If Wishes Were Retail

by Auston Habershaw

In this hilarious debut fantasy cozy, a rebellious—but enterprising—young woman and an ancient—but clueless—genie set up shop at the local mall.

Alex Delmore needs a miracle. She wants out of her dead-end suburban town, but her parents are broke and NYU seems like a distant dream.

Good thing there’s a genie in town—and he’s hiring at the Wellspring Mall.

It’d help if the Jinn-formerly-of-the-Ring-of-Khorad knew even one thing about 21st-century America. It’d help if he weren’t at least as stubborn as Alex. It’d really help if her brother didn’t sell her out to her conspiracy theory-loving, gnome-hating dad.

When Alex and the genie set up their wishing kiosk, they face seemingly-endless setbacks. The mall is failing and management will not stop interfering on behalf of their big-box tenants.

But when the wishing biz might start working, the biggest problem of all remains: People are really terrible at wishing.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Urban Fantasy, Contemporary, Adult, Cozy

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 2025

About the author

Auston Habershaw is the author of the Saga of the Redeemed and has published over 30 short stories in venues such as F&SF, Analog, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and elsewhere. He teaches English and Literature at a small college in Boston MA.

Reviews

[Beth Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked out this book from my local library.

This book is a hoot even as it contains depths. Alex is a teen desperate to get a job so she can save up money for college and escape her white trash family. She's hired by a jinn who is setting up a mall kiosk to sell wishes. Her new boss is ignorant about the ways of the 21st century. Hilarity ensues. I laughed out loud throughout, but near the end, some moments actually induced tears.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not just humor but true meaning behind it too. Loved it. Will be looking to read his other works.

[Carmen C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alex needs a job so she can save up and move out of her dead-end suburban town. Jinn, a genie, is trying to sell wishes at a mall but knows nothing about the 21st century. Together, they pair up to make it work—despite constant setbacks: the mall’s management wants them gone, people are terrible at making wishes, and what?? There are gnomes here??

The premise of this book was definitely intriguing! It started out strong—it was funny, had some magical intrigue, and would be relatable to anyone who’s ever just wanted to save some money and GTFO.

It was fascinating to think about what people in the 21st century would wish for. Some wishes were selfish, some selfless, and some just for the lols. Soon, you start to realise the limitations of wishes. Even if everyone had a genie who would grant their wishes, it wouldn’t magically solve all their problems or make society better.

That said, the point of the story only became clearer after reading the author’s afterword—which means I couldn’t get it from the narrative itself. I think the story could’ve used a lot more development. I didn’t quite get the bit about the gnomes or why everyone so easily accepted the existence of gnomes and genies. And I HATED Alex’s family; I didn’t think they deserved any empathy or redemption (or at least the writing didn’t move me that way).

Cool concept, but the writing just wasn’t for me.

[Lyra Funnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

~Thank you NetGalley for providing me this eARC!

If Wishes Were Retail is a whimsical story about a young girl named Alex who starts working at a mall kiosk for a genie who has started a business selling wishes. Set in 2023, this book has a lot of contemporary references to pop culture and things like the pandemic, which had impact on Alex’s lonely circle at the point of this book.

I found the relationship between Alex and the genie to be very cute and silly, and the growth between the two characters was very wholesome to see. I thoroughly enjoyed all the scenes within the mall, where wishes were being granted left right and centre. The characterisation of both characters - the clueless genie from another time and the angsty teen who wants to skip town - created a fun atmosphere between the two.

The family drama aspect was also interesting, but unfortunately didn’t have as much depth as I would’ve liked. Both the Dad and brother only become likeable characters in the last chapter and epilogue, and the mother isn’t really given much to do as she’s absent for most of the story.

Despite this, I found this to be a very enjoyable read full of silly wishes and plenty of gnomes!

[Bwandungi Mugarura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oi paloi!!

As someone who writes I want to be as kind as possible understanding that completing a book and getting it published is very hard work .

The premise of this story is so interesting . There are so many opportunities for hijinks, grand adventures, and an explosive climax. The cover of the book and the title of the book are what made me feel drawn to it. It didn’t seem like it would take itself too seriously and I was ready for a giggle.

It started well enough, but then devolved into a feeble attempt to humanize a racist who made terrible business choices, only to blame it on immigrants, “Dey tookrrr jrrbs!”

Really. 🫩

I’m all for helping people understand the biases that occur in some of these small towns. But I feel like this wasn’t handled with the kind of grace that would change peoples minds and hearts. And then the racist father takes on the immigrants promising to pay them good wages, but still having them do heavy labour “because they like it.”

The genie’s sudden transformation was unbelievable. The sullen teenager was unbearable. The idiot brother, suddenly being gay seemed like a cop out. No foreshadowing whatsoever!

This held so much promise, but like other readers of this book, I think it just required a little bit more World building and character development to make the end of the book satisfying.

[Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: A-

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC.

If Wishes Were Retail is a light-hearted supernatural fantasy about Alex, a 17-year-old, living in a crappy small American town with her dysfunctional family. Her mother works in a grocery store, her father has a lawn-mowing business supported by her brother, and Alex was recently fired from a sandwich shop. When she starts her new job search, she comes across an ad for a strange new stand in the local mall staffed by...a genie.

I thoroughly enjoyed this little book. It was so funny, refreshing and enjoyable. Alex's struggles are so relatable, being stuck in a small town with almost no way out and struggling to make your own way. Everyone seems to want to keep her down and in the town, telling her to recognise where she's really from and how she's no different. Her relationship with the genie starts tense and frustrating but the development across the course of the book is so genuinely fun and lovely to see. I had a great time reading about Alex's father's mishaps and the hijinks of the genie with the people coming for wishes.

It reminded me of the cheerful comedy of Wallace and Gromit or of a Ghibli movie.

This is a great little book that everyone can enjoy.

[Dr. des. Siobhán · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book!*

I loved the premise of this book (genie hiring a student to help out in his shop at the mall) and the world building (supernatural creatures are everywhere all of a sudden!) but I found the main character boring (predictable unhappy small town girl with a weird family who she learns to love). Despite showing up a lot, the genie too remained a mystery. More world building and character depth please! The story itself is (including side characters) all over the place and could've been fixed with a bit more editing. Sometimes the book was funny, sometimes satirical, sometimes just a bit trite. Overall a cute read.

[R B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was loving this book so much in the beginning, but it just sort of... fell apart in the middle and the end. It started out so funny, but then tried to transition to being more serious, it was like emotional whiplash. Towards the end, there were a few more silly situations sprinkled in, but the effect had already been broken down. It would have been much better had it just remained silly and light-hearted throughout the entire story. The author had done such a great job of it at the beginning.

[Sage Eyres · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the afterword, the author describes how the book went through so many iterations to get to the point it's at. This much is obvious. It's a silly, simple premise that becomes so morally confused that it's borderline incoherent. It seems like the author can't decide on who a single character is supposed to BE. Is Alex's dad an insane gun nut, or a loving father who would do anything for his kids but goes about it the wrong way? Is the genie a selfless philanthropist or a stubborn asshole who doesn't know how to talk to people? While obviously it's possible for people to be a bit of both, this book seems to play with character traits and themes like a game of ping pong, swapping back and forth as quickly as possible until eventually the ball falls off the table. The message is equally confusing. Is this book about immigration? Finding community? Worker's rights? Family? It tries so hard to be so much that it ends up saying almost nothing at all.
You would think, at the very least, that there would be some level of humor or a coherent plot to hold this together, but alas, there only glimpses among the heap on nonsense found here.
I am also not a fan of the writing style, but that is neither here nor there.

Overall, this book is a bit of a confused mess that is saved from a one star review only by being an entertaining confused mess.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would happen if a genie set up shop in your local mall? Chaos would ensue. You'll find gnomes and people acting selfishly (or altruistically) and ruminations on capitalism here, and it's done in a way that will probably give you a chuckle like it did me. Alex is a relatable narrator and the story ends on an upbeat note.

The author acknowledges no book can be everything for everybody, and of course one book can't contain all the repercussions of everyone's wishes getting granted, but the wishes that *are* followed are interesting and thought-provoking, and the way the genie's part in the tale is wrapped up is satisfying.

This one made me laugh and made me ponder, and was a nice break from some of the longer books I've been reading lately.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty entertaining. A 17-year-old girl is looking for a job and starts working for a genie who is running a kiosk at the mall, giving out wishes. It does go into a bit of deeper detail about what it really means to grant wishes, but it's also pretty funny and had some laugh out loud moments.

[Mhd]

[Whatever Blog blurb]

[Lauren M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hell yeah, gnome rebellion!

