What do you think?
Rate this book
Instead of Three Wishes
A leprechaun is sighted in small–town New Hampshire. A city boy becomes a hero in prehistoric Sweden. An elf prince tries to reward a girl who wishes he'd just leave her alone. In these and other delightful stories, magical adventure appears in the most unexpected places!
Instead of Three Wishes is a captivating collection of witty and sparkling fantasy stories from the Newbery Honor author of The Thief.
Instead of Three Wishes is a captivating collection of witty and sparkling fantasy stories from the Newbery Honor author of The Thief.
160 pages, Paperback
First published August 18, 1995
57 people are currently reading
1178 people want to read
About the author
Megan Whalen Turner
18 books5,784 followersMegan Whalen Turner is the author of short stories and novels for children, teenagers and adults. She has won the LA Times Book Award for Young Adult LIterature, a Boston Globe/ Horn Book Honor and a Newbery Honor. She won the Mythopoeic Award and was shortlisted twice for the Andre Norton Award.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews
April 27, 2022
"It's that leprechaun," Mag explained when she met him in the breakfast room. "There's an article in the Peskaworthy Times that says it's been sighted there. They say two little girls on the way to school stopped and talked with it but didn't think to ask about any treasure." (PG. 7)
I enjoyed this magical compilation of short stories. Each one has its own twist with its own appeal; Commonplace magic in everyday worlds where the main characters find themselves in awkward situations with the magical beings.
Story 1- Mean, greedy little Leprechauns
Story 2- Leroy the Roach killer
Story 3- Ghosts in a factory
Story 4- A magical portrait
Story 5- 3 wishes? No thanks
Story 6- Nightmare karma
Story 7- Missing king, Baking king
Fun and short. YA but I think adults will find this amusing as well
I enjoyed this magical compilation of short stories. Each one has its own twist with its own appeal; Commonplace magic in everyday worlds where the main characters find themselves in awkward situations with the magical beings.
Story 1- Mean, greedy little Leprechauns
Story 2- Leroy the Roach killer
Story 3- Ghosts in a factory
Story 4- A magical portrait
Story 5- 3 wishes? No thanks
Story 6- Nightmare karma
Story 7- Missing king, Baking king
Fun and short. YA but I think adults will find this amusing as well
May 4, 2017
finally got my mitts on this one, thanks to faith (you are my rock faith) and the event of my birthday.
it was good. not incredible, but good. an overwhelming sense of potential pervades the book, a potential which came to fruition in the thief but especially in the queen of attolia. a few of the stories were nearly in the very good range, especially the one from which the title was taken and the baker king. what i thought most interesting was that each story had, in itself, the potential to become something longer if given the opportunity. it makes me wonder if the thief began as another attempt at a short story before shrugging off the restrictions and becoming a newbery-award-winning novel.
there are a few similarities to eugenides' world in these stories. there are traces of megan's famous pull-the-rug-out-from-under-you plot-twists (which she has now honed to a fine art), the youth-centricity of her stories, and her almost deadpan sense of humor. the last story even takes place in a grecian setting.
overall, it was kind of like reading a concept draft for her novels, or like the earliest of ideas pitched to a publisher. being the fan of mwt that i am, it was a fascinating glimpse into what pre-thief megan was writing. this was her first attempt at fiction, and all things considered it's not half-bad.
.....did i just write an actual review? i rather think i did.
reread: 4/17
even more delightful this go round. i found a greater appreciation for the structure and execution of each story individually. this is not just a precursor to her novel-length fiction, they are worthy stories all on their own.
it was good. not incredible, but good. an overwhelming sense of potential pervades the book, a potential which came to fruition in the thief but especially in the queen of attolia. a few of the stories were nearly in the very good range, especially the one from which the title was taken and the baker king. what i thought most interesting was that each story had, in itself, the potential to become something longer if given the opportunity. it makes me wonder if the thief began as another attempt at a short story before shrugging off the restrictions and becoming a newbery-award-winning novel.
there are a few similarities to eugenides' world in these stories. there are traces of megan's famous pull-the-rug-out-from-under-you plot-twists (which she has now honed to a fine art), the youth-centricity of her stories, and her almost deadpan sense of humor. the last story even takes place in a grecian setting.
overall, it was kind of like reading a concept draft for her novels, or like the earliest of ideas pitched to a publisher. being the fan of mwt that i am, it was a fascinating glimpse into what pre-thief megan was writing. this was her first attempt at fiction, and all things considered it's not half-bad.
.....did i just write an actual review? i rather think i did.
reread: 4/17
even more delightful this go round. i found a greater appreciation for the structure and execution of each story individually. this is not just a precursor to her novel-length fiction, they are worthy stories all on their own.
