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Well Wished
One wish for a lifetime...
In the village of Bishop Mayne there is a magical Wishing Well where a person may make one wish in a lifetime. But the Well can create problems for those who use its power, for wishes often go wrong. It was just such a wish that took all the children in the town away. Only eleven-year-old Nuria, who lives with her grandfather up on the mountain, remains.
Then one child returns -- Catty Winter. Catty's legs are mysteriously crippled, and Catty desperately wants Nuria to make a wish so she can walk again. Nuria swears she will make the wish for her friend. But the Well has a mind of its own. What if Nuria's wish goes wrong?
170 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1997
10 people are currently reading
619 people want to read
About the author
Franny Billingsley
9 books410 followersWhile Billingsley's first novel, Well Wished (1997), was warmly received by critics, a year ago she was a virtual unknown within a publishing climate that regarded fantasy as a specialty genre. Today, her name is on the lips of booksellers and reviewers throughout the country.
Franny Billingsley was not always a writer. She graduated from Boston University law-school in 1979, and worked for 5 years as a lawyer — a profession which she “despised.” In 1983, Billingsley visited her sister in Barcelona, Spain where she was “entranced by a lifestyle in which people did not make a lot of money yet lived richly and artfully.” Realizing that she needed to change her life, Billingsley quit her job and moved to Spain with all of her favorite children's books. “Books like A Wrinkle in Time, Harriet the Spy, and The Narnia Chronicles seemed like the perfect antidote to hideously wearisome legal documents,” remembers Billingsley, who began writing children's books while living in Spain.
When Billingsley returned to the United States, she took a job as the children's book-buyer at 57th Street Books, a major independent bookseller on the South Side of Chicago. “I worked at the bookstore for twelve years and I loved it because it helped me get back to the things that matter to me: people, ideas, and imagination. I wrote throughout this period. My early books were simply awful, but I did not let rejections and criticism stop me from writing. I worked hard at learning how to write and finding my strengths. It was not until I began writing fantasy that I found my voice. I believe that, ultimately, talent is less important to writing a good book than is determination.”
Franny Billingsley lives in Chicago with her family and currently writes children's books full-time.
Franny Billingsley was not always a writer. She graduated from Boston University law-school in 1979, and worked for 5 years as a lawyer — a profession which she “despised.” In 1983, Billingsley visited her sister in Barcelona, Spain where she was “entranced by a lifestyle in which people did not make a lot of money yet lived richly and artfully.” Realizing that she needed to change her life, Billingsley quit her job and moved to Spain with all of her favorite children's books. “Books like A Wrinkle in Time, Harriet the Spy, and The Narnia Chronicles seemed like the perfect antidote to hideously wearisome legal documents,” remembers Billingsley, who began writing children's books while living in Spain.
When Billingsley returned to the United States, she took a job as the children's book-buyer at 57th Street Books, a major independent bookseller on the South Side of Chicago. “I worked at the bookstore for twelve years and I loved it because it helped me get back to the things that matter to me: people, ideas, and imagination. I wrote throughout this period. My early books were simply awful, but I did not let rejections and criticism stop me from writing. I worked hard at learning how to write and finding my strengths. It was not until I began writing fantasy that I found my voice. I believe that, ultimately, talent is less important to writing a good book than is determination.”
Franny Billingsley lives in Chicago with her family and currently writes children's books full-time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
July 18, 2025
It was on a winter afternoon, just before Christmas, that Nuria finally gave up the idea of making a wish.
Well Wished
by Franny Billingsley
Well what an interesting little story this was!
Nurial lives in an enchanting little village that has a wishing well. You can make a wish but there are certain rules that need to be followed.
It can also all go horribly wrong as it does in this part whimsical part creepy little tale.
One thing I really liked here was that this seems to be geared for children and I felt like a child reading it. It references Christmas and the writing is so lovely...like a wintry and luscious fairy tale.
