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saskiacb's review against another edition
4.0
I was not expecting to love How To Make A Wish like I do. I really didn't know much going in, all I knew was that it featured an f/f pairing, and interestingly, this was not the sole focus of the narrative.
The toxic relationship between Grace and Maggie was heartbreaking, I swear I felt my heart clench every time Grace was left disappointed and neglected by her mother. This novel highlights the cruelty of hope and being stuck in a damaging relationship.
But it also presents a gorgeous friendship between Grace and Luca. I am a sucker for close friendships so the book gets an A+ on that front.
Eva and Grace's relationship was cute, but not the best part of the book. A scene that did frustrate me was when Grace spoke about her first crush, Natalie; I really dislike how bisexual people are always made to justify their sexuality.
Overall, it was very compelling, I was pleasantly surprised.
The toxic relationship between Grace and Maggie was heartbreaking, I swear I felt my heart clench every time Grace was left disappointed and neglected by her mother. This novel highlights the cruelty of hope and being stuck in a damaging relationship.
But it also presents a gorgeous friendship between Grace and Luca. I am a sucker for close friendships so the book gets an A+ on that front.
Eva and Grace's relationship was cute, but not the best part of the book. A scene that did frustrate me was when Grace spoke about her first crush, Natalie; I really dislike how bisexual people are always made to justify their sexuality.
Overall, it was very compelling, I was pleasantly surprised.
whoaitslei's review against another edition
5.0
Phew I don't even have enough words in my body to convey how much i love this book. It fills me up with this warm loving feeling that only a good book can give. So to those who don't know, I am gay and reading wlw stories is one thing that has almost no rival. This book did not disappoint me in the least. I felt like this book delivered such a strong and clear message about self love and how you cannot truly love someone to the best of your abilities until you love yourself first. The characters were so beautiful in every sense of the word. I loved their challenges and their short comings. They were real people who made mistakes, but they didn't let those mistakes define them, they let the way the dealt with them speak for itself. This book has so many sweet parts and so many parts that filled me with angst. Simply gorgeous.
This book is now my second favorite stand alone book of all time (following aristotle and dante). Read this book, I loved it so much.
This book is now my second favorite stand alone book of all time (following aristotle and dante). Read this book, I loved it so much.
bookish_notes's review
4.0
This book is enchanting and hauntingly beautiful. I stayed up late reading How to Make a Wish and I don’t regret a second of it. The story is about Grace Glasser, a girl who wants to graduate, go to a top music school, and do what she loves – play piano. But her mother, Maggie, drinks and never quite stays in one place too long as she goes from one boyfriend to the next. Maggie is never quite the mother she should be for Grace. And Grace is stuck in the mother role looking after Maggie. It’s been this way her whole life, just the two of them together, and she’s become a bit resigned to it. Then, she meets Eva Brighton. Eva’s running from her own demons, but the two girls try to find a way to get through their struggles with each other’s help.
This is really my first true f/f YA I’ve read and I was wary that the book wouldn’t have a happy ending because of the dark themes in this book. But luckily, the ending is uplifting and although the story has ended, I wouldn’t mind another book about Grace and Eva. Just them figuring out their life and being super cute and loving. I liked reading about Grace’s friendship with Luca and how Luca’s mother seems to always be ready to look after Grace. In a way, I guess I also kind of enjoyed the small moments with Grace’s ex-boyfriend too.
This book had me weeping and the message is a powerful one. How to Make a Wish is a story about loving yourself for who you are and to chase after those dreams. And it’s okay to be happy when you get what you want. This is an absolutely wonderful book, and definitely one that I would have loved to read when I was in high school as a teenager.
***Thanks to HMH for providing me an ARC through NetGalley***
She loves that word. Just. Everything is just. It’s just one drink, Grace. A birthday is just a day, Grace. It’s just sex, Grace. My entire life is one gigantic just.
This is really my first true f/f YA I’ve read and I was wary that the book wouldn’t have a happy ending because of the dark themes in this book. But luckily, the ending is uplifting and although the story has ended, I wouldn’t mind another book about Grace and Eva. Just them figuring out their life and being super cute and loving. I liked reading about Grace’s friendship with Luca and how Luca’s mother seems to always be ready to look after Grace. In a way, I guess I also kind of enjoyed the small moments with Grace’s ex-boyfriend too.
This book had me weeping and the message is a powerful one. How to Make a Wish is a story about loving yourself for who you are and to chase after those dreams. And it’s okay to be happy when you get what you want. This is an absolutely wonderful book, and definitely one that I would have loved to read when I was in high school as a teenager.
…Because what the hell do I want?
Life with Mom has never been a matter of want. It can’t be. It’s a tangle of needs and necessity, paycheck to paycheck, the future like a distant city on a map in the middle of some foreign land. All those wishes pressed into my fingertips were just that – wishes. And no one really expects a wish to come true.
Do they?
***Thanks to HMH for providing me an ARC through NetGalley***
ynbushehri's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
literarilyjess's review
4.0
4.5 stars.
Girl with an emotionally absent mom meets girl who just lost her mom forever. This was so well done.
I'm very much here for turbulent relationships with inadequate parents in YA. The fear and uncertainty and anger and self-doubt that Grace experienced while dealing with her mother was so raw and real that it broke my heart. I just wanted to give her a big hug and tell her none of it was her fault. It's so easy to think it's your fault when the world is falling apart around you. Teens need to experience stories like this in fiction. Often that's how we learn to navigate our world.
Yes, this was heartbreaking, but there was an undeniable sweetness too that left a feeling of hope. We see it in in Grace's growing relationship with Eva, who is so sweet and adorable and grieving and I just wanted to PROTECT HER FROM THE WORLD, OKAY? We see it in her friendship with Luca (cheers for strictly-platonic male-female friendships!) In her struggle to chase her dream of getting a music scholarship and going to New York.
This was just fantastic, and I'm definitely glad I grabbed Ashley's debut novel recently because now I'm desperate to read it!
Girl with an emotionally absent mom meets girl who just lost her mom forever. This was so well done.
I'm very much here for turbulent relationships with inadequate parents in YA. The fear and uncertainty and anger and self-doubt that Grace experienced while dealing with her mother was so raw and real that it broke my heart. I just wanted to give her a big hug and tell her none of it was her fault. It's so easy to think it's your fault when the world is falling apart around you. Teens need to experience stories like this in fiction. Often that's how we learn to navigate our world.
Yes, this was heartbreaking, but there was an undeniable sweetness too that left a feeling of hope. We see it in in Grace's growing relationship with Eva, who is so sweet and adorable and grieving and I just wanted to PROTECT HER FROM THE WORLD, OKAY? We see it in her friendship with Luca (cheers for strictly-platonic male-female friendships!) In her struggle to chase her dream of getting a music scholarship and going to New York.
This was just fantastic, and I'm definitely glad I grabbed Ashley's debut novel recently because now I'm desperate to read it!
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
In "How to Make a Wish", what appears to be a simple teenage romance story is actually a very real and raw story about grief, alcoholism, family, friendship and the complexities of sexuality. I was thinking that it was an okay and pretty typical teen love story until about halfway through the book when I was unable to stop reading. Blake manages to include bisexuality and an interracial romance without making those the actual point of story - instead, they are background to Grace's relationship with her extremely dysfunctional mother and her quest to escape her hometown to pursue a future as a pianist. There is no major coming out event or struggle for Grace to accept her bisexuality. Her friends aren't shocked and there is no backlash - I really appreciate this in a book written for a YA audience. I will be purchasing this for my high school library.
I received a digital ARC of this title for review - all opinions are my own.
I received a digital ARC of this title for review - all opinions are my own.
gracemessi's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
This book hit me in so many ways. I feel so much right now. Grace is relatable (for more reasons than our shared name) and I’m so lad I finally read this. I just don’t love the insta-love feeling I got from the relationship with Eva
This book hit me in so many ways. I feel so much right now. Grace is relatable (for more reasons than our shared name) and I’m so lad I finally read this. I just don’t love the insta-love feeling I got from the relationship with Eva
chocolatemilo9's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0