March 23, 2017
I loved these stories.
I think they were each engaging and made me want to find out what happened, and had originality.
I think they were each engaging and made me want to find out what happened, and had originality.
May 27, 2014
A Plague of Leprechaun: 2 stars. Not a bad concept, but much, much too short for the reader to have any emotional reaction to the events beyond polite interest.
Leroy Roachbane: 2 stars. Virtually the same as the first. Clever concept, half-hearted execution.
The Factory: 2.5 stars, tentatively. Morally incorrect, but fascinating and kind of sweet at the same time.
Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits: 3 stars. The story was fun and creative, but since the reader was hearing it second-hand, the interruptions took away from the flow somewhat. (I don't dislike the telling-a-story premise, but it was overused here.)
Instead of Three Wishes: 5 stars. Utterly enchanting. It made me giggle! I loved the concept of an elfin queen and her son forced to operate in modern society, when mortals no longer want the traditional rewards.
The Nightmare: 3 stars. Cute, kind of feel-good. Nothing special.
The Baker King: 5 stars!! This (and maybe Three Wishes) is the only story where you can see the roots of Attolia. It is not set in the same world, but it definitely has the same themes and culture. Absolutely loved it. : )
Average: 3.214 stars.
Leroy Roachbane: 2 stars. Virtually the same as the first. Clever concept, half-hearted execution.
The Factory: 2.5 stars, tentatively. Morally incorrect, but fascinating and kind of sweet at the same time.
Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits: 3 stars. The story was fun and creative, but since the reader was hearing it second-hand, the interruptions took away from the flow somewhat. (I don't dislike the telling-a-story premise, but it was overused here.)
Instead of Three Wishes: 5 stars. Utterly enchanting. It made me giggle! I loved the concept of an elfin queen and her son forced to operate in modern society, when mortals no longer want the traditional rewards.
The Nightmare: 3 stars. Cute, kind of feel-good. Nothing special.
The Baker King: 5 stars!! This (and maybe Three Wishes) is the only story where you can see the roots of Attolia. It is not set in the same world, but it definitely has the same themes and culture. Absolutely loved it. : )
Average: 3.214 stars.
July 17, 2018
Somehow I never recorded that I read this??? Anywho. It's awesome. "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits" easily wins the award for the best "magical realism" short story I've ever read.
(Don't read the one about the snake and the mirror, though. It's nasty.)
(Don't read the one about the snake and the mirror, though. It's nasty.)
February 9, 2023
A Plague of Leprechaun: 3.5/5
Leroy Roachbane: 3/5
Factory: 4/5
Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits: 4/5
Instead of Three Wishes: 3.5/5
The Nightmare: 3/5
The Baker King: 3/5
May 22, 2021
Good stories, interesting takes. It would be 5 stars if it weren't slightly disappointing compared to the amazing Queen's Thief series. Which had an amazing-er finale volume. Writing this eight months later I can't even recall specifics: just a vague memory of satisfaction.
I guess I should read it several more times, to be certain.
Library copy
I guess I should read it several more times, to be certain.
Library copy
August 26, 2021
Check out my blog, One Man Book Club
The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained
Instead of Three Wishes
By: Megan Whalen Turner
My Rating: Four out of Five Stars
Best for: 14 and up
How does an author show off? They write short stories.
There's just something about a short story that warms my book-loving heart. Novels are an amazing feat, to be sure. But when an author fits an entire novel's worth of ideas, character development, and world building into 20 pages I can't help but feel a sense of awe. An author who can write amazing short stories is an author who can write anything.
Megan Whalen Turner is one of those. We already know that because The Queen's Thief is among the greatest stories of all time. But reading this collection of magical short stories solidified her place on my awesome shelf.
Each story in this collection includes the lovely pull-the-rug-out-from-under-you reveal at the end you might expect from the author of The Thief, and the subtle sprinkle of magic throughout is icing on the cake. Each one is perfectly charming and wonderfully readable. I enjoyed them all, but feel like giving a special call out to Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits, Instead of Three Wishes, and The Baker King.
No content concerns at all, but I don't picture the 14 and under crowd really getting into them. I'll say best for 14 and up.
Happy Reading!
The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained
Instead of Three Wishes
By: Megan Whalen Turner
My Rating: Four out of Five Stars
Best for: 14 and up
How does an author show off? They write short stories.
There's just something about a short story that warms my book-loving heart. Novels are an amazing feat, to be sure. But when an author fits an entire novel's worth of ideas, character development, and world building into 20 pages I can't help but feel a sense of awe. An author who can write amazing short stories is an author who can write anything.
Megan Whalen Turner is one of those. We already know that because The Queen's Thief is among the greatest stories of all time. But reading this collection of magical short stories solidified her place on my awesome shelf.
Each story in this collection includes the lovely pull-the-rug-out-from-under-you reveal at the end you might expect from the author of The Thief, and the subtle sprinkle of magic throughout is icing on the cake. Each one is perfectly charming and wonderfully readable. I enjoyed them all, but feel like giving a special call out to Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits, Instead of Three Wishes, and The Baker King.
No content concerns at all, but I don't picture the 14 and under crowd really getting into them. I'll say best for 14 and up.
Happy Reading!
January 26, 2009
Picked this up because I'm a big fan of Turner's Attolia trilogy, and I was curious what her short form was like. I remembered only later that I hadn't particularly liked "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box," a story she published in a different anthology, but it's a good thing I recalled it after I made my clumsy, over-tall way into the children's section of the library to nab this. I did frown at the jacket description of "commonplace magic in everyday worlds" (surely others sympathize with my secret wish for a historical Greek setting).
However, the inside flap also calls it "a sparkling collection," and having finished the collection, I'll cheerfully go with that. I balked at the first story, "A Plague of Leprechaun," because I'm not much into stories about leprechauns, but a couple pages in I was much reassured by the wry tone. Turner does a marvelous job in bringing modern, sensible characters into unusual situations. I was particularly charmed by the title story, where Selene and an elf prince meet on a traffic island.
The quote on the back, which does a great job of imparting Turner's voice:
However, the inside flap also calls it "a sparkling collection," and having finished the collection, I'll cheerfully go with that. I balked at the first story, "A Plague of Leprechaun," because I'm not much into stories about leprechauns, but a couple pages in I was much reassured by the wry tone. Turner does a marvelous job in bringing modern, sensible characters into unusual situations. I was particularly charmed by the title story, where Selene and an elf prince meet on a traffic island.
The quote on the back, which does a great job of imparting Turner's voice:
He pulled out a wallet. From the wallet he extracted three small white cards and pushed them at Selene.
They looked like business cards. Instead of a printed name, a filigreed gold line wrapped itself in a design in the middle of each white rectangle.
"What are they?" Selene asked.
"Wishes," said the elf prince. "You've got three. Just make a wish and burn a card. It doesn't"--he looked her over with contempt--"require a college education."
July 31, 2009
A perfectly charming set of stories. I am positive I read it before (when? when?), so my enjoyment was a bit dimmed - expecting to be surprised by twists & endings, I kept thinking 'oh - right'. Entirely my fault, because I expect these to hold up to repeated reading.
Turner is such a good writer. This is her first published work, & it's less intricate, less polished than her books, but she still creates entire worlds & full characters with just a few lines. (If I'm reading the dedication page correctly, these were written for her son - and while most are funny and emotionally provocative, one is creepy & disturbing - hard to imagine requesting that to be read as a bedtime story.)
There are a few very early traces of her Thief books, too - and since I can't think about that wicked Eugenides without being bathed in a warm glowing warming glow of writerly admiration, it was just an extra delight.
Turner is such a good writer. This is her first published work, & it's less intricate, less polished than her books, but she still creates entire worlds & full characters with just a few lines. (If I'm reading the dedication page correctly, these were written for her son - and while most are funny and emotionally provocative, one is creepy & disturbing - hard to imagine requesting that to be read as a bedtime story.)
There are a few very early traces of her Thief books, too - and since I can't think about that wicked Eugenides without being bathed in a warm glowing warming glow of writerly admiration, it was just an extra delight.
July 11, 2011
I had read the title story in some collection, so I was a little worried that I'd already read this whole book and just forgotten to record it, but no, the others were all new, and all good. I definitely enjoyed Instead of Three Wishes again, about a young woman who finds traditional fairytale rewards vaguely embarassing in that teenaged way, and I really liked Leroy Roachbane and The Nightmare too, both of which are about little boys being boys but with very different takes. The Baker King was funny but more fairytalish than the others, and didn't really fit. Factory didn't really fit either -- it's a bittersweet scifi/dystopia ghost story, sort of -- but I like it more so I mind less. A Plague of Leprechaun was cute, and Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits was playful, and I'm sure it was no mistake that their framing devices matched their themes so neatly (in a fun way, not a clunky way).
Read
August 9, 2018*Trigger warning for suicide in "Factory"
While I did enjoy reading all of the stories, my favorites were definitely "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits" and "Factory". I loved how "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits" had a story inside the story, it made for an interesting read, I also felt like I was going on an adventure and I loved that. "Factory" was on the more darker side and definitely more morbid, it was actually kind of sad.
