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One True Wish

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A dash of fairy magic brightens this heartfelt and bittersweet middle grade novel about three friends confronting their deepest wishes from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Kate.

Phoebe is a wish-granting fairy who doesn't believe in children. Birdie, Gem, and Van are sixth graders who don't believe in fairies. But deep down, each of them has a wish.

Birdie and Gem have been best friends forever, but now things are changing, and Birdie doesn't know why. Birdie feels left behind, while Gem feels she's growing up too fast and no one understands what it's like. Van is lonely, far from their friends in Ireland who never thought that being nonbinary was such a big deal.

When Phoebe crash-lands in the woods nearby, the three kids must race against the clock to restore the fairy's powers and get her back home. They'll have to summon a new kind of magic to save Phoebe and their friendships--the magic of their deepest, truest wishes.

1 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 1989

16 people want to read

About the author

Lauren Kate

31 books26.8k followers
Lauren Kate is the author of novels 15 novels including the FALLEN series, now an Emmy-winning television series on AMC+. Her forthcoming angel-focused romantasy trilogy, WHITE LIGHTS, will publish in June 2026. She lives in Laurel Canyon with her family.

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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Profile Image for Melki.
7,420 reviews2,639 followers
September 24, 2016
Ray was baffled; why would anyone want to leave this wonderful little town where everything was so simple, so rewarding?

Ray Kootz has no plans in life other than to inherit his father's successful Thunderbird Motel, a grouping of concrete tepees set off by a giant neon-covered totem pole. He is content to stay in Kansas, happy to steer a straight path through life without ever finding third gear . . .

His best friend sees joining the Marines and heading to Vietnam as a way out, but Ray is discovered to have a heart murmur. This actually suits his plans pretty well. Now it's okay to avoid all the pitfalls of living. He can stay at home and fulfill his dreams of happy domestic bliss.

He felt his chest, splayed his fingers across the left pectoral; was his heart skipping beats in there? Maybe and maybe not. Ray wasn't going to find out for sure, because this particular truth might set him free, to join the armed forces, to leave Callisto, to fuck a thousand women, burn a fiery arc across the sky.

But things don't turn out quite as Ray had hoped. He marries a guest he barely knows, and she and her young son move into the motel. Their lives turn out to be anything but tranquil.

This is the fourth book I've read by this author, and he's now making the leap onto my favorite's list. His novels always keep me guessing. In this story, there is a Holy Crap! moment, followed almost immediately by a HOLY CRAP!!! moment, and then an October Autumn surprise. I honestly had no idea what to expect next.

Even the most ordinary life is full of surprises.

As Ray found out in his search for one rock-solid thing that's true - love, a good woman, and family is . . . an accident waiting to happen six different ways.
Profile Image for John Wood.
1,158 reviews47 followers
December 27, 2016
If you like quirky characters and strange plot twists read this book. All about A guy who decides to open a motel after his return from WWII. Not your typical motel, it consists of 20 concrete tepees surrounding a larger one that is the office and residence of the owners. Finishing the motif is a giant, neon lit, totem pole. The Thunderbird Motel is really only an interesting backdrop to the lives of the original owner, his son and other family members. Their lives of quiet desperation are filled with strange and unfortunate events. There viewpoints and beliefs are not typical and a perhaps even a bit psychotic. Religion, government, politics, family...is there one true thing that we can count on in life?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews