When Wishes Were Horses

by Cynthia Voigt

What would you wish for? In this young middle-grade novel by the Newbery Medal– and Newbery Honor–winning author, four kids in the same town are each granted two wishes. Full of magic, adventure, friendship, family, surprises, and lots of dogs, this is for readers who love Katherine Applegate and Sara Pennypacker.

How do such things happen? Something appears, sudden as disaster. It wasn’t there and now it is. An envelope arrives, in your mailbox, on your dinner table, your dresser, your computer keyboard. It’s in your hand. You are alone when it finds you. No one else sees it, to ask about it or take it from you. There is only your name on the envelope. Inside, two pieces of pale gray tissue paper, each the size of a playing card, and simple

ONE WISH AT A TIME

WHISPER IT TO ME

BE WISE

Magic? Impossible. But what if . . . ?

Casey, Zoe, Billy, and Bug live in the same town. They don’t know one another . . . yet. But mysteriously, they are connected by magic. Specifically, they’ve each been given two wishes. What would you wish for? Casey yearns for a dog. Zoe wants her parents to stop fighting. Billy has always wanted a unicorn. Bug would love a Lego kit, a really complicated one. And do their wishes come true? The answer may surprise you.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Childrens, Fiction, Juvenile, Short Stories

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

Cynthia Voigt is an American author of books for young adults dealing with various topics such as adventure, mystery, racism and child abuse.


Awards:
Angus and Sadie: the Sequoyah Book Award (given by readers in Oklahoma), 2008
The Katahdin Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003
The Anne V. Zarrow Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003
The Margaret Edwards Award, for a body of work, 1995
Jackaroo: Rattenfanger-Literatur Preis (ratcatcher prize, awarded by the town of Hamlin in Germany), 1990
Izzy, Willy-Nilly: the Young Reader Award (California), 1990
The Runner: Deutscher Jungenliteraturpreis (German young people's literature prize), 1988
Zilverengriffel (Silver Pen, a Dutch prize), 1988
Come a Stranger: the Judy Lopez Medal (given by readers in California), 1987
A Solitary Blue: a Newbery Honor Book, 1984
The Callender Papers: The Edgar (given by the Mystery Writers of America), 1984
Dicey's Song: the Newbery Medal, 1983

Reviews

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

We all would love to have wishes granted, but it's a process that often has difficulties. Voigt, who absolutely ruled the 1980s Young Adult scene with titles like The Tillerman Saga (1981), Izzy Willy-Nilly(1986), and Tell Me if the Lovers Are Losers (1982), is back after a long break with a middle grade fantasy title. In it, four children all find envelopes delivered to them with instructions to "make a wish". Bug, whose large family is crowded into an apartment over the family's sporting goods store, initially wishes to win a skateboard and then a Lego set, but eventually finds that these wishes were wasted, and that he is happiest when he helps people find what they should wish for and help it come true. Zoe wishes for her parents to stop fighting, only to have them stop speaking to each other. Her father moves out, and the parents even want to split up her and her brother, Connor. How can she reframe that wish? Casey wishes for a dog even though she knows her busy and abrasive mother, Faye, won't allow one. Instead, a neighbor asks Casey to dog sit Calvin, and when the neighbor doesn't return, it takes some wise wishing to be allowed to keep her new pet. Finally, Billy wishes to have a unicorn, and is happy to hang out with the magical creature and race it, but he soon realizes that a wish that makes him happy might not make the unicorn happy.

There have been a few middle grade books that deal with wishes. Snyder's Bigger Than a Breadbox is similar to this book, since it deals with the fact that items and things wished for come at a cost. Hubbard's You Wish involves a lifetime of birthday wishes, so is rather charming. Whitesides' The Wishmakers is probably my favorite because it's goofy and action packed. Reader who enjoyed the Best Wishes series (by a variety of authors, including Sarah Mlynowski, Debbie Rigaud, and Christina Soontornvat) might like this new book, which evokes classic tales of everyday magic like MacDonald's Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Eager's Half Magic.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Wishes Were Horses first came out in 2024, forty years after Cynthia Voigt was winning Newberys, yet the book stirred speculation it might cop a Newbery of its own. We get four separate short stories about kids granted two wishes via the same mysterious mechanism. Does the magic turn out to be a good or bad thing? Let's find the answer.

