This story was just as exciting and special as I knew it would be. I have been a fan of J. A. White and his books for so many years now. He writes such amazing middle grade stories. This newest one looked all kinds of creepy and fantastic. I was lucky enough to get an eARC from Edelweiss. I could not wait longer to read it.
I am giving this gorgeous book four stars. As I loved it, but also had a few small things that I didn't fully love. But the writing was fantastic. And all of the characters were so adorable. Sigh. Truly enjoyed reading this story. Although I'm also a bit sad about the end. It was good, but bittersweet. A little heartbreaking, honestly.
I'm not going to write such a long review for this book. As it was a quick and easy book to read. I think one of the reasons for why I did not fully love it was because it was not all fantasy. It's set in our world. Which I'm not the biggest fan of, haha. But it did have a magical wish monster, which I did love. It had great characters which I also loved. So I didn't mind the world too much. But yes, I would have loved it even more, I think, if the world it was set in was fantasy too. But despite this, I still really enjoyed this book. It was exciting and a little bit creepy too. Full of all the horrible consequences that can come from making a wish. How it can change everything, both small and big. It was so rude. And I very much loved it. Such an interesting plot. And so much did change, from such small wishes. I liked reading about all the details.
This book is told from two point of views. Hudson and Violet. I adored Hudson from the very first moment. And I really liked Violet too. But she did some things that I did not approve of, and so I got a bit angry with her. But she made up for it, so I'm back to loving her too, haha. Hudson is a quiet boy at school, where no one really notices him. Except for his best friend, Quinn. I liked their friendship a lot. Hudson only has his mother. And I liked how she cared for him and wanted him to stay safe. I really liked how close they were.
I liked how Hudson and Violet slowly became friends. They both needed each other, I think. I loved it so. Violet was also a pretty lonely girl, I think. She had two best friends, but they slowly ghosted her after her beloved dog, Midnight, died. This broke Violet. Because her dog was everything to her. She has an older sister, Emma. But they aren't really friends. Because their parents only seem to notice Emma, the perfect child. And Violet keeps being forgotten by them. Which I really truly hated. The very worst parents. Hmph.
Violet just wants her dog back. As she is walking the woods, she hears a voice whispering the word wish. Which leads her to a cave that used to be caved in, but is now open. She enters. And there she meets a magical creature, more a monster, who can make her wish come true. I liked how she had three options, and could choose just one. She wanted her dog back. And back it came. I loved that for her. But now no one remembers that he died at all. Which was creepy. Except for Hudson. He remembers Midnight dying.
Which is where their sort of friendship begins. Violet is worried her wish will be taken, because Hudson knows when no one else does. So she's keeping Hudson close. He is simply happy to have a new friend. Sigh. How rude. But good too, as I really liked them together. This book is about the wish monster. How it needs more people to make wishes. Nothing bad happened when Violet got her dog back. But she had to bring someone else to make a wish. And that wish was a much bigger one, and it changed many things.
Which makes Hudson realize that the wish monster is nothing kind. Violet does not agree. I really loved everything that happened after this. New wishes were made. Hudson trying to figure out how to stop it all, how to reverse a wish. While also learning some secrets. I had sort of guessed it, but did not have all the details right. But oh, that twist was evil and so sad. Yet I loved it, ha. Wish Monster was such an exciting and thrilling story. I'm so glad I was able to read this book early. You all need to read this too, in October.
Goodreads - Blackwells - Amazon US - Amazon UK