So yes I felt like a child wishing for chocolate milk and a fresh snowfall outside. And it was a nice and nostalgic feeling.
It is so odd that a book can be both nostalgic and eerie at the same time but Well Wished was. The Wishing well has a mind of its own and does not always grant one what they WISHED...It maybe a variation on that wish and often not a very nice one. Sometimes a very very bad one.
Sort of a child's version of King's :"Needful things" in a way.
But the story was fun. It started slow. Very slow. It warmed up in the middle and wow...what a shock a certain wish took! Really creepy premise...
But although I enjoyed this, it was hard to follow and went a bit to long..although it is a very short book. I think it maybe would have been even better as a short story. After awhile, I was kind of thinking..get on with it! But I loved the unique premise! A wishing well with a mind of its own!
Anyway I would recommended this. It was a quick and fun read that certainly is heavy on the atmosphere. Read it with a glass of Chocolate milk beside you!
Well Wished
by Franny Billingsley
Well what an interesting little story this was!
Nurial lives in an enchanting little village that has a wishing well. You can make a wish but there are certain rules that need to be followed.
It can also all go horribly wrong as it does in this part whimsical part creepy little tale.
One thing I really liked here was that this seems to be geared for children and I felt like a child reading it. It references Christmas and the writing is so lovely...like a wintry and luscious fairy tale.
So yes I felt like a child wishing for chocolate milk and a fresh snowfall outside. And it was a nice and nostalgic feeling.
It is so odd that a book can be both nostalgic and eerie at the same time but Well Wished was. The Wishing well has a mind of its own and does not always grant one what they WISHED...It maybe a variation on that wish and often not a very nice one. Sometimes a very very bad one.
Sort of a child's version of King's :"Needful things" in a way.
But the story was fun. It started slow. Very slow. It warmed up in the middle and wow...what a shock a certain wish took! Really creepy premise...
But although I enjoyed this, it was hard to follow and went a bit to long..although it is a very short book. I think it maybe would have been even better as a short story. After awhile, I was kind of thinking..get on with it! But I loved the unique premise! A wishing well with a mind of its own!
Anyway I would recommended this. It was a quick and fun read that certainly is heavy on the atmosphere. Read it with a glass of Chocolate milk beside you!
December 18, 2011
"A coin for passage to your heart's desire. That is the first rule. One wish each lifetime; one cycle of the moon to repent and call it back. That is the second rule. And for the cycle of the moon, your lips are locked in this: To no one may you speak of your wish. To no one but to me, for your wish is my wish too. That is the third rule."
I almost overlooked this gem of a book, but as it happened, I was looking through books on my bookshelves in the classroom searching out fairy tales when I stumbled upon it.** I've been on a fairy tale kick recently and this definitely teased my palate.
Nuria is the self-proclaimed princess in this tale. Orphaned and passed around her family, she finally finds love and a home with the Avery, her grandfather. Nuria loves her life and her town, but wishes more than anything that there were other children for her to play with. You see, many moons ago, an individual made a wish that caused all of the children of the town to disappear at the wishing well. The Wishing Well is forbidden because it's a mischievous being that likes to twist and turn wishes and cause them to go awry. One must be adept at language and precise in what one is wishing for. Which is why the Avery decides to undo the previous wish that lost all of the children.
Things look to be turning up for Nuria and the town. Catty and her family are the first to be swooshed back to town. Catty is in a wheelchair and has been since the children first disappeared. She wants more than anything to have the use of her legs back. And despite of the Avery's rules and convictions, and despite of Nuria's promise, Nuria gives into Catty and makes a wish.
This wish wreaks havoc in the lives of Catty and Nuria as Nuria's wish gets manipulated by the well and the rest of the tale is how the girls resolve the problem.
This is beautifully written and I'm so glad that I read it (as before-mentioned!) Billingsley has an amazing way of capturing how young girls would actually interact and communicate with one and another. For instance, there's a scene where the girls are going to act out a play of the Snow Queen at the Revels (what I took as a New Year celebration). Both girls, of course, want to play the role of the beautiful maiden rather than the boy whose heart turns to ice. Their petulance and manipulations and pouts transported me back to my uncharming moments as a bratty girl in the neighborhood.
Plus, both girls were so life-like that I didn't adore either one of them. They were both self-centered and obnoxious in that elementary it's all me sorta way. Catty couldn't look passed her desire to run and play regardless of anyone's fate and Nuria was so insecure of losing the love of the Avery that she couldn't share the special moments they had together. But, just like any other girls bickering, the next five minutes they've made up and are besties once more. Seriously. Billingsley did a PHENOMENAL job creating these three-dimensional characters!
I looked up Billingsley to see if she had written anything else, and it appears she's only written one other book: The Folk Keeper. I've added it to my bookmooch list because I would absolutely adore to read this one as well. I'm surprised she hasn't written anything else. Surprised and a bit disappointed. (You should definitely check out her website, it's adorable!)
If you're in the mood for a fairy tale, and a quick read, then I'd recommend this one for sure.
__________
** I don't always read the books that I put on in my class library. I have four full bookshelves. I do, however, make sure that they are either in our school library or I've looked them upon the internet and they are age appropriate.
I almost overlooked this gem of a book, but as it happened, I was looking through books on my bookshelves in the classroom searching out fairy tales when I stumbled upon it.** I've been on a fairy tale kick recently and this definitely teased my palate.
Nuria is the self-proclaimed princess in this tale. Orphaned and passed around her family, she finally finds love and a home with the Avery, her grandfather. Nuria loves her life and her town, but wishes more than anything that there were other children for her to play with. You see, many moons ago, an individual made a wish that caused all of the children of the town to disappear at the wishing well. The Wishing Well is forbidden because it's a mischievous being that likes to twist and turn wishes and cause them to go awry. One must be adept at language and precise in what one is wishing for. Which is why the Avery decides to undo the previous wish that lost all of the children.
Things look to be turning up for Nuria and the town. Catty and her family are the first to be swooshed back to town. Catty is in a wheelchair and has been since the children first disappeared. She wants more than anything to have the use of her legs back. And despite of the Avery's rules and convictions, and despite of Nuria's promise, Nuria gives into Catty and makes a wish.
This wish wreaks havoc in the lives of Catty and Nuria as Nuria's wish gets manipulated by the well and the rest of the tale is how the girls resolve the problem.
This is beautifully written and I'm so glad that I read it (as before-mentioned!) Billingsley has an amazing way of capturing how young girls would actually interact and communicate with one and another. For instance, there's a scene where the girls are going to act out a play of the Snow Queen at the Revels (what I took as a New Year celebration). Both girls, of course, want to play the role of the beautiful maiden rather than the boy whose heart turns to ice. Their petulance and manipulations and pouts transported me back to my uncharming moments as a bratty girl in the neighborhood.
Plus, both girls were so life-like that I didn't adore either one of them. They were both self-centered and obnoxious in that elementary it's all me sorta way. Catty couldn't look passed her desire to run and play regardless of anyone's fate and Nuria was so insecure of losing the love of the Avery that she couldn't share the special moments they had together. But, just like any other girls bickering, the next five minutes they've made up and are besties once more. Seriously. Billingsley did a PHENOMENAL job creating these three-dimensional characters!
I looked up Billingsley to see if she had written anything else, and it appears she's only written one other book: The Folk Keeper. I've added it to my bookmooch list because I would absolutely adore to read this one as well. I'm surprised she hasn't written anything else. Surprised and a bit disappointed. (You should definitely check out her website, it's adorable!)
If you're in the mood for a fairy tale, and a quick read, then I'd recommend this one for sure.
__________
** I don't always read the books that I put on in my class library. I have four full bookshelves. I do, however, make sure that they are either in our school library or I've looked them upon the internet and they are age appropriate.
March 31, 2013
Well Wished is lovely, like a fairytale. It's definitely pitched to a younger audience than Chime, though maybe not much younger than the audience for The Folk Keeper, but it's lovely anyway. I love the way it invokes other fairytales, other stories -- a bit of Heidi, I think, and The Snow Queen, and maybe even a touch of Diana Wynne Jones in the figure of the governess... But it all comes together into its own story. There are some gorgeous lines, and I love the background characters and basically the whole concept.
I don't like it as much as Chime, but I did love it and I wish I had someone to flail at about it. Franny Billingsley has rapidly shot to the top of the list of authors I'm keeping an eye out for.
I don't like it as much as Chime, but I did love it and I wish I had someone to flail at about it. Franny Billingsley has rapidly shot to the top of the list of authors I'm keeping an eye out for.
March 4, 2017
I didn't really like this. I didn't like Catty very much, but the biggest problem is I thought the wish was stupid.
May 15, 2018
Lovely brief fable in which two traditional village girl BFFs behave both nobly and very badly indeed. The story gets gradually more absorbing as it emerges that the village's infamous wishing well really *does* cruelly subvert and twist every single stinkin' wish made on it. How things do (and don't) come right at the end is mildly surprising, majorly satisfying.
June 9, 2020
It was on a winter afternoon, just before Christmas, that Nuria finally gave up the idea of making a wish.
Because of the reference to Christmas, I picked this as one of my December titles to read. The focus of the story, however, is on an unusual well that grants wishes, one wish per person. This well also 'delights' in distorting a person's wish, which of course can wreck havoc.
The story centers around two 11-year-old girls, each of whom is dissatisfied with some aspect of her life. Both girls are rather self-centered and domineering. That bothered me for the first half of the story, but by the end, I decided that their obnoxious character traits were important to the story.
If I were editing this book, I'd draw attention to several places that I thought needed work, but kids probably won't notice ... or these 'problems' may prompt the kids to think, which is always good.
Because of the reference to Christmas, I picked this as one of my December titles to read. The focus of the story, however, is on an unusual well that grants wishes, one wish per person. This well also 'delights' in distorting a person's wish, which of course can wreck havoc.
The story centers around two 11-year-old girls, each of whom is dissatisfied with some aspect of her life. Both girls are rather self-centered and domineering. That bothered me for the first half of the story, but by the end, I decided that their obnoxious character traits were important to the story.
If I were editing this book, I'd draw attention to several places that I thought needed work, but kids probably won't notice ... or these 'problems' may prompt the kids to think, which is always good.
April 26, 2022
Very Interesting I would say.
It has lot's of details to remember, but it was a very good book.
It has lot's of details to remember, but it was a very good book.
October 6, 2008
Grades: 4 to 6 Genre: Fantasy
There is a magical wishing well in Nuria’s village. While it will grant the wishes of those who ask, it often seeks to twist the wish into something that the wisher doesn’t want. Because of a misspent wish, all the children in the village are gone except Nuria. Then one day a child returns to the village. Nuria is trilled to have a new friend, but Catty is bound to a wheel chair and wants Nuria to make a wish to fix the situation. Nuria then makes the wish and it is twisted by the well. Instead of giving Catty a whole body, it has switched the two girls. Wanting to be back where she belongs, Nuria needs Catty’s help but Catty seems to be happy with the situation. It is now up to Nuria to find a way to get Catty to reverse the wish so Nuria can return to her body and her beloved grandfather. Beautifully written and Nuria is quite charming and has a very unique view of the world.
There is a magical wishing well in Nuria’s village. While it will grant the wishes of those who ask, it often seeks to twist the wish into something that the wisher doesn’t want. Because of a misspent wish, all the children in the village are gone except Nuria. Then one day a child returns to the village. Nuria is trilled to have a new friend, but Catty is bound to a wheel chair and wants Nuria to make a wish to fix the situation. Nuria then makes the wish and it is twisted by the well. Instead of giving Catty a whole body, it has switched the two girls. Wanting to be back where she belongs, Nuria needs Catty’s help but Catty seems to be happy with the situation. It is now up to Nuria to find a way to get Catty to reverse the wish so Nuria can return to her body and her beloved grandfather. Beautifully written and Nuria is quite charming and has a very unique view of the world.
