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A review by webz
As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti
4.0
This is a bit of an out of the ordinary book for me to read and like. The main character is not the normal likable person that you find as the main character in pretty much any book. Eldon pushes people who love or care about him away from him, often being mean in the process. He get's into fights (physical ones.) But he is like a lot of people out in the world and is realistic because of that. I first came into this thinking it would be more of a light but fun read, but in all honesty, Eldon seems in a usual state of real downess and is pretty cranky and angry throughout the whole book. That along with different events that go on don't make you come away with the feeling that the book is a light read necessarily. But it is still a pretty good book. Eldon definitely grows a little bit as a character (by the end of the book he realizes fighting physically isn't the way to go about things and doesn't run away from an issue he created at the end.) but not in any crazy dramatic way that you wouldn't be able to tell him apart from the person he started out as at the beginning of the book.
Some general interesting quotes that stuck out to me include:
I think it is really noteworthy to acknowledge the fact that people wishing like they do in Madison causing them to not forge their own paths that come of their own making. So many people regretted their choices when it came to wishing and the whole rest of their lives would either be affected in a huge way positively or negatively because of that one choice they made upon turning 18. I 100% think that Eldon made the right choice at the end by wishing for the wish cave to not grant any more wishes at the end of the book.
Another quote I really liked included this one where Eldon's dad is talking to him after he breaks down towards the end of the book.
""Eldon, we all mess up. No one should measure their worth by how often they screw up. What matters most is how a person deals with the aftermath. How they grow and change.""
This is such a good quote. Eldon responds by asking the question of what if he doesn't grow, and his dad tells him he has.
So in conclusion, while Eldon is not necessarily an amazingly likable main character he is a really realistic one. This book really made you think about how things could go if there were such a thing as wishes being granted, and overall the story takes you on a pretty nice ride. I would say to anyone thinking of reading this to definitely just give it a try. I would say it is worth it.
Some general interesting quotes that stuck out to me include:
Spoiler
"No one speaks. Some people bow their heads. Some people's shoulders hunch. A girl who I think is a freshman starts crying. But most people file silently out of the room. They'll go home, I suppose. They'll go to be as if it's any other night. And in the morning, they'll get up and start figuring out how to live in a world where they have to forge their own paths."I think it is really noteworthy to acknowledge the fact that people wishing like they do in Madison causing them to not forge their own paths that come of their own making. So many people regretted their choices when it came to wishing and the whole rest of their lives would either be affected in a huge way positively or negatively because of that one choice they made upon turning 18. I 100% think that Eldon made the right choice at the end by wishing for the wish cave to not grant any more wishes at the end of the book.
Another quote I really liked included this one where Eldon's dad is talking to him after he breaks down towards the end of the book.
""Eldon, we all mess up. No one should measure their worth by how often they screw up. What matters most is how a person deals with the aftermath. How they grow and change.""
This is such a good quote. Eldon responds by asking the question of what if he doesn't grow, and his dad tells him he has.
So in conclusion, while Eldon is not necessarily an amazingly likable main character he is a really realistic one. This book really made you think about how things could go if there were such a thing as wishes being granted, and overall the story takes you on a pretty nice ride. I would say to anyone thinking of reading this to definitely just give it a try. I would say it is worth it.