Monday, April 04, 2011

Retro Review: Well Wished by Franny Billingsley

I see in the blogs that Franny Billingsley has an interesting new book out, and The Folk Keeper is being reprinted. So I dug out this review of a book I remembered enjoying a lot. (Have also requested Chime from the library, and am rather hoping it will arrive just in time for this year's 48 hour book challenge.)




Well Wished by Franny Billingsley. Atheneum, 1997 (0-689-81210-8) $16.00; 2000 (978-0689832550) $9.95 pb

The village of Bishop Mayne isn’t quite like other places; it is blessed, or cursed, with a Wishing Well which actually does grant wishes. But the Well works by very specific rules, which are intoned by its Guardian: “One wish each lifetime. One cycle of the moon to repent and call it back. And for that cycle of the moon your lips are locked in this: To no one may you speak of your wish.” And as Nuria’s grandfather, The Avy, often tells her, wishing is dangerous: “The Well will make a wish go wrong if it can.”

Nuria has often promised to stay away from the well, but when she makes friends with Catty Winter, who can’t walk, she is tempted to help her. And when her new friendship begins to stir her insecure fears and jealousies, Nuria makes an impulsive wish that could change her life forever—unless she can find a way to take it back.

With its town-with-a-secret setting made even more disorienting through the use of unfamiliar names and ambiguous clues about time and place, Well Wished has an eerie, otherworldly atmosphere that adds an enjoyably mysterious tension to the story. The magical universe is wickedly twisted, in a way reminiscent of Diana Wynne Jones’ books—as is the way magic happenings are entwined with strong, believable emotions. But Billingsley gives Well Wished its own style, a fresh, crisp, wintry beauty of thought and phrase that never seems overdone. The emotions, particularly Nuria’s jealous love for the Avy, are subtly but surely drawn, making the combination of magic and realism touching and effective. (8 & up)

© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

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Review: Better Together




Better Together by Sheryl and Simon Shapiro. Illustrated by Dusan Petricic. Annick Press, 2011 (978-1-55451-278-2) $8.95 pb

This picture book about combining and mixing is aptly named. Most of the short verses aren't that interesting on their own, but add in the thoughtful or mischievous children in the pen & ink illustrations and they get some much needed verve. I particularly liked "Mud":

Sprayed out a rainbow,
water caused a flood.
Mixed with the dirt,
made slippery mud.

Slid in the puddle,
fell on my bum!
Got a little dirty --
don't tell mum!


The accompanying picture shows a completely mud-covered girl shushing us as she slips past her unsuspecting mother's back.

On a sweeter note, the illustration for "Team" shows three children, with their worst sports weaknesses depicted on the backs of their jerseys; when they come together as a team, we see the fronts display their greatest strengths.

Parents will most likely appreciate this book for the innovative concept and multicultural cast. (And for those who seek out depictions of biracial families or little kids using the toilet, put this on your list.) Kids may like it for the emphasis on the messy and the silly, and the heartfelt emotions we see in the pictures. (4-8)

© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

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