While I did enjoy reading all of the stories, my favorites were definitely "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits" and "Factory". I loved how "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits" had a story inside the story, it made for an interesting read, I also felt like I was going on an adventure and I loved that. "Factory" was on the more darker side and definitely more morbid, it was actually kind of sad.
October 28, 2010
This is a collection of charming little stories. Nothing here is as good as her novels, but they're well told and offer some fresh perspectives on old tropes. I particularly liked the title story, in which an elf prince tries to reward a girl for helping him but can't come up with anything she really wants, and the last story, "The Baker King", about a kingdom which has misplaced their prince.
February 14, 2019
I LOVE Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series, so I had to pick this up.
I haven’t read many short stories aimed for a middle grade audience, but this collection seems to fit the generic expectations. Most of the stories have contemporary settings with fairytale brushings (and, refreshingly, no princess fairytale romance retellings here). Turner shows a good understanding of fantasy tropes, particularly in the titular story. “Instead of Three Wishes” is about an elf prince who must figure out what to give a girl instead of three wishes (which she refuses because
“She’d read about people who were offered three wishes by malevolent sprites. No matter what they wished, something terrible happened.
Each story is thoughtful, and most of them are humorous; two are quite dark and disturbing. Overall, it’s perfect bedtime reading :)
I haven’t read many short stories aimed for a middle grade audience, but this collection seems to fit the generic expectations. Most of the stories have contemporary settings with fairytale brushings (and, refreshingly, no princess fairytale romance retellings here). Turner shows a good understanding of fantasy tropes, particularly in the titular story. “Instead of Three Wishes” is about an elf prince who must figure out what to give a girl instead of three wishes (which she refuses because
“She’d read about people who were offered three wishes by malevolent sprites. No matter what they wished, something terrible happened.
Each story is thoughtful, and most of them are humorous; two are quite dark and disturbing. Overall, it’s perfect bedtime reading :)
August 19, 2017
Cute, fluffy stories, although I vastly prefer the Attolia books. My favorites were the sweet dystopian ghost story, the Attolia-esque Baker King one, and the one about the girl who refuses her 3-wish reward and the frustrated elf who has to figure out what to give her instead. Also, I found "The Nightmare" a little disturbing, but not in the way it was intended to be, I think.
April 24, 2021
I love MWT but these short stories were pretty tame with predictable straightforward plots. Surprisingly the leprechaun one ended up being the best even though the conclusion was a bit lackluster and hard to follow. Just goes to show you can be brilliant but not hit the mark every time.
June 13, 2019
Tight stories describing the intersections of high and low -- regular people with nightmares, bakers with kings, etc. Each one stands alone.
June 18, 2022
It's not groundbreaking or overly original, just cozy and nice and it made me smile.
June 19, 2022
Perhaps not the most memorable fantasy short story collection but it was still heartwarming, and it's always interesting to see the early writing of a much-loved author.
August 24, 2016
2016 Reading Challenge: A book of short stories.
I can't imagine that I haven't read this book before (since MWT is the author of my favorite series of all time), but none of the stories felt familiar. Well, now I have read it for sure.
I'm giving this one a 3.5. I don't particularly care for short stories because there just isn't enough to to get to know the characters that much, or to really dive into the worlds within the stories. Still, I found a few of these stories charming enough that I didn't dislike the book. "The Factory" was probably my favorite, being a story that included a bookish ghost girl. I also appreciated "The Baker King" because the setting where it took place reminded me a bit of Sounis/Eddis/Attolia where the aforementioned favorite series takes place.
I might add this one to my collection, just to HAVE it since it will complete my collection of MWT works (which, by the way, is way too sparse because it's been SIX YEARS since the release of the last book!!!).
I can't imagine that I haven't read this book before (since MWT is the author of my favorite series of all time), but none of the stories felt familiar. Well, now I have read it for sure.
I'm giving this one a 3.5. I don't particularly care for short stories because there just isn't enough to to get to know the characters that much, or to really dive into the worlds within the stories. Still, I found a few of these stories charming enough that I didn't dislike the book. "The Factory" was probably my favorite, being a story that included a bookish ghost girl. I also appreciated "The Baker King" because the setting where it took place reminded me a bit of Sounis/Eddis/Attolia where the aforementioned favorite series takes place.
I might add this one to my collection, just to HAVE it since it will complete my collection of MWT works (which, by the way, is way too sparse because it's been SIX YEARS since the release of the last book!!!).