I think it's amazing what I consider to be a five star read. Books with a perfect balance of humor and a well crafted story are how to get dumbasses like me hooked.

For starters, you just KNOW there hasn't been a story like this before. Plot = fresh!
We're set in a world where people will accept a giant genie and worker gnomes. Love it!
We have the Delmore family at the center of our story, a loveable white trash family that'll have you bursting at the seams with their antics. Dad Charlie is easily one of my favorite book characters!

I cannot explain how much this book got to me. An awesome story with perfect zingers of humor. *chef's kiss*

Auston Habershaw, please write more books like this! I need more!

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a little bit of a rough start getting into it but it soon smoothed out and I couldn't have asked for a better ending. Bittersweet and thought-provoking.

[Mai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my kind of cute but I like the ending. I also like the underlying message that we are better together, lifting each other up, than we are alone. And also that greed is a curse.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this one up for the cover. I mean that seriously. Who could resist that genie? And then there’s the premise of the whole thing. It does sound like it should be farcical. And it kind of is – at least at first.

And also from a certain point of view, which kind of flips in the middle – as does Alex Delmore’s perspective on the genie. And eventually, on everything else in her life.

At first this is a story about a disaffected teenager looking for a way out from a dead end town and the totally dysfunctional family that seems to be doing its damndest – both by deliberate intention and by merely being who they are – to keep her mired in the same no hope future that they have condemned themselves to – whether intentionally or just by bad luck and worse choices.

The genie looks like Alex’s way out. Either by granting her wish to GET OUT, or by employing her so she can earn enough money to pay her own way out. At seventeen, marching to the beat of a much different drummer from seemingly everyone else in town, prickly and quirky and intelligent and too used to being alone after COVID’s imposed isolation to pretend otherwise, Alex doesn’t even see anyone or anything she’ll miss when she leaves. Not even her family.

She doesn’t know what the genie’s getting out of his strange stab at retail, and in the beginning she doesn’t care about that, either. He’s her ticket out – if she can just keep him in business long enough for her to earn it.

Alex can easily see that the genie needs her help. The rules of social behavior have changed rather a lot in the millennia he’s been trapped in his ring. So she’s teaching him the rudiments of not getting arrested in 21st century suburbia and he’s teaching her a lesson that he’s learning as he goes.

He’s there to help others – he’s just really, really bad at it. Or is he? At first we see humans being humans, mostly wishing for things they want and not articulating what they need. Including Alex, even if it’s just in the confines of her own frustrated psyche.

Which is when the story flips perspectives. The humans are stuck making a whole lot of terrible and destructive wishes because that’s what we’ve been taught – to believe that something outside us will make us happy. The genie isn’t getting the fulfillment and respect he craves because he knows they’re wishing for the wrong thing. He even knows what they should be wishing for – he just doesn’t grasp that he now has the free will to truly help.

When Alex convinces him that what he needs to do is put on his big genie pants and grant the wish in people’s hearts instead of the wish coming out of their mouths, everything changes. Including Alex. Not what she wants, not what she needs, but her perspective on what she already has.

Escape Rating B: This wasn’t anything like I expected from either the blurb or the cover. Or the picture in my own head. I was hoping for a bit of Robin Williams’ fast-talking genie from Aladdin, because the idea of THAT in a typical shopping mall would be screamingly funny.

Although it wouldn’t have as much heart as this book turned out to have.

In the beginning, the genie is a huge, floundering fish-out-of-water. But so is Alex, although not nearly as physically huge even though her floundering creates just as much of a splash. That mall is not the right setting for either of them – but it is a stepping stone in ways that I didn’t expect.

There is a lot of fun, more than a bit of farce, and a surprisingly huge helping of the movie Office Space in the first half of Wishes, as Alex and the genie navigate the endless red tape of operating a kiosk in a moribund shopping mall in a dying town. The world is way different than the genie remembers, the operators of the mall and the folks in town are way more suspicious of anything strange or foreign than even Alex imagined, and the roadblocks to granting people wishes get bigger every day.

And that’s before the story opens the whole gnome can of tiny, oppressed workers who are maintaining the mall AND the town under terrible working conditions for no pay whatsoever.

The place that this story ultimately went was one that I didn’t expect it to go at all. Because in the end, this is a story about community and how we’ve abandoned so many of the things that make a community in our pursuit of more, More, MORE.

So, what ended up in my head, surprising me even as I was still laughing out the gnomes – because yes, there really are gnomes underfoot the whole time – was the quote from Babylon 5 (see, there is some SF here amongst the fantasy) that “everywhere humans go, they create communities out of diverse and sometimes hostile populations. It is a great gift and a terrible responsibility, one that cannot be abandoned.” The whole story in If Wishes Were Retail is that humans are abandoning that responsibility and the genie helps them get just a tiny piece of it back, in exactly the kind of place we seem to be abandoning everywhere – a shopping mall.

Originally published at Reading Reality

[Deborah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I often struggle with assigning star ratings to the books I have read. Are they meant to indicate how much I enjoyed the book, even though that may not be particularly relevant to someone else's decision to read it? Should the rating indicate how well-written or well-plotted the book was in light of its genre? Or, as one of my favorite Substack literary critics has suggested, should I rate a book based on how well it accomplished the author's purpose in writing it, even if I didn't particularly enjoy it?

Auston Habershaw's If Wishes Were Retail forced me to confront this question head-on. The publisher describes it as an "hilarious, cozy adventure" in which "a rebellious but enterprising young woman and an ancient but clueless genie go into business at the local mall." While "cozy" is a bit of a misnomer, this description led me to expect a quick, light read, and that's what I got: an enjoyable but average piece of escapist fiction. Until . . . I read the multi-page Afterword. In it, Habershaw frankly acknowledges that his novel "couldn't decide what it wanted to be, in the end." I think Habershaw gets it wrong here. The book knew perfectly well what it wanted to be; it was Habershaw who wanted it to be more, to be deeper, to be a commentary on society's failure to work because we have lost sight of the need for "all of us, working together - even the people we don't like" to solve society's ills. To the extent this was Habershaw's purpose in writing If Wishes Were Retail, he failed.

Once Habersaw asked me to take his book seriously, its flaws became glaringly obvious. His characters are one-dimensional, and his characterizations of their relationships and environment don't make sense. For example, Habershaw's protagonist Alex lives in the suburbs, where most residents consider themselves middle-class, yet she repeatedly describes her family as "white trash" (and not in a self-deprecating way). There are multiple references to Alex's relationship with her parents and brother having soured "two years" before the book's events, yet what happened two years ago is never explained. The genie declines to grant the first problematic wish he receives, despite Alex's objection, but subsequently grants a potentially life-threatening wish because Alex naively asks him to. Finally, there are a couple of major plot problems, which I could have ignored in a humorous fantasy but cannot gloss over in reviewing a book with more serious pretensions. The most significant of these is what happens when the gnomes stop working. Everything up until that point has suggested that the gnomes are a relatively recent arrival, yet when they strike and their previous work is reversed, years' worth of damage appears.

So where does this leave my rating? With a 3 for enjoyment and a 1 for accomplishment of author's purpose, I give If Wishes Were Retail 2 stars. I strongly suggest to Habershaw and his editor that, if he ever again feels the need to explain his book's purpose in an afterword, he should take that as a sign that the book is not ready for publication.

I received a free copy of If Wishes Were Retail through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Wishes Were Retail by Auston Habershaw is a quirky, cozy little novel that dabbles in magical realism and delivers a gentle nudge to reassess what we want versus what we need. 🧞‍♂️🛍️ It follows Alex, a snarky teen with a tight budget and a mess of a home life, as she lands a mall kiosk job selling wishes for a delightfully out-of-touch genie. It’s got just enough whimsy and banter to keep things light, while probing deeper questions about labor, capitalism, and connection.
The dynamic between Alex and the genie evolves from eye-roll antagonism to genuine respect, which was easily the highlight for me. Their back-and-forth added humor and heart, and I loved seeing Alex gradually recognize the humanity of those around her—including her own family, flaws and all. Kenny the himbo makes a brief but golden appearance and feels like comic relief done right. 💖
On the flip side, the story stumbles when trying to deliver its central message. The author’s commentary on society and labor—while ambitious—is muddled and veers toward a kind of early-2000s centrist idealism that doesn’t quite stick the landing. His use of fantasy gnomes as stand-ins for migrant workers raises eyebrows, and the author's afterword muddying things further by suggesting the book is “too socialist” for some, “not socialist enough” for others, left me scratching my head. 🤷‍♀️
That said, there's charm in watching Alex grapple with what people wish for and how much they're willing to spend on those desires. The concept taps into something inherently human: the tension between longing and reality, and the bittersweet truth that even magical solutions aren’t one-size-fits-all. I also appreciated how realistically the story tackled bureaucracy and customer service chaos—those scenes hit a little too close to home for anyone who's worked retail. 🧾😅
The worldbuilding could’ve used more development, especially around the sudden existence of genies and gnomes and how society just...rolls with it. But honestly? That low-key realism might be the most relatable part—we probably would just adapt and keep scrolling.
Final vibes? Intriguing premise, snappy dialogue, and a wish-granting concept that sparks thoughtful reflection. Recommended for readers craving a dose of magic without the epic stakes—a soft lens on how community, empathy, and snarky humor can shape something meaningful. ✨

[Rachael Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have ever worked in minimum wage retail or been someone who works in customer service, this book will probably resonate with you on some fairly hilarious levels. I, myself, have done my time as a "mall-rat", working multiple jobs at a time, opening one store then closing another all the while trying to keep up with my college work. This book hit me right in the nostalgia of mall life and dang, I miss the good old days.

Alex is a 17 year old who is determined to get herself out of her small town and away from her family. Her father has recently been caught up in a scandal with Alex's previous boss over a multilevel marketing venture gone wrong and lost a lot of money. Alex's mother is doing her best to keep the family afloat with the money she makes working at the grocery store but it doesn't seem to be enough to pay the bills and fully keep up. And finally, there's her brother Marc, who seems to follow their dad around and help him with his lawn service job. Yet lawn service isn't as lucrative as it has been since the gnomes have started doing the job faster and cheaper.

Alex runs across a job she hopes will help her secure enough money to get out of town. It just so happens to be with a Jinn who has opened a kiosk in the mall to sell wishes. Of course this idea can't possibly go wrong. There's no way people won't wish for terrible things to happen and things won't backfire or make things worse. I mean, the Jinn does have final say on what he grants but he also has a very flimsy idea of what is illegal and what isn't.

I had so much fun with this book and hope this author finds more inspiration in this same vein in the future.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Wishes Were Retail is a funny little novel about learning to appreciate your community and the gap between our desires and needs. It follows Alex, a jaded teenager who's low on funds and high on snark, as she picks up a gig at the local mall selling wishes for an out of touch genie. She knows the genie could be her ticket out of Dodge, her escape from her hot mess of a family and nowhere town, if only she can turn this mall kiosk into a profitable business.


This book was a quick, mostly lighthearted read which is always what I'm looking for in a cozy fantasy. The development of Alex and the genie's relationship from blatantly antagonistic to real respect was the highlight for me. I enjoyed their banter and the way Alex learned to really see the people around her through their interactions, and himbo Kenny was a delight in the few scenes he appears. 


However, the story fumbles when it comes to messaging. It's clear from the text and the author's note that Habershaw had a lot he wanted to convey about society and labor, but his position comes across as a muddled, 2000's centrist liberalism, not the "subversive" message he purports to share. Apart from the questionable use of fantasy gnomes as a stand-in for migrant workers, he mentions in the author's note that he expects some people will find this book too socialist, and others not socialist enough, which really only makes sense if you think socialism is when an individual gives away things for free and the good guys get to be the landlords.


Thanks to Netgalley and Tachyon Publications for a reader copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.

[Lahna · Rating 5 out of 5]

*an advanced digital copy was received from NetGalley in return for an honest review*

This novel was witty, cozy and chaotic - making it super fun to read. The premise of this book is that a genie shows up in a small town and works together with a teenage girl to sell wishes at a mall. I absolutely love this idea! While it leans on humor, the story leaves readers with profound questions by the end.

Our story starts with a newly freed genie who wants to grant wishes, but curiously chooses to do so at a mall. He teams up with Alex - a small town girl, hailing from a complicated family and wanting to escape the monotony of her life. She is a hilarious, honest, and cheeky where the genie is short tempered, brooding, and mysterious. This combination of characters is electric and makes the banter between them hilarious to read.

The world is set in our world - making it very relatable! This world, however, has the genie, gnomes and probably nameless other mythical creatures. Like any other retail store, the genie and Alex run into countless problems that they have to find unique ways to navigate around. The creativity behind the wishes people made added charm and unpredictability to the story.

