Just One Wish

Author: Janette Rallison

Genre: Young-Adult Fiction

Publication Date: May 27, 2010

Age Range: Young-Adult
Pages: 272
Date Scoot Read: September 2010
Source: Hardback Library Book

Scoot's Rating: 8- Really good!

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Seventeen-year-old Annika Truman knows about the power of positive thinking. With a little brother who has cancer, it’s all she ever hears about. And in order to help Jeremy, she will go to the ends of the earth (or at least as far as Hollywood) to help him believe he can survive his upcoming surgery.

But Annika’s plan to convince Jeremy that a magic genie will grant him any wish throws her a curveball when he unexpectedly wishes that his television idol would visit him. Annika suddenly finds herself in the desperate predicament of getting access to a hunky star actor and convincing him to come home with her. Piece of cake, right?

Janette Rallison’s proven talent for laugh-out-loud humor, teen romance, and deep-hearted storytelling shines in a novel that will have readers laughing and crying at the same time.

Scoot’s Review:
With the sparkly, pastel blue cover and ‘hunky star’ allusions in the synopsis I was not expecting much from this book. I was pleasantly surprised! I enjoyed the storyline, even with its’ often far-fetched plotline. It felt very much like I was watching a Disney movie (which I am a sucker for) in my head. However, the story wasn’t all lighthearted fun. There were deeper plot elements of a teenage girl struggling with the potential death of her little brother and how she was going to deal with that. You can only empathize with Annika’s need for her brother to think he was safe from harm. It was easy to connect with Annika and her need to fix and control everything, but some things were just out of her control. The story had an unexpected Christian twist that I was not expecting, but being Christian myself I didn’t mind the spiritual aspect of the book at all. It only added to the story. The romance element of the book was fast paced, but fit right in with the rest of the racing story line. Just One Wish is a mix of fun, romance, and bittersweet suffering appropriate for all ages.