Wish by Beth Bracken (review)

In this title first published as four separate volumes in a series, blonde, cheerful Lucy and dark-haired, broody Soledad have been best friends since birth, with Lucy’s bravery balancing Soli’s more timid nature as they explore the woods behind their house. Lucy’s mother has warned them that the forest is home to faeries and they should never make a wish when they are there, but the girls don’t really believe her. When Soli gets her first crush, she asks Lucy to speak to the boy on her behalf, and the inevitable happens: Jaleel kisses Lucy instead of Soli, and Lucy likes it even though she hates betraying her friend. When it happens again, the girls argue in the woods, and Soli wishes Lucy were gone, whereupon her friend disappears. Lucy’s mom tells a regretful Soli how to go to the faerieground to reclaim Lucy and gives her a talisman for protection, and what Soli and Lucy find in faerieland is a surprise that will change everything. Spare, lyrical narration alternates perspective between the two girls, establishing a melancholy tone for Soli and a more pragmatic voice for Lucy as the girls find themselves immersed in a world where their everyday problems seem petty and their self-images are shaken. As important to the storytelling, though, are the striking and richly atmospheric full-page illustrations that resonate somewhere between hyper-beautiful fantasy and apprehensive fear. Digitally enhanced photorealistic renderings of the girls, the woods, and the faeriefolk who live there possess a dreamlike quality in their play of light, shadow and texture across fully saturated colors. The plot itself has enough archetypal qualities to feel both familiar and hauntingly strange at the same time, especially for middle-schoolers; lovers of fantasy art and readers who still want to believe in 398.2 will add this to their favorites list.