January 13, 2017
If you liked this book, you might also enjoy:
✱ Lips Touch: Three Times
✱ Dragon, Dragon and Other Tales
✱ The King of the Hummingbirds and Other Tales
✱ Gudgekin the Thistle Girl and Other Tales
✱ Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version
✱ Lips Touch: Three Times
✱ Dragon, Dragon and Other Tales
✱ The King of the Hummingbirds and Other Tales
✱ Gudgekin the Thistle Girl and Other Tales
✱ Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version
October 8, 2024
So much fun! Loved the three wishes and the factory. The baker king was my favorite. And because she used the name of an actual castle city, Monemvasia, MWT had me looking up history to see of there is any truth to the Baker King story... So, I feel like there is an element of gotcha in the book and it worked on me.
January 14, 2024
I actually enjoyed this a lot more than expected, especially A Plague of Leprechaun, Factory, Instead of Three Wishes, and The Baker King (not necessarily in that order. I mostly wanted it bc it’s by the author of the Queen’s Thief series and I’m glad I finally read it
December 5, 2018
There's only one way I can describe these stories. Absolutely delightful!
December 23, 2019
This was a very cute book, by my favorite contemporary author.
October 3, 2014
Overall Rating: 3/5
Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series is, without a doubt, one of the best things I’ve ever read. By the middle of book three, The King of Attolia, I had already decided to add her to my list of favorite authors on goodreads.
However, the best thing about those books is, by far, the characters. Turner has a knack for great, multi-dimensional characters the way Brandon Sanderson has a knack for cool magic systems, or the way Patrick Rothfuss has a knack for pretty words, or the way that Gene Wolfe has a knack for world building. It is her strongest trait by far. Which is not to say that those books don’t have decent world-building, lore, and plots behind them, because they do, but they’re just regular good.
I was very excited when I found out that Turner had a short story collection I could read, though now that I’ve read it I realize that her strongest trait, character, is something that typically takes a back seat in short stories so that unique ideas, plots, or styles of writing can take center stage. There’s simply not enough words in a short story to develop strong characters (usually), but the length is perfect for experimentation in other areas.
These stories, unfortunately, are not at all experimental. They’re charming, but woefully predictable, and they all wrap up a little too cleanly for my taste. I would say that the majority of short stories I've read have at least somewhat ambiguous endings, and that's probably for the best. You can get away with stuff you otherwise couldn't, so why not take advantage of that? We really don't like ambiguous endings in western culture, but somehow that type of ending thrives in short stories and that's a big part of why I'm drawn to them.
A Plague of Leprechaun (1/5)
Tourist start flocking to a small town when a leprechaun is sighted. An artist visiting to paint landscapes gets the gold. Quite boring.
Leroy Roachbane (1/5)
Some kid likes to kill roaches to an unhealthy degree. He has to write a report about his black heritage for school, but he lives in Sweden and the school library only has history books about white people. He crashes his bike and has some sort of hallucination about killing roaches for ancient Swedish tribal people or something. What the shit? Seriously, what the shit?
Factory (4/5)
This is a great little story about a sort of dystopian future where people sleep, eat, live, and work for fourteen hours a day in a giant factory. Work is apparently so scarce that there is a selection process to get in, if you can believe it. The main character, John, due to the results of his psych profile, which indicate he's a loner, is assigned to the 'high crane' where he is isolated from most of the other workers. In fact, it takes him so long to climb up and down the ladder to his crane that he very quickly stops climbing down to take his lunch breaks at all, which further isolates him from the rest of the workers.
At first he enjoys his job, doesn't mind being alone at all, and loves reading the books the factory library provides. He hears rumors of how the previous workers in his position have quit after a short time because they saw ghosts. The official story from the factory, however, is that they quit “because they got bored and lonely.”
At first he ignores these rumors, but eventually he meets one of these ghosts and forms a friendship with her. Turns out she's one of the people who lived in a mansion on this plot of land a long time ago, before the factory was built.
They share poetry, she tells him what nature in her time was like (John's people call pigeons 'birds' because 'there's only the one kind' and he's never heard of a squirrel).
They become really close and he comes to realize that he would rather live in her world, a world that never changes, than grow old and leave her, and so he talks to her mother (who is the one who figured out how to ghost-ify the whole family in the first place) and does exactly that, bringing not only himself but a ton of new books and chocolates into his new friend's unchanging world where they can sit and read and eat chocolate together for all eternity.
It's short, sweet, character-driven, and speaks to what is truly important in life (relationships with other people, ideas, contentment, happiness) vs. what really isn't important at all but a lot of people really think is incredibly important (forward progress, manufacturing, profit, money, work work work and more work). It really resonated with me and my own personal world-view and I enjoyed it immensely.
Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits (3/5)
An old woman tells a story from her youth, about how she befriended this older woman during a vacation who was magical. At the end she gets sent into a painting to retrieve a fur coat for said woman and meets several people who are, in actual fact, not real but people from several different paintings. Basically it's her way of explaining why she sees certain painting as friends, and what parts of it you choose to believe are up to you, as aunt Charlotte would say.
Instead of Three Wishes (4/5)
The 'title track' of this collection if you will, this story is yet again a sweet, character-driven story that shows off Turner's strengths.
It all starts when a young woman named Selene helps an elf prince cross the street. He, as elves do, offers her a gift in exchange for her help—three wishes, printed on business cards—which she promptly refuses because he could be a crazy murderer or something, and besides, how often do wishes go so very wrong in stories? She accidentally tells him where she lives in her attempt to escape the situation and receives gift upon gift at her doorstep, all of which she refuses for reasons of practicality and common sense. A mansion she can't afford to live in; a fairy tale prince meant to be her husband who can't read, write, or do anything useful; etc.
Finally, not knowing how to please her, the elf prince disguises himself as a human and takes up lodging in Selene and her mother's house in order to find out what she likes so that he can repay his debt. Turns out a nice lodger was exactly what they wanted, and Selene's delicious baking is exactly what the elf prince wanted. The three of them slowly become friends, and when Selene gets accepted into an exclusive culinary school that she can't afford to go to the elf prince knows exactly what to do. He pays her tuition, and moves Selene's mother into his own house where his mother lives.
What started as a single-minded, almost business-like attempt to repay a debt ends with Selene being able to go to the culinary school of her dreams, and her, her mother, the elf prince and his mother, all becoming good friends. Just like Factory it emphasizes the importance of friendships and other people over material goods. Selene chose to make new friends instead of making three wishes, and she was smarter than most of us for doing so.
The Nightmare (2/5)
Some high-school freshman harasses a woman who throws something at him. Turns out it's a nightmare that he has every night of what the people he saw throughout the day think of him. It turns him into a better, more empathetic individual and at the end of the story he passes it on to someone else, just as the woman did to him.
The Baker King (3/5)
A charming story written like a fairy tale, but a fairy tale that seems...perhaps a little too familiar? Basically a king sends his son off somewhere to learn the ways of life, but dies before he tells anyone where the boy actually is. His ministers manage just fine without a king until an infamous bandit sends word that he'll be taking up the position, whether they like it or not. They realize they can't call upon the army without a royal decree. One minister decides to find a random young man who fits the lost heir's description and tries to convince him that he is, in fact, the king. Turns out the man he picked actually is the lost heir, and knows that he is, but he doesn't want to be king. He pretends as much as he needs to in order to convince everyone that the throne is cursed and will kill anyone who sits on it besides the true heir, which scares away the bandits, and then returns to being a baker's apprentice while the ministers go back to running things.
Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series is, without a doubt, one of the best things I’ve ever read. By the middle of book three, The King of Attolia, I had already decided to add her to my list of favorite authors on goodreads.
However, the best thing about those books is, by far, the characters. Turner has a knack for great, multi-dimensional characters the way Brandon Sanderson has a knack for cool magic systems, or the way Patrick Rothfuss has a knack for pretty words, or the way that Gene Wolfe has a knack for world building. It is her strongest trait by far. Which is not to say that those books don’t have decent world-building, lore, and plots behind them, because they do, but they’re just regular good.
I was very excited when I found out that Turner had a short story collection I could read, though now that I’ve read it I realize that her strongest trait, character, is something that typically takes a back seat in short stories so that unique ideas, plots, or styles of writing can take center stage. There’s simply not enough words in a short story to develop strong characters (usually), but the length is perfect for experimentation in other areas.
These stories, unfortunately, are not at all experimental. They’re charming, but woefully predictable, and they all wrap up a little too cleanly for my taste. I would say that the majority of short stories I've read have at least somewhat ambiguous endings, and that's probably for the best. You can get away with stuff you otherwise couldn't, so why not take advantage of that? We really don't like ambiguous endings in western culture, but somehow that type of ending thrives in short stories and that's a big part of why I'm drawn to them.
A Plague of Leprechaun (1/5)
Tourist start flocking to a small town when a leprechaun is sighted. An artist visiting to paint landscapes gets the gold. Quite boring.
Leroy Roachbane (1/5)
Some kid likes to kill roaches to an unhealthy degree. He has to write a report about his black heritage for school, but he lives in Sweden and the school library only has history books about white people. He crashes his bike and has some sort of hallucination about killing roaches for ancient Swedish tribal people or something. What the shit? Seriously, what the shit?