Ten-year-old Bug Whitstable's family owns a sporting goods store. Bug tends to blend in with siblings Sissie, Mary, Adam, and Emma, but one day he finds an envelope addressed to him. Inside are instructions inviting him to make his first of two wishes. He wishes for a skateboard so he can ride with his friends Brad and Kenneth. Bug keeps the wish to himself, so he's the only one not surprised when he wins a skateboard in a raffle at the family's store. Bug loves the board, but his friends suspect the raffle was rigged and give him the cold shoulder. Maybe he can learn a way to be closer to friends and family that won't trigger their envy response. In our second story, eleven-year-old Zoe Prince and her brother Connor have a problem. Their parents get into horrid arguments that are so heated one often has to leave the house for a time. When Zoe receives her secret wish envelope, she asks for an end to her parents' fighting, but what if the silent treatment is worse? Can Zoe leverage her second wish to mend the rift between her parents?

Casey Hooper's mother, Faye, is only twenty-six and Casey is eleven. Faye is a prickly personality and Casey has no friends, so when the wish comes her way, she wants a dog. Surely Faye won't allow her a pet, though. Casey meets a new neighbor who asks her to dog-sit her dog Calvin for a few days, and though Faye grumbles, she can't say no to a couple hundred dollars' pay. Casey is saddened by the thought of having to return Calvin, but maybe Faye will weaken on her No Pets rule when she sees how good Calvin is for Casey. Our final story introduces ten-year-old Billy Fairfield. He wishes for a unicorn, and the mythical creature—named Ay (pronounced "eye")—shows up in shimmery splendor. Boy and unicorn run footraces, play chess, and hold extended conversations. Billy is willing to use his second wish to bring a unicorn friend here for Ay, but he senses Ay will never be happy in this mortal world. Should he use his wish to send Ay home?

There are some likable characters, and Casey's story is the most compelling, but When Wishes Were Horses never establishes who is behind the wishes and why. It focuses on the wish fulfillment fantasy instead of establishing a backstory to coalesce everything into a common narrative. This means the stories aren't as complementary to one another, and the book is less memorable for it. Cynthia Voigt's trademark realism is still here in places, but When Wishes Were Horses lacks the depth to be great.

[Shella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has four different stories where children receive two wishes. I liked the Zoe one the best- 5 star. Voigt captured the heartbreak, angst, and debilitating factors that come with parents in dysfunctional marriages. The dog story was an excellent glimpse into the challenges of young single parenting when insisting on doing it all alone- four star. The first story was shorter and okay- challenges of making ends meet in a larger family. This story did the best job of showing unintended consequences of wishes-3 star. The last unicorn story seemed very out-of-place - 1 star. So overall, 3 star rating. I would have liked to see the four stories woven together better.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would you wish for? In this young middle-grade novel by the Newbery Medal– and Newbery Honor–winning author, four kids in the same town are each granted two wishes. Full of magic, adventure, friendship, family, surprises, and lots of dogs, this is for readers who love Katherine Applegate and Sara Pennypacker.

How do such things happen? Something appears, sudden as disaster. It wasn’t there and now it is. An envelope arrives, in your mailbox, on your dinner table, your dresser, your computer keyboard. It’s in your hand. You are alone when it finds you. No one else sees it, to ask about it or take it from you. There is only your name on the envelope. Inside, two pieces of pale gray tissue paper, each the size of a playing card, and simple

ONE WISH AT A TIME

WHISPER IT TO ME

BE WISE

Magic? Impossible. But what if . . . ?

Casey, Zoe, Billy, and Bug live in the same town. They don’t know one another . . . yet. But mysteriously, they are connected by magic. Specifically, they’ve each been given two wishes. What would you wish for? Casey yearns for a dog. Zoe wants her parents to stop fighting. Billy has always wanted a unicorn. Bug would love a Lego kit, a really complicated one. And do their wishes come true? The answer may surprise you.

[Misti · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Bug, Zoe, Casey, and Billy, the wishes just appear. There's an envelope with their name on it, with two slips of gray tissue paper inside, and the instructions: "One wish at a time. Whisper it to me. Be wise."

What would you wish for?

I've been a fan of Voigt's since I was a kid, so I wanted to give this one a try. This book is a series of four loosely-connected short stories. At her best, Voigt's strengths are dialogue and the child's rich inner life. I found the first three stories very strong, but I didn't enjoy the fourth on as much. It was written in a more dreamy, less realistic style that jarred a little bit after the first part of the book. Still, I liked the book as a whole -- and who doesn't enjoy imagining what you'd do with magic wishes?

