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blogginboutbooks's review against another edition
4.0
The premise behind AS YOU WISH is simple. Deceptively so. In fact, the novel asks some very profound questions, which leads the story down interesting paths. I thought a lot about this book while I read it; as a matter of fact, I'm still wondering, "If I could be granted one wish from the magical Madison cave, what would it be?"
Although Eldon isn't the most likable character, I found him to be an entertaining narrator. He does experience growth throughout the novel, but there are times when he's just a plain ole jerk. Still, his voice is appealing and his story is compelling. Even though I could see where the tale was going, I still read AS YOU WISH fast and furious to see what would happen next. Although there were definitely parts of the story I found confusing (the rules of wishing, for example, aren't always consistent), overall I really liked this book. It's an entertaining, thought-provoking novel and I enjoyed reading it.
Although Eldon isn't the most likable character, I found him to be an entertaining narrator. He does experience growth throughout the novel, but there are times when he's just a plain ole jerk. Still, his voice is appealing and his story is compelling. Even though I could see where the tale was going, I still read AS YOU WISH fast and furious to see what would happen next. Although there were definitely parts of the story I found confusing (the rules of wishing, for example, aren't always consistent), overall I really liked this book. It's an entertaining, thought-provoking novel and I enjoyed reading it.
leilaroseg's review against another edition
4.0
This book accurately articulated a teenage pov. Most will say the main character is pessimistic, but he’s a accurately written product of a small town. Small town folk entertain themselves with other peoples business Because no one else has better to do. With this in mind I saw drama progressions that my teenage mind found plausible. This is a good book for the rebellious, the bored, and those looking for an honest book about self discovery and growing up while dealing with grief. Nori’s religious disposition was understandably questioned and teased but was just awkward at times. Aside from that it was a good character that contrasted the town’s beliefs. Although Juniper (the mc’s ex) seemed awkward at first when mentioned, but so is bumping into your ex. The only way to fully understand why this book has the characters it does is to be in a small town and sit a while or to be fresh out of highschool or still be in highschool. This doesn’t mean other groups can’t appreciate or relate, but the fore mentioned groups are more likely to relate.
sidneyellwood's review against another edition
3.0
What really drew me in to As You Wish was the premise, because mysterious small desert towns have such a surreal setting. As You Wish is set in a small, middle-of-nowhere town called Madison, where nothing ever happens - except for that everyone, on their eighteenth birthday, gets to make one wish, and one wish only. And everyone always regrets their wish. Eldon's eighteenth birthday is coming up, and so is his wish.
I was very frustrated with Eldon a lot of the time during this book, because he just was very self-centred. Which is totally a flaw that was brought up, but he doesn't really change in that aspect even though he does change in other ways. Even though I could emphasize with him, I kind of wanted him to notice more things that were going on around him and that even though he was going through some pretty tough events, other people were as well. As for plot and pacing, I felt like it was pretty slow, and not too much happened. However, the magical realism elements were fairly good - I don't usually like magical realism, and it was one of the more fascinating parts of this book.
My favourite part of this book was the setting, because I feel like Sedoti got the aesthetic and mood of the mysterious desert town down pat. Everyone knows each other, and each other's secrets, and all the secondary characters were a lot more interesting than the main characters, honestly. For me, Fletcher and Penelope were the most interesting characters because it brought up the question: What happens when your wishes interfere with someone else's life? There were a lot of philosophical questions brought up in As You Wish and it was quite thought-provoking.
If you like magical realism and Welcome to Night Vale, definitely check out As You Wish.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this book in exchange for review consideration. This review and others can be found on my blog.
I was very frustrated with Eldon a lot of the time during this book, because he just was very self-centred. Which is totally a flaw that was brought up, but he doesn't really change in that aspect even though he does change in other ways. Even though I could emphasize with him, I kind of wanted him to notice more things that were going on around him and that even though he was going through some pretty tough events, other people were as well. As for plot and pacing, I felt like it was pretty slow, and not too much happened. However, the magical realism elements were fairly good - I don't usually like magical realism, and it was one of the more fascinating parts of this book.
My favourite part of this book was the setting, because I feel like Sedoti got the aesthetic and mood of the mysterious desert town down pat. Everyone knows each other, and each other's secrets, and all the secondary characters were a lot more interesting than the main characters, honestly. For me, Fletcher and Penelope were the most interesting characters because it brought up the question: What happens when your wishes interfere with someone else's life? There were a lot of philosophical questions brought up in As You Wish and it was quite thought-provoking.
If you like magical realism and Welcome to Night Vale, definitely check out As You Wish.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this book in exchange for review consideration. This review and others can be found on my blog.
knightedbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my gosh. I loved this book. I did not want it to end but couldn’t put it down. I wish I had written this book. I also want to quote Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye, “what really knocks me out is a book that when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrrifc friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.” This is how this book made me feel. I wish I could call up Chelsea Sedoti and talk to her about her book. It was such an intriguing concept, people living in a town where they get to make a wish on their 18th birthday knowing it would come true. This book is reminiscent of John Green and Sarah Dessen. I loved the character development and Eldon was hard to like at some moments but I still empathized with him. I was proud of his choice for his wish. I look forward to reading more of Sedoti’s books.
ebralz's review against another edition
4.0
This was such an interesting realistic fiction book! Really enjoyed it.
themaritimereader14's review against another edition
2.0
The premise for this book is quite captivating and unlike anything I've read before, so I was initially quite taken with it. I read the first third of it quite quickly and was anxious to find out what happened. However, Eldon's character soon got pretty old and he never seemed to do much. He was also so angsty and difficult to read about. I will say that the author strung me along quite nicely in that I wanted to keep reading to find out what his wish was - and what others had wished for - but overall, this book wasn't quite as good as I expected it to be. The ending did redeem it in some ways, and this might be better received in its target YA audience.
Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced review copy of this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced review copy of this book.
luanndie's review against another edition
3.0
"No, you listen. If you believe getting a less powerful wish is the biggest problem with this whole set up, then you're even more clueless than I thought. These wishes are poisonous, and we're allowing ourselves to be poisoned. We're like the Jonestown settlers drinking cyanide Kool-Aid. If you get less than you wish for, you should get down on your knees and thank God, because maybe you'll die a little slower than the rest of us"
La idea de esta novela me encantó. Un pueblo donde al cumplir 18 años pueden pedir un deseo que se cumplirá, sea lo que sea. Como punto de partida, es increíble, y Sedoti lo desarrolla bastante bien con pequeños detalles sobre como afecta eso a la vida en el pueblo (nadie celebra los cumpleaños o nadie es religioso) y como los deseos destruyen la vida de las personas, no importa lo inteligentes que crean que son al crear sus enunciados. Sin embargo, toda la cuestión del origen de los deseos y su funcionamiento me pareció un poco pobre. No le hubiera dado mucha importancia si no fuera porque parte de la trama tiene que ver con intentar entender el misterio que rodea a esos deseos.
En general, la historia me pareció interesante, pero tuve algún problema con el protagonista, Eldon. Al contrario que la mayoría, yo no lo odié. No es un personaje fácil, y en muchas ocasiones puede ser un poco insoportable, pero está en un proceso de convertirse en mejor persona. Y eso me gustaba. Sin embargo, hacia el final, hay un giro de 180 grados y todos los avances que parece haber hecho, se lanzan por la borda sin mucha explicación y para crear un drama totalmente innecesario. Eso sí, al menos el final no es un happy ending, sino que deja la puerta abierta para que el personaje siga mejorando, algo que me gustó.
El resto de personajes son interesantes, no porque la narrativa los haga menos planos, sino porque el descubrir sus deseos ayuda a darles más profundidad e interés. En realidad, tenía casi más ganas en saber las historias de los personajes secundarios que de nuestro protagonista. Y eso es lo que hizo que la historia, cuando se centraba en Eldon me resultaba algo más pesada. Pese a todo, creo que es un libro con una premisa interesante, bastante bien desarrollada (aunque había espacio para mucho más) y un personaje principal que ni es perfecto ni acaba con la vida solucionada al final de la novela, lo que siempre es una sorpresa en el YA.
La idea de esta novela me encantó. Un pueblo donde al cumplir 18 años pueden pedir un deseo que se cumplirá, sea lo que sea. Como punto de partida, es increíble, y Sedoti lo desarrolla bastante bien con pequeños detalles sobre como afecta eso a la vida en el pueblo (nadie celebra los cumpleaños o nadie es religioso) y como los deseos destruyen la vida de las personas, no importa lo inteligentes que crean que son al crear sus enunciados. Sin embargo, toda la cuestión del origen de los deseos y su funcionamiento me pareció un poco pobre. No le hubiera dado mucha importancia si no fuera porque parte de la trama tiene que ver con intentar entender el misterio que rodea a esos deseos.
En general, la historia me pareció interesante, pero tuve algún problema con el protagonista, Eldon. Al contrario que la mayoría, yo no lo odié. No es un personaje fácil, y en muchas ocasiones puede ser un poco insoportable, pero está en un proceso de convertirse en mejor persona. Y eso me gustaba. Sin embargo, hacia el final, hay un giro de 180 grados y todos los avances que parece haber hecho, se lanzan por la borda sin mucha explicación y para crear un drama totalmente innecesario. Eso sí, al menos el final no es un happy ending, sino que deja la puerta abierta para que el personaje siga mejorando, algo que me gustó.
El resto de personajes son interesantes, no porque la narrativa los haga menos planos, sino porque el descubrir sus deseos ayuda a darles más profundidad e interés. En realidad, tenía casi más ganas en saber las historias de los personajes secundarios que de nuestro protagonista. Y eso es lo que hizo que la historia, cuando se centraba en Eldon me resultaba algo más pesada. Pese a todo, creo que es un libro con una premisa interesante, bastante bien desarrollada (aunque había espacio para mucho más) y un personaje principal que ni es perfecto ni acaba con la vida solucionada al final de la novela, lo que siempre es una sorpresa en el YA.
marissa17's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
silencia167's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating 2.5
https://therealityofbooks.wordpress.com/2018/02/21/as-you-wish-by-chelsea-sedoti/
https://therealityofbooks.wordpress.com/2018/02/21/as-you-wish-by-chelsea-sedoti/