Books › How to Make a Wish
How to Make a Wish
352 pages
A tender, beach-set coming-of-age story about finding the courage to wish for your own future.
What it feels like
This steady, emotionally resonant coming-of-age story wraps the reader in a bittersweet but ultimately hopeful atmosphere. Grounded in the heavy reality of navigating a parent's alcoholism, the narrative finds its light in stolen, intimate nights on the beach and the tender unfolding of first queer love. The prose stays close to its protagonist's guarded heart, capturing the quiet, profound shift from resignation to self-actualization. It feels like a deep breath of coastal air after a long period of holding it in. Readers who appreciate earnest, character-driven fiction about resilient teens, complex mother-daughter bonds, and the transformative power of a supportive romance will find themselves deeply moved by this journey toward happiness and a chosen future.
- Mood
- bittersweet
- intimate
- coastal
- yearning
- Tone
- earnest
- tender
- resilient
- hopeful
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- navigating parental alcoholism · queer awakening · first love and friendship · self-actualization · choosing one's own future
- The writing
- Intimate and emotionally grounded, focusing on the quiet intensity of stolen moments and internal shifts.
- The arc
- Moves from guarded resignation and familial burden to a vulnerable, hopeful awakening of self and desire.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love tender, character-driven stories about queer teens finding themselves and navigating complex family dynamics.
Content notes
- parental alcoholism
- childhood trauma and neglect
About the book
"A small town pianist ponders a new life away from her embarassing mother when a beautiful girl shows up and changes everything"--
Grace, tough and wise, has nearly given up on wishes, thanks to a childhood spent with her unpredictable, drinks-too-much mother Maggie. Then Grace meets Eva, a girl who believes in dreams despite her own difficult circumstances. One fateful evening Eva climbs through a window in Grace's room, setting off a chain of stolen nights on the beach. When Eva tells Grace that she likes girls, Grace's world opens up and she begins to believe in happiness again. When Grace must choose between Maggie and Eva, will she give up the future for the life she has?
Description from Open Library.
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