December 15, 2009
Be careful what you wish for, or as Stephen Sondheim says, "Wishes come true, not free." There's a wishing well in Nuria's village, where any person may make just one wish, but there's a catch: the wishes often go awry, and one has caused all of the children in the village to disappear, except Nuria, who lives outside the village with her grandfather. When one child, Catty, does come up, things start to happen, and Nuria has to figure out how to use her one wish. This is another imaginative, well-characterized fantasy by the author of The Folk Keeper, a fine young adult fantasy.
December 9, 2008
The paranormal events in this book make it deliciously spooky, and I loved the antagonistic nature of the wishing well. There was the lurking sense as you read that at any moment things could go terribly wrong. When the wishing well turns its animosity on our hero, the plucky Nuria, she plots and schemes against it, showing how clever and resourceful she can really be. But for me, the best part of the book is the treatment of the sometimes vain and conniving, but ultimately human Catty, Nuria's first and best friend.
October 5, 2010
I struggled to get through this book. I found the characters were poorly written and unlikeable. The concept of the wishes was compelling, but the execution was not there.
November 18, 2010
Um no, I don't think so!
May 29, 2021
A clever story spun around the caution to be careful what you wish for. All Nuria wants is a friend her own age, and Catty just wants to be able to walk again. Nuria goes to the Wishing Well to help her new friend, but the Well has a mind of its own.
Billingsley creates feisty, curious, brave protagonists for her books, and Nuria is no exception. I read this enjoyable story in one afternoon and came out wishing I had know about the book when I was a kid. Billingsley’s The Folk Keeper was one of my favorite stories as a young reader and this is another gem. I would definitely recommend it for young readers who like a bit of magic/fantasy in their books, but Well Wished won’t disappoint older readers either.
Billingsley creates feisty, curious, brave protagonists for her books, and Nuria is no exception. I read this enjoyable story in one afternoon and came out wishing I had know about the book when I was a kid. Billingsley’s The Folk Keeper was one of my favorite stories as a young reader and this is another gem. I would definitely recommend it for young readers who like a bit of magic/fantasy in their books, but Well Wished won’t disappoint older readers either.
May 30, 2019
Nuria really wants friends in her lonely town where there isn't anymore children. She can always go to the wishing well though. But, she won't because the well has a way of twisting your wish, into horrible things. When you wish you always have to use the right wording, and the only one that knows to do that properly, is Nuria's grandfather. Once her grandfather completes the wish, Catty comes back to town. Nuria befriends Catty speedily, but there is one thing that Catty really wants from Nuria, and that thing is Nuria to wish that Catty can walk again. But should Nuria do it? And what would happen if she did?
June 14, 2025
I sped through this book. My interest was piqued from the beginning when a young girl's grandfather tries to help her wish come true by making a once-in-a-lifetime wish at the town's well. When one of the children, who had disappeared from the town because of someone's former wish, comes back to the village and makes friends with Nuria, things do not go as expected. Soon Nuria finds herself in a bad situation of her own making and must rely on her own ingenuity to get herself out of her predicament.
Read
December 21, 2020this was a nostalgia reread bc this is one of those books I could remember the premise of from childhood but not the title etc and it took me ages to track down so when I finally did I HAD to read it. But it was ..... just okay. a sweet little concept but much shorter and shallower than I remembered and I found the main character highly irritating
August 21, 2023
Preface this all to say, I love Franny Billingsley’s books.
This was SO SHORT and a little bit creepy and all the right amounts of suspense and magic.
I feel like this is the length that MG needs to return to! Less than 40,000 words, less than 200 pages. Quick, intense read.
This was SO SHORT and a little bit creepy and all the right amounts of suspense and magic.
I feel like this is the length that MG needs to return to! Less than 40,000 words, less than 200 pages. Quick, intense read.
July 25, 2018
A wonderful little tale exploring the dangers of wishes with a fierce young protagonist who is delightfully dramatic.
Read
November 25, 2021If you make a wish at the well it will come back to haunt you. Great premise even though it is an old theme, but really not a page turner. I gave up.
September 2, 2024
Great youngster read. Twists kept your interest.
January 19, 2017
Cute book.
May 11, 2012
This is the second book I finished today that was somewhat of a head-scratcher for me. Maybe I need a break from reading for a while. Nah--that'll never happen! Well Wished was cute but I found myself CONFUSED a good bit of the time. And if I was CONFUSED, how did the 8-12-year-olds that this was meant for understand it? Or maybe it's just me. Nuria lives in the village of Bishop Mayne with her beloved grandfather, the Avy. The only thing missing in her life is a friend. Well, actually, except for Nuria, ALL the children are missing from Bishop Mayne. There is a magic wishing well that deliberately misinterprets the wishes that people make, wreaking havoc in the village. One of those wishes, and I'm CONFUSED as to what exactly it was, scared away all the families with children. Another thing I'm CONFUSED about is, if you know the evil well is going to deliberately misinterpret your wish, why would you make a wish at all? Or is it just human nature to keep trying, even if you already know the outcome isn't going to be good? The Avy makes a wish to bring a friend for Nuria back to the village. And it works...rich Catty shows up. (Although I'd prefer to have NO friend than a friend like Catty.) Wait...I thought the well always deliberately misinterpreted a wish? But it worked for the Avy. I'm CONFUSED. Then Nuria makes a wish that Catty can walk again. And it's clever how the well misinterprets that wish. But Nuria and Catty switch bodies and then it becomes really CONFUSING. Nuria sometimes calls herself Nuria and sometimes Catty. And she sometimes calls Catty, Catty, and other times, Nuria. At this point, I'm having to think way too hard about this. Anyway, having read Billingsley's latest book, Chime, I know she has a unique writing style. It worked in Chime because it's a young adult book, but it was plain CONFUSING in Well Wished which is for younger kids. I did like the characters, Nuria and Catty. I like strong-willed female characters but Billingsley took this a step further. They were, well, to be honest...bratty. I would even describe Catty as evil. It was kind of refreshing for a change. Their spats were very realistic. I'm CONFUSED as to why Billingsley did not give Catty the comeuppance she deserved. If this was my book, I would have locked Catty up in their secret hiding place, Broomarium, for a lllooonnnnggg time. But I guess the author is not a vengeful person like I am. Readers who liked Heidi will like this naughtier version as long as they are not so CONFUSED that they give up. And by the way, in defense of this awful review, a CONFUSING book makes for a CONFUSING review!
February 28, 2021
"A coin for passage to your heart's desire. That is the first rule. One wish each lifetime. One cycle of the moon to repent and call it back. That is the second rule. And for that cycle of the moon your lips are locked in this: To no one may you speak of your wish. To no one but to me, for your wish is my wish, too. That is the third rule." These are the words the Guardian of the Well speaks to each who comes to make a wish.
And like all good 'fairy tales', there is always that one small caution. Be careful what you wish for; you just may get it.
The Well has a way of twisting things, so the wording of a wish must be thought out very, very carefully. (A statue of a man 20 feet from the fountain, for example, was the result of a man wishing to be a pillar of society.)
Before Nuria came to live with her grandfather, The Avy, something strange had happened in the village. When the parents awoke one morning all of the children had mysteriously disappeared. All but one child. And her family quickly moved away lest whatever had taken the other children might take her as well.
For Nuria's sake, The Avy uses his wish. More wishes are made (and twisted) until the right words are carefully worked out.
This is a great book for teaching about hearts' desires, about discovering the true nature of ourselves and others, about selfishness and self-sacrifice, about greed and generosity... and about how every word spoken can have more far-reaching consequences that we can imagine. Well Wished has been a favorite through 3 generations of our family. I recommend this one highly.
And like all good 'fairy tales', there is always that one small caution. Be careful what you wish for; you just may get it.
The Well has a way of twisting things, so the wording of a wish must be thought out very, very carefully. (A statue of a man 20 feet from the fountain, for example, was the result of a man wishing to be a pillar of society.)
Before Nuria came to live with her grandfather, The Avy, something strange had happened in the village. When the parents awoke one morning all of the children had mysteriously disappeared. All but one child. And her family quickly moved away lest whatever had taken the other children might take her as well.
For Nuria's sake, The Avy uses his wish. More wishes are made (and twisted) until the right words are carefully worked out.
This is a great book for teaching about hearts' desires, about discovering the true nature of ourselves and others, about selfishness and self-sacrifice, about greed and generosity... and about how every word spoken can have more far-reaching consequences that we can imagine. Well Wished has been a favorite through 3 generations of our family. I recommend this one highly.
August 10, 2014
When three friends help themselves to coins from an old wishing well, they have no idea how stringent the terms of repayment will be, nor how creepy the spirit of the well will turn out to be.
Fanny Billingsley writes very nicely as usual and her flair for horror is well displayed here. It was a nice touch to have each child receive frightening power that enhanced his or her basic personality: the chatty girl babbles out the wisher's thoughts, the observant boy develops hideous warty little eyes all over his hands, the angry boy blows out electrical devices with his rage, etc.
My problem with the book was that the villain--that is, the spirit of the well--was so confusing. At the risk of sounding silly, the spirit of the well needed a more comprehensible character arc. And better defined motivations. I couldn't figure out why it was being so evil to the wishers, whether it meant to be or couldn't help its actions.
One of the most philosophically interesting parts of the book is the idea each wish has a secret shadow wish underneath, but this idea made the story even more confusing at the end. I kept wondering if the well was trying to serve the wisher's secret wish or was using the secret wish as a pretext to mess with the wisher. I finished the book but I was tempted to throw it aside more than once.
Fanny Billingsley writes very nicely as usual and her flair for horror is well displayed here. It was a nice touch to have each child receive frightening power that enhanced his or her basic personality: the chatty girl babbles out the wisher's thoughts, the observant boy develops hideous warty little eyes all over his hands, the angry boy blows out electrical devices with his rage, etc.
My problem with the book was that the villain--that is, the spirit of the well--was so confusing. At the risk of sounding silly, the spirit of the well needed a more comprehensible character arc. And better defined motivations. I couldn't figure out why it was being so evil to the wishers, whether it meant to be or couldn't help its actions.
One of the most philosophically interesting parts of the book is the idea each wish has a secret shadow wish underneath, but this idea made the story even more confusing at the end. I kept wondering if the well was trying to serve the wisher's secret wish or was using the secret wish as a pretext to mess with the wisher. I finished the book but I was tempted to throw it aside more than once.
February 14, 2012
I find it interesting that we mortals seem to long for the magic wishes idea, but can never actually execute a wish properly, always realizing that we would have been better off if we had never made the wish at all.
Okay, so we don't really get magical wishes granted, but every story written (or told) about wishes has some way that the wisher messes up the wish and ends up wanting (wishing) their lives were back to the pre-wish problems. Well Wished is no exception. The perverse wishing well does grant the wish the wisher requests, but grants it is such a manner that the wish is not at all what was intended. To complicate things even more you only get one wish in your lifetime so unless you act quickly you don't get to unwish your wish. There is one month to call back the wish, but few people have had the chance to do that since the wishes are so drastically messed up they usually aren't around to do it.
A good study of thinking ahead and trying to weigh the consequences of your actions (words used to make the wish) before just doing something.
