Wish Upon a Star [Mass Market Paperback]

Olivia Goldsmith (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Canada, Limited (1941)
• ASIN: B001581IWU
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of her best, July 10, 2006

By 

M "M" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wish Upon a Star (Paperback)

I own all of Olivia Goldsmith's books even though I hadn't been as happy with her later works as I was with the earlier novels but this one made me love (and miss) her all over again.

The heroine was more realistic and relatable than a lot of the women in her stories but the story still had a kind of fairy tale quality to it.

I liked the message of success achieved by being true to yourself, making the most of your talents and treating other people with kindness and respect. If all of us managed to live our lives this way happy endings would be a reality and not fiction.

A lot of the work situations and relationships (the toxic co-workers, the indifferent parent the ridiculous crush and the unexpected friend) will ring true and the depictions of London, its people and scenery are like a mini-vacation.

I think that Ms. Goldsmith achieved something very special with this book and I wish that she'd lived long enough to create more like it.

1.0 out of 5 stars What is the point of this book?, July 24, 2011

By 

superfuzz_bigmuff84 "superfuzz_bigmuff84" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wish Upon a Star (Paperback)

I can see why there are 52 used for $0.01. This book is purposeless. What was Olivia Goldsmith's editor thinking? The first novel I ever read by Olivia (and my only one other than this) was her first book, The First Wives Club. Which was absolutely brilliant. I snatched this up for $2 at a second hand shop because I was hoping to read more of her wonderful writing.

I like takes on fairy tales. And the tale of Cinderella is one of my favourites. This, combined with my thoughts on The First Wives Club, made me excited to pick up my second Olivia novel.

But this is TOTALLY DIFFERENT from FWC. Its like its a different author. Its like she got bored of good writing, like she couldn't be bothered with decent plots anymore and did this half-a*sed job just to make a quick buck.

The story really does start out kinda dull. It's readable, it's not really that boring or sluggish, but I question why, from the pages of 90 to 300 (the current page that I'm on) there is no plot other than Claire's days around London. That is seriously all it is. Just a diary of her days. What she eats for breakfast, which shop she goes into, how she rearranges Mrs Patel's dairy, which character she tries to bludge off. I don't really like Claire as a character either. She's a loner (which is okay - loner's can be cool - I'm an extroverted loner), but she keeps only to herself and would RATHER be alone than with anyone else - at all. In London she makes a few friends but she really just uses them. Seriously. I don't know why Olivia would write about a supposedly nice "good guy" character that uses people. Claire befriends people to get a job, or a flat, and when they don't offer those things to her, Claire gets upset and annoyed and wonders why she bothered making the effort to travel to that shop at all. One thing that really annoyed me (and I don't know why - do other people agree?) is that when Claire is in Mrs Watson's flat she takes a bath twice a day. If I was Mrs Watson I'd be annoyed that someone was using hot water like that twice a day as well.

What is the point of this book? I have no clue. For over 200 pages there is no love interest, no excitement, no nothing. Its just Claire's day to day life in London. This book has no meaning or purpose or ANYTHING. I can seriously say do not bother paying full price for this book, and possibly don't even bother reading it. Nothing happens. This is what I would call a throwaway book. If you do manage to pick it up for $0.01, make sure you read other books you've been meaning to read first. This should be a very last resort in your collection of "to read" books.

I can't believe Olivia would write something as fabulous as First Wives Club and then move on a few years later to this dull, unexplainable book.

4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible, dont even bother, April 5, 2006

By 

Beth Jonsson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wish Upon a Star (Paperback)

I have always been a fan of Olivia Goldmith's works so i immediately snatched this novel up hoping to read it in one sitting like always. It took me a year to force myself to finish it, and everytime i resumed reading it, I got bored to tears. It was like forcing myself to eat raw liver, but I just didn't want to say i gave up on it.

The protagonist is such a loser, no other way to put it, I could not bring myself to sympathise with her. I could not think of any other heroine as dull as her. The plot, what plot? The book was more of a diary of Claire's dull existence. I could not express enough what a waste of money and time this book is. It offered such a patronising view of London confined to flowerboxes, knitting and Brit lingo uncomfortably interjected in every conversation. And everytime I came across the word "lovely" I thought I was going to kill myself if I heard it again. She must have used it in her musings about a million times. definitely the predominant adjective in this novel, so cheesy.

Where was the sharp and edgy Olivia Goldsmith I loved? I usually laugh out loud reading her novels but not one smirk came across my face with this one. I could have sworn this novel was written by an alien who pretended to be her. Definitely a disappointing way to end her career (as this was the last novel she wrote before she died). Try all of her other books EXCEPT this one. Its silly to hate a fictional character, but I hate the girl in this novel with a vengeance, and this is the WORST BOOK I HAVE EVER BOTHERED TO FINISH. I will not have any intellectual respect for the of anyone who will review this book as "enchanting" (as it claims it is), "delightful", "must-read" (as it definitely is not) or even "not bad" (IT IS!!!). I could not bash it enough. GRRR!