The ending was heartwarming and left me reflecting on the deeper implications of getting one’s wishes granted. The author’s afterword ties everything together beautifully, giving the story even more depth.

This fast-paced, refreshing read is perfect for anyone needing a pick-me-up book with a unique premise and plenty of laughs.

Thanks again NetGalley for the ARC!

[Seren · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up

Pros:
- Alex is very relatable & definitely has a lot of flaws in the beginning but watching her character develop was very enjoyable
- Honestly I just love Alex as a main character bc she rly tries to help everyone around her and see the best in people even if she doesn’t know them well
- I rly hated Alex’s dad and the beginning and still kinda hate him now but I’m glad he and Alex were able to work things out
- very Percy-Jackson-esque banter vibe between Alex, the genie, and some wish customers
- loved the chaos of the gnomes (GNOME REVOLUTION!!)
- rly happy Alex had no unnecessary romance arc
- IT WAS SO SATISFYING WHEN SHE PUNCHED FONTANA



Cons:
- kinda wish there was more world building in the beginning bc I was kinda confused about how the magical creatures started appearing and functioning in society but that was better than info dumping and everything started to come together by 30% in
- I feel like the Mom’s motivation could be explained a little more bc honestly I still don’t rly like her but that’s mostly bc her character isn’t rly explored that much
- wish there was more sibling bonding time between Alex and Mark

Overall:
Very fun read and hoping for a book 2 where Alex makes new friends at college and somehow gets involved in another magical revolution

[Heather Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO-MUCH-FUN!!! I loved this book!! It made me smile, it made me laugh, and it made me think. The characters were well-developed and complete and the story was fun and unique and heartfelt. It is a “young adult” novel….but I think anyone of any age would relate to and enjoy this story. Just a fantastic book and super-entertaining! Definitely a top book and favorite of the year!!

From the book blurb: “In this hilarious debut fantasy cozy, a rebellious—but enterprising—young woman and an ancient—but clueless—genie set up shop at the local mall.
Alex Delmore needs a miracle. She wants out of her dead-end suburban town, but her parents are broke and NYU seems like a distant dream.
Good thing there’s a genie in town—and he’s hiring at the Wellspring Mall.
It’d help if the Jinn-formerly-of-the-Ring-of-Khorad knew even one thing about 21st-century America. It’d help if he weren’t at least as stubborn as Alex. It’d really help if her brother didn’t sell her out to her conspiracy theory-loving, gnome-hating dad.
When Alex and the genie set up their wishing kiosk, they face seemingly-endless setbacks. The mall is failing and management will not stop interfering on behalf of their big-box tenants.
But when the wishing biz might start working, the biggest problem of all remains: People are really terrible at wishing.”

[Jay Brantner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let’s say at the beginning that this isn’t the voice of Terry Pratchett and you shouldn’t expect it to be. That said, it’s attempting to thread a Pratchett-like needle by being a fairly silly comic fantasy that has a lot to say about real-world issues. And it does so largely successfully.

I found the lead’s MAGA father and shiftless brother to be over-the-top to the point of annoyance, but the narrative managed to pull around to a humanizing portrait that I appreciated from a thematic perspective. There’s some well-earned frustration and mockery, but it doesn’t progress into condescension, which makes a big difference.

The jinn, on the other hand, is quite entertaining, pretty much from start to finish. He’s a remarkably earnest character even while being the comic relief a good chunk of the time.

And the book as a whole has a lot to say about the exploitation of labor—especially immigrant labor—that comes through very strong, along with a good chunk of seeing the humanity in others.

Does it wrap up a hair neatly? Perhaps. But it’s a lighthearted comic fantasy, it’s entitled to some neatness.

First impression: 15/20. Full review to come at www.tarvolon.com

[Allie IG: alliesannotation · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️: 3.75/5
Format: 📱

I'm not sure what expectations I had for this book, but it wasn't what I thought it'd be! I expected something a little whimsical, a little silly, and overall lighthearted, fluffy. What I didn't expect was for this book to turn into a critical look at consumerism and meaning in life through a suburban lens. It absolutely was whimsical, but it also had surprising depth!

We start off with Alex, and irreverent teen just trying to get any job, evading listening to her parents fight and her dad's conspiracy theories, and yearning to leave her small town. Alex's journey is very much internal, and as she works for a genie (jinn), she has to reconsider if what she's wishing for is really her heart's desire.

With a lean toward fantasy that straddles the line of contemporary, we get to follow along on the development of not only Alex and the genie, but that of her entire family, as the side characters gain depth toward the end as well. Although we never get a fully fleshed-out magic system or even world beyond the tri-county area, for such a short novel, we get what we need.

A very interesting read that I enjoyed!

[Vania Vela · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I thought this was a graphic novel, so it was a funny surprise to realize it’s actually a book. The premise is so intriguing that I couldn’t wait to dive in. I loved how the plot revolved around the concept of a "wishes stand." It was such a fascinating idea, and watching it unfold was a highlight for me.

However, the subplot involving the family drama didn’t click with me. The family was so problematic, and honestly, they never grew on me. They had their struggles, sure, but I couldn’t empathize with their issues. To be blunt, I despised the dad and the brother—they were insufferable.

On the other hand, the wishes people made felt surprisingly realistic, like the kinds of things you’d imagine people actually asking for if wishes were real. Honestly, I might have been tempted to make a wish or two myself!

As for the ending, it didn’t completely satisfy me, but I can see how it might have been the best fit for the story overall. It left me with mixed feelings, but in a way that kept me thinking about it afterward.

Pub Date: June 17, 2025

[Caitlyn Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty good and quick read, with a couple minor things that lowered to 4 stars.
I loved the little fantasy elements hidden everywhere (the gnomes were amazing), and found myself looking forward to reading all the different wishes, which I felt were pretty realistic based on modern society as well. They were all pretty spot on of what people typically wish for, and it was super interesting and engaging watching them play out. The ending I felt was a tad bit too optimistic for me, based on Alex's environment and family life; there was also a couple things that threw me off from believing it to be completely set in the modern day - Alex's college application process, for one, was somewhat dated and didn't make complete sense to me, but was also a pretty minor detail.
Overall, it was a great and fascinating read that captured my attention so much I finished it in a day :).

[Mairead · Rating 5 out of 5]

What this book was:
- Funny
- Thought-provoking
- Heartwarming
- Realistically Optimistic
- Full of flawed but realistic and relatable characters

What this book was NOT:
- Boring
- Nihilistic
- Lifeless
- Slow
- Unrealistic

This was an amazing book. I can’t remember the last time a book was able to actually make me laugh and snicker at the jokes and banter, while still being able to have serious and emotional moments. I absolutely love that Alex‘s family members were not demonized or irredeemable as people, they were just stupid and mean at times which all people can be. It can be so easy for authors to make characters completely hated, but this book made sure to show each character’s humanity, without excusing their actions. The events of the book were so interesting and fun to read, and the fantasy aspects were approached in a way I’ve never seen before. Overall, and really great read, which I’ll definitely be recommending to my friends!

[Mark R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, but I love fables. I love stories that examine human nature. I love offbeat and sometimes absurd humor and a good laugh. If you like what I like, you will probably have fun reading this book.

I also loved the characters, even the unlikeable ones. I liked reading a strong female lead who was a young person. I could see this as a sitcom. I thought the author captured her voice well.

I liked that weird stuff like gnomes taking our jobs, the jobs that no one seems to want, and capitalist genies are among us and no one is batting an eye. With all the batshit crazy stuff happening in our world right now—stuff that can really harm us and no one seems that on fire about it— why not add a few other nutty bits we can blindly accept and ignore?

If Wishes Were Retail was the funny yet thought-provoking read I didn’t know I needed right now. A great beach book that’s not the same old dull read-it-a-million-times romance.

[Peter Darbyshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Wishes Were Retail is the charming tale of Alex, a teen who can’t find any other job but working for a genie who has opened a mall kiosk selling wishes to mall-goers. The genie has little understanding of this world and is constantly offended by it, so he requires Alex to act as his guide. Alex hardly has it all together, though, as she is from a dysfunctional and disintegrating family and just wants to get the hell out of town and off to university and a new life. Of course, it’s never that easy when families — or genies — are involved.

If Wishes Were Retail is surprisingly complex under its surface world of laughs and ridiculous situations. There’s a whole subplot involving gnomes that touches on capitalist exploitation and the precariousness of work, as well as the main story’s exploration of family dynamics and community. To say that the genie changes everyone’s lives — including his own — would be an understatement.

I wish there were more books like this!