I enjoyed the story and the ingenuity of Nuria in trying to figure out how to use the well to help, rather than allowing the well's wish twist to hurt those around her.
Okay, so we don't really get magical wishes granted, but every story written (or told) about wishes has some way that the wisher messes up the wish and ends up wanting (wishing) their lives were back to the pre-wish problems. Well Wished is no exception. The perverse wishing well does grant the wish the wisher requests, but grants it is such a manner that the wish is not at all what was intended. To complicate things even more you only get one wish in your lifetime so unless you act quickly you don't get to unwish your wish. There is one month to call back the wish, but few people have had the chance to do that since the wishes are so drastically messed up they usually aren't around to do it.
A good study of thinking ahead and trying to weigh the consequences of your actions (words used to make the wish) before just doing something.
I enjoyed the story and the ingenuity of Nuria in trying to figure out how to use the well to help, rather than allowing the well's wish twist to hurt those around her.
November 4, 2013
This had the potential to be something better, I think. I realize it's a kids' book but some of the concepts in it were of adult-level confusion (reversing the *effects* of a wish, not the wish, itself). I guess I just got bored with the sudden and forced-fake friendship between Nuria and Catty.
My favorite character, by far, was the dastardly well. I suspect some lawyer was cursed to be this one, doling out horrible consequences for bad phrasing, taking everything to its literal conclusion…oh, I loved those parts! And when it gets angry because someone has bested it? What else to do but throw a temper tantrum that freezes the entire village? Hmph. That'll teach 'em.
I also appreciate the incredible thought the author gave to nipping the childish idea of "wishing for more wishes" in the bud. Lovely fate for the greedy.
Elements of this were fantastic and if you appreciate the complexities of wishing and causes and effects and such, you'll enjoy that aspect. The little girl banter (and even the trickery) won't hold your attention.
My favorite character, by far, was the dastardly well. I suspect some lawyer was cursed to be this one, doling out horrible consequences for bad phrasing, taking everything to its literal conclusion…oh, I loved those parts! And when it gets angry because someone has bested it? What else to do but throw a temper tantrum that freezes the entire village? Hmph. That'll teach 'em.
I also appreciate the incredible thought the author gave to nipping the childish idea of "wishing for more wishes" in the bud. Lovely fate for the greedy.
Elements of this were fantastic and if you appreciate the complexities of wishing and causes and effects and such, you'll enjoy that aspect. The little girl banter (and even the trickery) won't hold your attention.
July 16, 2014
Well, if Chime is anywhere nearly as good as this, I can understand why it was important to get it on the list. I liked the Heidi-like setting, the wishing well, the disappearance of the children of the town by wish, and the complicated interaction between Nuria and Catty. It's a good story, with lovely echos of other stories. Plus, a few surprise touches of its own.
Library copy.
Library copy.
November 13, 2015
It is kind of an old concept - switched through some kind of mishap. It was okay and held my interest enough but could have been so much better. The mysteriousness of the whole book was interesting. I liked the remote oddness of the setting and it just had a hint of spooky and other worldly. I wouldn't NOT recommend it but just can't get too enthusiastic about it. Loved the names of the characters - Nuria and Catty and the oddness of calling the grandfather The Avy. Seems there was just more unknown than known in the story and maybe at this time in my life, I am more comfortable with a more concrete story.
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September 12, 2012It's hard to rate this because it was a children's story. I picked it up because I absolutely loved
Chime and had to find anything else by that author. It did have a few great lines though, example: The parlour clock chimed the hour. "Hush!" said Nuria. "Can't you even let a minute pass without counting it?"
And the characters were pretty charming - I also like the fact that I could tell it as a bed-time story from memory if I wanted to.
Chime and had to find anything else by that author. It did have a few great lines though, example: The parlour clock chimed the hour. "Hush!" said Nuria. "Can't you even let a minute pass without counting it?"
And the characters were pretty charming - I also like the fact that I could tell it as a bed-time story from memory if I wanted to.
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