Factory (4/5)
This is a great little story about a sort of dystopian future where people sleep, eat, live, and work for fourteen hours a day in a giant factory. Work is apparently so scarce that there is a selection process to get in, if you can believe it. The main character, John, due to the results of his psych profile, which indicate he's a loner, is assigned to the 'high crane' where he is isolated from most of the other workers. In fact, it takes him so long to climb up and down the ladder to his crane that he very quickly stops climbing down to take his lunch breaks at all, which further isolates him from the rest of the workers.
At first he enjoys his job, doesn't mind being alone at all, and loves reading the books the factory library provides. He hears rumors of how the previous workers in his position have quit after a short time because they saw ghosts. The official story from the factory, however, is that they quit “because they got bored and lonely.”
At first he ignores these rumors, but eventually he meets one of these ghosts and forms a friendship with her. Turns out she's one of the people who lived in a mansion on this plot of land a long time ago, before the factory was built.
They share poetry, she tells him what nature in her time was like (John's people call pigeons 'birds' because 'there's only the one kind' and he's never heard of a squirrel).
They become really close and he comes to realize that he would rather live in her world, a world that never changes, than grow old and leave her, and so he talks to her mother (who is the one who figured out how to ghost-ify the whole family in the first place) and does exactly that, bringing not only himself but a ton of new books and chocolates into his new friend's unchanging world where they can sit and read and eat chocolate together for all eternity.
It's short, sweet, character-driven, and speaks to what is truly important in life (relationships with other people, ideas, contentment, happiness) vs. what really isn't important at all but a lot of people really think is incredibly important (forward progress, manufacturing, profit, money, work work work and more work). It really resonated with me and my own personal world-view and I enjoyed it immensely.
Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits (3/5)
An old woman tells a story from her youth, about how she befriended this older woman during a vacation who was magical. At the end she gets sent into a painting to retrieve a fur coat for said woman and meets several people who are, in actual fact, not real but people from several different paintings. Basically it's her way of explaining why she sees certain painting as friends, and what parts of it you choose to believe are up to you, as aunt Charlotte would say.
Instead of Three Wishes (4/5)
The 'title track' of this collection if you will, this story is yet again a sweet, character-driven story that shows off Turner's strengths.
It all starts when a young woman named Selene helps an elf prince cross the street. He, as elves do, offers her a gift in exchange for her help—three wishes, printed on business cards—which she promptly refuses because he could be a crazy murderer or something, and besides, how often do wishes go so very wrong in stories? She accidentally tells him where she lives in her attempt to escape the situation and receives gift upon gift at her doorstep, all of which she refuses for reasons of practicality and common sense. A mansion she can't afford to live in; a fairy tale prince meant to be her husband who can't read, write, or do anything useful; etc.
Finally, not knowing how to please her, the elf prince disguises himself as a human and takes up lodging in Selene and her mother's house in order to find out what she likes so that he can repay his debt. Turns out a nice lodger was exactly what they wanted, and Selene's delicious baking is exactly what the elf prince wanted. The three of them slowly become friends, and when Selene gets accepted into an exclusive culinary school that she can't afford to go to the elf prince knows exactly what to do. He pays her tuition, and moves Selene's mother into his own house where his mother lives.
What started as a single-minded, almost business-like attempt to repay a debt ends with Selene being able to go to the culinary school of her dreams, and her, her mother, the elf prince and his mother, all becoming good friends. Just like Factory it emphasizes the importance of friendships and other people over material goods. Selene chose to make new friends instead of making three wishes, and she was smarter than most of us for doing so.
The Nightmare (2/5)
Some high-school freshman harasses a woman who throws something at him. Turns out it's a nightmare that he has every night of what the people he saw throughout the day think of him. It turns him into a better, more empathetic individual and at the end of the story he passes it on to someone else, just as the woman did to him.
The Baker King (3/5)
A charming story written like a fairy tale, but a fairy tale that seems...perhaps a little too familiar? Basically a king sends his son off somewhere to learn the ways of life, but dies before he tells anyone where the boy actually is. His ministers manage just fine without a king until an infamous bandit sends word that he'll be taking up the position, whether they like it or not. They realize they can't call upon the army without a royal decree. One minister decides to find a random young man who fits the lost heir's description and tries to convince him that he is, in fact, the king. Turns out the man he picked actually is the lost heir, and knows that he is, but he doesn't want to be king. He pretends as much as he needs to in order to convince everyone that the throne is cursed and will kill anyone who sits on it besides the true heir, which scares away the bandits, and then returns to being a baker's apprentice while the ministers go back to running things.
