The Wish (rack) [Mass Market Paperback]

Gail Carson Levine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 2005

Wilma Sturtz is invisible and miserable at school. So when an old lady on the subway offers her a wish, Wilma immediately asks for popularity -- in fact, she asks to be the most popular kid at school.

Suddenly, Wilma has more friends than she can keep track of, forty dates to the Grad Night Dance, and a secret admirer writing her love poems. Everything is great, until she realizes there's a loophole in her wish, and her time in the spotlight has almost run out.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ah, the ancient mysteries of life. Why are the popular people popular? What's different about them--what makes them special? In The Wish, award-winning author Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted, Dave at Night) explores the age-old question with a simple premise: a girl who is granted one wish by an old lady on the subway wishes to be "the most popular kid at Claverford." As is the fate of many who are granted only one wish, Wilma doesn't think through her wish carefully enough. While she is now adored by boys and girls alike, she is a mere three weeks away from graduating from Claverford. At Elliott, her next school, she'll be back to her lowly, oft-ridiculed self. Tension builds for Wilma until her graduation-night dance, the night before her popularity--and maybe even her relationship with her wonderful new boyfriend--will invariably come to a screeching halt. This fun, witty, insightful novel thoroughly examines the nature of "popularity," and what it means to be true to yourself. It's not just because of the old woman's spell that Wilma ponders, "'To thine own self be true.' But who was mine own self? That's what I wanted to know." Wilma is a funny, smart, no-more-awkward-than-most character with whom young readers of all social echelons will identify completely. When her popularity runs out (and the spell does end), her true friendships remain, and she's left standing on her feet. (Ages 9 to 12) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Levine (Ella Enchanted; the Princess Tales) turns from fairy godmothers in the Brothers Grimm era to modern-day magic in this provocative meditation on what it means to be popular. Eighth-grader Wilma Sturtz is a nice New York City girl, but she's not popular--until she gives up her seat on the subway to a feeble elderly woman who grants her one wish. "I want to be the most popular kid at Claverford," Wilma tells the woman. Like many other books in this genre, the author explores the ramifications of "be careful what you wish for," adhering to the exact wording of the wish and demonstrating the fallout after graduation day. But, as always, Levine adds a refreshing twist to the fairy tale model: because Wilma has integrity, she uses her popularity to benefit others besides herself. The heroine, acutely aware of her unconditional popularity, adheres to the quote she most appreciates from Hamlet, "To thine own self be true." Because Wilma remains Wilma despite her popularity, she ultimately discovers who her true friends are when the wish's magic concludes. A flesh-and-blood supporting cast of imminently recognizable clique fixtures, as well as the unpopular outsiders whom Wilma also befriends, will offer readers much to ponder in their own lives. Ages 8-12. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (May 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060759119
• ISBN-13: 978-0060759117
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (137 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Issues > Popularity

More About the Author

Gail Carson Levine grew up in New York City and has been writing all her life. Her first book for children, Ella Enchanted, was a 1998 Newbery Honor Book. Levine's other books include Dave At Night, an ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults; The Wish; The Two Princesses of Bamarre; and her Princess Tales books: The Princess Test, The Fairy's Mistake, Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, Cinderellis and the Glass Hill, For Biddle's Sake and The Fairy's Return. She is also the author of the picture book Betsy Who Cried Wolf, illustrated by Scott Nash. Gail, her husband, David, and their Airedale, Baxter, live in a two-hundred-year-old farmhouse in the Hudson River Valley.

In Her Own Words..."I grew up in New York City. In elementary school I was a charter member of the Scribble Scrabble Club, and in high school my poems were published in an anthology of student poetry. I didn't want to be a writer. First I wanted to act and then I wanted to be a painter like my big sister. In college, I was a Philosophy major, and my prose style was very dry and dull! My interest in the theater led me to my first writing experience as an adult. My husband David wrote the music and lyrics and I wrote the book for a children's musical, Spacenapped that was produced by a neighborhood theater in Brooklyn.

"And my painting brought me to writing for children in earnest. I took a class in writing and illustrating children's books and found that I was much more interested in the writing than in the illustrating.

"Most of my job life has had to do with welfare, first helping people find work and then as an administrator. The earlier experience was more direct and satisfying, and I enjoy thinking that a bunch of people somewhere are doing better today than they might have done if not for me."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Be careful what you wish for..., May 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wish (Hardcover)

Wilma's two best friends move away and she spends three miserable years in middle school unable to make new friends. The poplular kids ignore her and she avoids the other unpopular ones. When a language arts teacher reads her "Secret Life" essay aloud (she speaks as her dog)things only get worse. Upon giving her seat to an old woman on the N.Y. subway, the woman allows Wilma to make a wish. Wilma's wish is to be the most popular girl in school. Unfortunetly, graduation is three weeks away and school will be over. Will her new friends still like her? Will Jared, her new beau still want to be her boyfriend? This book is ideal for the pre-teen girl looking for a story about friendship or one just becoming interested in boys. We learn what it is like to be popular and unpopular. It has a fairy tale essence although Wilma never actually changes. The wish only affects how others perceive her. Fans of Ella Enchanted and the Princess Tales will enjoy this too.

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The WISH come true, June 7, 2000

By 

Xeneri - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wish (Hardcover)

I've been a fan of Gail Carson Levine since I read ELLA ENCHANTED and her giddy PRINCESS series. Unlike her prvious books this one is set in the here and now, nevertheless Ms Levine manages to put in a touch of magic in the form of an old woman (or is she a witch in disguise) who grants Wilma one wish as a thank you for an act of kindness. Lonely, unpopular Wilma wishes to be "the most popular kid at Claverford" and ends up wondering if she really wanted what she wished for.

This is a sweet funny book that examines the road of popularity and true friendship. It touches a cord in everyone who ever longed to be popular in school. Wilma herself is a believable and very likable girl. Readers of all ages will easily identify with her need to fit in. A funny and poignant read. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Levine.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different, May 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wish (Hardcover)

I really liked this book, even though it is VERY different from Gail Carson Levine's other books. First and foremost, it is actually set in our world, in a school in fact. Usually, I would have stayed away from a book about a school, but considering the author and the promise of fantastic elements, I decided to try it.

I am SO glad that I did. This book in FANTASTIC!!! Unlike most realistic fiction, it never preaches about how terrible cliques and popular people and high school are. Instead, it shows a point of view that is NEVER shown: what it's like inside a clique, and the idea that popular people really DO have the capacity to be nice. I mean, if you want to complain about card-board cutout villains, read a normal realistic fiction book.

There was only one really 1-D character in the book, but this added to the realism; I've met a few people who really act like that. Besides, all the other characters were wonderful, so it didn't really matter.

Wilma, in most aspects, was a good character. I especially loved the way she managed to pull unpopular people into the group without making it seem forced, which is no easy task. The only thing that seemed slightly odd was the romance, but that was just because of the age. It would have worked better if this had been set in highschool, but given the nature of the wish Wilma makes, that wasn't possible.

A certain part of the wish was the only problem in the book; from my point of view, the catch in it seemed rather obvious. But then, I read WAY too much fantasy, and therefore probably understand "watch what you wish for" better than Wilma did. Besides, it wasn't a very big problem, and given that Wilma took two seconds to think about the wish before she made it, it can easily be ignored.

If you like fantasy or realistic fiction, you HAVE to read this book.