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to review--it's really four separate stories. I liked Bug--the conclusion had a bit of a twist to it. Zoe had my full attention--but it didn't really seem to end...just sort of faded off without the reader knowing what actually happened with the family. That was disappointing. The Dog was my favorite of the four. Casey was a very believable character and the 2nd wish results were wonderful. The Unicorn...sorry...I just couldn't let my imagination go this far. How could Billy possible do the things he did without someone noticing? And...a philosophical unicorn that plays chess? Hmm. Still, it's an entertaining youth book. People much younger than me will probably enjoy all of it.

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is painful for me to review as Cynthia Voigt is a childhood favorite of mine. I read and reread her books, and I make a library weeding exception for her books.

Magical realism. It's a book of four stories about four different kids who are granted two wishes. Zoe's story was the strongest one. I wish the stories tied together better. I felt disappointed and confused at the end. I almost DNF this one - and it's a quick read.

Personal pet peeve here: Authors, editors, and publishers, can we please not ruin a certain magic in a book geared toward 3rd-5th graders? And mention it not just once, but twice? Just say Big Foot and Loch Ness Monster and leave it at that.

[SOYAMRG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voigt’s newest book is a gem.

She tells the stories of four fifth graders, each of whom is given two wishes. Each tween faces some type of problem in his/her life. Bug’s family is financially struggling. Zoe’s parents are “ugly fighting”. Casey’s mom pushes everyone away. Billy is lonely. None of the first wishes work the way the tween expects. Can each tween solve the new problem with a second wish?

Voigt creates appealing, complex main characters. Each tween has to grow to help themselves, their families and others. The reader is privy to their fears and feelings. Readers will sympathize with Bug, Zoe, Casey and Billy. Several side characters are also well developed. Each story’s plot is well paced and moves smoothly. Fans of realistic fiction or magical realism will enjoy this novel. This book would make an excellent class read or read aloud. It provides a lot of good topics for discussion.

I Highly Recommend this title for School and public libraries serving grades third through sixth.

M.A.C.
Ret.

[. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5, A nonsensical premise—and not in a fun way—of children whispering wishes into pieces of magical, disappearing tissue paper that randomly show up in their homes (this is never explained, even in part); a strange collection of random short stories only tied together by the aforementioned nonsensical premise; an unnecessarily high number of selfish, unsafe adults; and a wish granting entity that seems to delight in warped and sometimes cruel interpretations of the fervent requests made by desperate children. No thanks.

[Susan Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when 4 different children each receive a mysterious envelope: "Inside, two pieces of pale gray tissue paper, each the size of a playing card, and simple instructions: ONE WISH AT A TIME. WHISPER IT TO ME. BE WISE. Magic? Impossible. But what if . . . ? "

I loved that none of the wishes are granted exactly as expected. And that sometimes what you wish for isn't really what you wanted after all. A lovely, thoughtful book that would make a great discussion title.

[Tamitha Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first and most important comment it that this book is for a fairly mature young reader. The subjects covered are well written but not for all young readers. Cynthia Voigt has never avoided difficult subjects and has always handled them well. This book is no exception. It's a great way to talk with children about goals vs wishes and how hard work can contribute sometimes but also other times life happens to us all. I will be passing this one along to some young readers I know.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some beautiful writing, especially within the story of the unicorn. Interesting ideas for young readers to share and consider. My favorite was the story of the dog and the one about the unicorn. I would have liked to read each one with more details and a longer and more in depth story. I really liked this book.

[Alison Poole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read any Cynthia Voigt in years, and I enjoyed reading this new book with Hannah. While it was a middle grade novel, the kids in the story are all looking for hope in the midst of hard childhood circumstances. I appreciate Voigt’s way of reflecting the depth of young people.

[Leonard Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange book, reminded me a little of Echo without the too-tidy ending or really any ending at all.

[Flyingzebras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely and sweet book about wishes. I'd love to hear what happened to each character later.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of these were very cute and kept me engaged

[Molly LaRoche · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointed that this book had nothing to do with horses, and followed four characters whose stories had nothing to do with each other.

[Linda Srour · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book had no real climax or conclusion. Just vignettes with no resolution. Like what was the point?