January 27, 2022
4.5 Stars
This was cute, whimsical, and a lot of fun! I'm tempted to give it 5 stars just because it's Megan Whalen Turner, but I didn't love all of these so 4.5 it is! I'm going to list the short stories below in order from my favorite to least favorite
Instead of 3 Wishes - I loved the modern take on an elf giving wishes to a no-nonsense modern girl
The Baker King - This one reminded me the most of The Queen's Thief series and as I figured out the twist I felt very clever lol
Factory - Admittedly a little morbid in the end, this one was still rather sweet and charming
Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits - I love stories about selkies and although this one could have used some more depth, it was fun nonetheless
Leroy Roachbane - I liked the magical realism of this one
A Plague of Leprechaun - This one was fine, but had a rather unsatisfying ending imo
The Nightmare - This was the only story I didn't care for. There seemed to be no real point to it and that was mildly disappointing. I'm glad the collection didn't end with this one
This was cute, whimsical, and a lot of fun! I'm tempted to give it 5 stars just because it's Megan Whalen Turner, but I didn't love all of these so 4.5 it is! I'm going to list the short stories below in order from my favorite to least favorite
Instead of 3 Wishes - I loved the modern take on an elf giving wishes to a no-nonsense modern girl
The Baker King - This one reminded me the most of The Queen's Thief series and as I figured out the twist I felt very clever lol
Factory - Admittedly a little morbid in the end, this one was still rather sweet and charming
Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits - I love stories about selkies and although this one could have used some more depth, it was fun nonetheless
Leroy Roachbane - I liked the magical realism of this one
A Plague of Leprechaun - This one was fine, but had a rather unsatisfying ending imo
The Nightmare - This was the only story I didn't care for. There seemed to be no real point to it and that was mildly disappointing. I'm glad the collection didn't end with this one
February 25, 2021
Well this was definitely... interesting. Each story is very imaginative and very different. I never knew what to expect with each new tale! However, some felt a bit underwhelming, or whimsical for the sake of it (which isn’t necessarily bad, but I do enjoy plot), and one of them almost seems to... hm... glorify suicide? Perhaps that’s not the best term for it, but I was surprised to find that ending in amidst the rest of the miscellany. I’m pretty sure this is Turner’s first published work — a collection of short stories! Not very common these days as a debut work! — and if producing this was a necessary step in her journey that guided her toward writing The Queen’s Thief series, then I’ll take it.
September 20, 2024
My favorites (practically the whole book)
✦ The Baker King
✦ Instead of Three Wishes
✦ Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits
✦ A Plague of Leprechauns
I legitimately wish Instead of Three Wishes were longer. I just want to spend more time in that world. But considering its overall arc its length is basically, like, Just Right. I would not want for it to become unnecessarily lengthened and become the Hobbit the Movie of books.
But also, in rereading, I once again ran into Factory — and holy shit, I was disturbed. I glossed over suicide and family annihilation in my youth. I just accepted that shit. It’s only now that I realize how dark it was what the fuck.
✦ The Baker King
✦ Instead of Three Wishes
✦ Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits
✦ A Plague of Leprechauns
I legitimately wish Instead of Three Wishes were longer. I just want to spend more time in that world. But considering its overall arc its length is basically, like, Just Right. I would not want for it to become unnecessarily lengthened and become the Hobbit the Movie of books.
But also, in rereading, I once again ran into Factory — and holy shit, I was disturbed. I glossed over suicide and family annihilation in my youth. I just accepted that shit. It’s only now that I realize how dark it was what the fuck.
November 13, 2020
"What you believe is up to you."
I needed an MWT fix now that the Queen's Thief series is over. Instead of Three Wishes is a charming, enchanting, and delightful collection of stories. I was very excited about the title story being located in Waterloo, ON, so close to home. I loved "Factory." John is living my dream life "reading books and eating chocolates." "The Baker King" was reminiscent of the clever politics in the Queen's Thief series. Overall, I had a lovely time reading this book.
I did notice that most of these stories are told from male perspectives, similar to the Queen's Thief series. I'd like to see more stories directly about girls!
I needed an MWT fix now that the Queen's Thief series is over. Instead of Three Wishes is a charming, enchanting, and delightful collection of stories. I was very excited about the title story being located in Waterloo, ON, so close to home. I loved "Factory." John is living my dream life "reading books and eating chocolates." "The Baker King" was reminiscent of the clever politics in the Queen's Thief series. Overall, I had a lovely time reading this book.
I did notice that most of these stories are told from male perspectives, similar to the Queen's Thief series. I'd like to see more stories directly about girls!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews