Wish Not, Want Not

 

Published:  March 21st, 2013

The Art of Wishing (The Art of Wishing #1)

By: Lindsey Ribar

Dial Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13:  9780803738270

 

He can grant her wishes, but only she can save his life.

 

Margo McKenna has a plan for just about everything, from landing the lead in her high school play to getting into a good college.  So when she finds herself in possession of a genie's ring and the chance to make three wishes, she doesn't know what to do.  Why should she put her life into someone else's hands?

 

But Oliver is more than just a genie -- he's also a sophomore at Margo's high school, and he's on the run from a murderer.  As he and Margo grow closer, she discovers that it will take more than three wishes to save him.

 

A whole lot more.

 

Review

 

     This is a book dealing with a normal teenage girl who gets the dream that everyone fantasizes about at least once or twice in life - a genie who is going to grant her three wishes!  Of course, everything had consequences, even things that seem perfect in theory.  So when Margo McKenna starts to know Oliver, her genie, for himself and not just his powers, it's not especially surprising that all Hell breaks loose.  Oh yeah, and there's a murderous madman after Oliver.  A fellow genie who wants to get rid of every other genie.  So there's that!  I really went into this one liking the way it kicked off.  A heroine who knows what she wants - to have a career in music.  She's got some family problems and is kind of awkward, so she isn't a Mary Sue (which I am eternally grateful for as a reader who detests them).  But Margo's entire life changes when she finds out that Vicki, the girl who gets the role of Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd instead of her, used magic to get people to like her and be in the musical!  This seriously pisses off Margo.  I totally understood that reaction.

     But once Margo comes upon Oliver's genie ring in the girl's bathroom and becomes his new 'master' things started to devolve.  I thought that the gradual development of a friendship between Oliver and Margo was very sweet.  She's feeling ignored by her Mom now that her parents have re-married, after so many years of it just being the two of them.  He's never had someone really take the time to get to know him.  Plus, Margo is taking her time and being extremely careful about her wishes.  She doesn't want to make any serious mistakes the way that Vicki did when she wished that more people would like her.  I understood the slow build and I liked the reality of Oliver's old mentor genie being a dangerous threat, who wanted to kill Oliver.  The dark edge to the book was interesting and fresh.  The focus on Margo's relationships with her Mom, best friend Naomi and her new one with Oliver made things stay interesting.

     Once the romance started to take over though, I lost interest.  It wasn't quite insta-love, but it wasn't too far off when you figure that Margo and Oliver had known each other less than an entire week!  So when things start to go down with the aforementioned villain, it felt like everyone else completely disappeared from the book and Oliver was the only one left - especially in Margo's view of things.  She basically tanks her future music career, her part in the musical, her friendship with Naomi AND her relationship with her Mom, just to save Oliver.  And as I saw mentioned in someone else's review, she could have just wished for him to become mortal instead of becoming a genie herself!!!  Not to mention the whole thing with her Mom struck me as vaguely weird, especially how jealous and resentful she was of her Dad.  She didn't even try talking to her Mom about things and hated that they got back together because it took her out of all the decision making processes.  I don't know about you, but it was kind a "duh" moment!  I thought Margo was kind of stupid honestly to expect her Mom to still treat her like another adult in charge of things once she remarried (never should have in the first place, honestly speaking).  The romance derailed the interesting part of it for me, which was the magic and the resolution of the parental/musical issues.  A cute book, but overall not what I was expecting from the synopsis.  I probably won't be reading the next one, cause I don't really care what happens next. 

 

VERDICT:  2.5/5  Stars

 



**No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**



I Dream of a Genie

 

Published:  April 20th, 2012

Three Wishes (Originally Published as: "Karma Beat")

By: Juli Alexander

CreateSpace

ISBN-13:  9781475141092

 

Not every seventeen-year-old girl works part time for the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E., but when you’re a genie, you have obligations. I’d rather spend my time rocking with my older brother’s band. I’ve been waiting years to replace the last drummer. Just when it’s looking good for me, Leo Fuller shows up, and this bad boy genie’ s after more than just my drummer gig. Male genies are dangerous, volatile, bad-boy types, and I’m finding him way too attractive. If we’re caught together, we could both lose our powers and be banished to the other realm. I know helping Leo will be a really bad idea. What I don’t know is why I’m doing it anyway.

 

Review

 

     Jen just wants to have something normal in her life, now that a good portion of her time is spent working and granting wishes on behalf of the genie U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E.  So when the drummer in her brother's band quits, all Jen wants is a chance to replace him.  She's understandably pissed off when her brother goes behind her back and fills the spot before she even has a chance.  When it turns out that Leo is not only her replacement as potential drummer, he's also a male genie, Jen is in deep trouble.  Because it's against the laws of the genie authorities for male and female genies to be around each other and have contact.  They could both lose their powers and be banished to the other realm for good if they're caught.  Leo desperately needs Jen's help though, so that he can clear his Dad's name before he gets banished for crimes he didn't commit.  Sneaking around in through her Mom's office, reading classified documents and going on spy missions together only brings Jen and Leo closer together.  Can they solve the mystery, save Leo's Dad and not manage to get their hearts broken when it's time to say goodbye?

     I really enjoyed this book!  It reminded me of everything I like about fantasy-infused, contemporary YA lit.  It was absolutely fun and every once in a while it's nice to just stop overthinking and read a book that reminds us to love life.  Jen was the typical teenager, just wanting to hang out with her friends and have fun for a change.  Her parents were somewhat overprotective, but you could tell they really loved her and both her brothers with all their hearts.  Their lives were very average American, even with Jen's Mom working high up in the genie regulation business conducted by the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E.  Also, her Mom is (if I remember right) the Vice-President of the cover for the genie higher ups, a booming cell phone business.  Jen's older brother is kind of a douchebag and it would've been nice to see some deeper emotion behind him.  Her younger brother hacking into her chattroom cracked me up, but I LOVED her parents' punishment for him to only be allowed to read "girl" books like Esperanza Rising and writing book reports.  I laughed so hard over it!  All the family interaction in this book was a refreshing change to me, upon the heels of so many books where the hero/heroine's family is MIA or just completely awful or bland.

      The explanation of the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. might have been kind of vague, but I was kind of glad that with the light-hearted tone of the rest of the book, that Ms. Alexander didn't bog down us readers with an overload of detail.  I got the basics:  if you get enough karma points you get three wishes, Jen was genie through her female heritage (skips every other gen.), male and female genies are too volatile together and the rulers of the genie organization were famous dead people.  I thought it was quite interesting.  It created a believable jump off point for the romantic tension between Jen and Leo, the somewhat R&J vibe and the awkward hesitancy of it all.  I did think that Leo going to Jen for help was a little bit farfetched, but it fit in well enough with the rest of the plot that it wasn't majorly out of place.  I really wasn't surprised at who the perpetrator of the frame job was but I did like the conclusion to the mystery and how it was carried out.  The ending leaves things wide open for a sequel.  I truly would love to read one.  I had a blast and I highly recommend it to those who would like a fresh take on genies, a mystery and a nice sitcomy type romance/family comedy story.

 

VERDICT:  5/5  Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book was published on April 20th, 2012.*