practically biting my fingernails, and I don't usually do that. The ending is satisfying, but not exactly what I expected. As You Wish surprised me to the end.

Beyond the plot, the depth of Viola's longing to be a part of the social tapestry around her and her blindness to what she already has adds an emotional angle to the novel that I believe many people, teenagers or not, can identify with. As You Wish is a little book with a lot to say.

As far as PG-13 content, I can count the incidents of offensive language on one hand, and while alcohol and promiscuity make a few appearances, there's nothing even close to an R-rated scene, and nothing happens that the average teenager hasn't already read about or seen on TV--As You Wish is refreshingly clean without being unrealistic.

As You Wish is a roller coaster ride of laughter, love, and suspense. It's a feel-good novel I couldn't put down, and I highly recommend it.

I REALLY liked this book! A great read that is easy without being simple. Clever and very well written. Can't wait to get read more from this talented author.

I picked up As You Wish on a day when I just wanted a quick, feel-good read: I definitely made the right choice! Jackson Pearce's debut novel had just the perfect amount of romance and humor for a lazy Sunday afternoon read.

I loved that As You Wish from told from Viola and Jinn's alternate point-of-views. I think that writing the story in this format not only made Jinn and Viola's romance more vivid, but it also made it easier, as a reader, to connect with Jinn. For me, there is often only a true connect with the narrator and the reader only really gets to see one character fall in love, but Pearce enable the reader to fully understand both characters' motivations and both of them fall for the other.

I thought that Viola acted just as one would expect a teenage girl with three wishes to act. Though, to her credit, she did try to make "smart" wishes. When she does make an impulsive and cliche wish, her actions after were exactly how I would imagine someone her age to act. While her actions were annoying at some points, I appreciated their truthfulness.

Genies/Jinn are not usually portrayed the way they are in this novel - it was completely original. I really enjoyed the background on Jinn and their seperate world. I think that this part of the novel really added something extra to the novel.

AS YOU WISH is such a sweet, funny and wonderful book and I really enjoyed reading it. Just a note to future readers, if you are reading this book in a public place, you are not invisible. If you laugh out loud, people can hear you. I found that out the hard way. You know when you're sitting alone and you let out a chuckle that you have to quickly turn into a cough so you don't look crazy?Well, I don't think it works. I still think I may have looked crazy. Oh, well. I adored the book, that's what counts.

Viola and Lawrence have been best friends since childhood and have even attempted to move their relationship further by dating. Viola loved Lawrence, but he recently discovered something about himself that forces them to break up. They are still best friends, but after the break up, Viola feels like she's missing something. She begins to feel invisible and deperately wishes that she can belong to something again. She doesn't know to who, what or why, she just, well, wishes for it. One day, all of her wishing gets the attention of Jinn, an actual jinn. You know, the kind that grant wishes and are not supposed to exisit except that there is one standing right in front of her? After Viola gets over the initial shock of the situation (and the fact that this Jinn guy is pretty hot), she's left with a big decision. What does she REALLY want?

Jinn is just your ordinary, average, everyday, wish granting jinn (also known as a genie, but he's not blue and he doesn't sing or live in a bottle). He comes from a place called Caliban, where everything is perfect, there is nothing to worry about and he never ages. As a jinn, he must make frequent trips to the mortal world to fulfill his duties to desperate humans, and boy does he have some insane stories abut that. Whenever he takes a trip to the mortal world he ages while he's there, as if he's a human, so you can understand that he would want to get in, grant the wishes and get out ASAP. Normally, this is not a problem, but when he ends up with a girl named Viola as his master, things don't go very smoothly. This girl wanted him to appear so badly yet she refuses to make her wishes. She claims she wants to think about it, all while Jinn is stuck here actually FEELING time slip away (as you can imagine, he's become a bit narotic after all these trips away from Caliban). What's a jinn to do when he can't grant wishes? He's just going to have to wait it out.

As Viola and Jinn spend more time with each other, they become closer than either of them have ever been to another... being. Viola wanted to feel whole again, and now she realizes that if she wishes for this, Jinn will go away and leave an even bigger hole in her life. She can't wish for him to stay, she can't even wish at all. Along with all this drama, Jinn has gotten himslef into some pretty big trouble with the Ancients and they want him home and punished. They are from two different worlds, but they are sure that they belong together. Even a wish can't get them out of this mess, or can it? See for yourself as Viola and Jinn tell their story.