You Wish

The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff #1

by Jason Lethcoe

On his eleventh birthday, sad, orphaned Benjamin Bartholomew Piff accidentally adheres to all of the wishing rules—and, in wishing for the mother lode of limitless wishes, he unknowingly sets into a motion a chain of events that threatens to disrupt the balance between the magical realm of wishes and curses. Before long, Benjamin has been recruited by the Wishworks Factory director himself to fight the evil henchmen of the Curseworks Factory. In the process, Benjamin will reclaim his original wish—giving new credence to the old adage: “Be careful what you wish for . . . ”

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Adventure, Magic

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2007

Reviews

[Cassondra · Rating 1 out of 5]

The best thing about this book was the title. The next best thing was how it started out. And then it just kept going downhill from there. I can't quite put my finger on why it failed to be engaging, but despite all the magic, the magic just wasn't there. While the basic structure and premise were okay, the execution offered nothing new, and the whole story seemed to be packed in a too-small package. (This is dangerously close to the attitude of it's so bad and there's so little of it, but there you are.) None of the characters were ever given any depth, and the ultimate direction of the plot was more or less obvious from page two. And don't we have enough fantasy boy-heroes? In a genre rife with stories like this, why bother with ones that really don't shine?

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the premise of this book. The Wish Works factory was so clever and unique it propelled me through yet another story of a mistreated orphan. It was truly mind candy. I enjoyed this new world and all its familiar characters in a new setting (genies, fairies . . . etc). However, there were parts of the story that just didn't flow as well as I'd like. Perhaps the world was underdeveloped. There were details that though I didn’t hate, I found them less than enthralling (spider monkeys and the cursitina). Benjamin was a decent enough character, but I found myself enjoying Candlewick most. Overall, it was a fun read.

[Cristi-Lael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neither myself nor the girls were really enjoying this , so we talked about it and decided to DNF it. It's possible our apathy stems from the fact that we tried to read it right after the amazing Kate DiCamillo book, but we still weren't feeling it. And life is just too short to read a bunch of books you don't like.
We may try it again at a later date, it my girls may try reading it on their own one day.

[C.J. Milbrandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the story begins in classic Dickensian fashion—the downtrodden orphan, the horrible orphanage, and characters with names that both reveal and define their personalities—Lethcoe quickly takes an imaginative twist. The Wishworks exists to grant children's wishes, and young Benjamin Bartholomew Piff has just made a doozy of one.

Classic and whimsical. Gentle and good. I adored bowler-wearing Mr. Candlewick. The footnotes throughout the story are a hoot. A fun story for lower middlegrade readers.

[Larissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off as a bad orphan novel, ended as a mediocre Artemis Fowl knock-off. The most interesting parts were the descriptions of the “wish world,” but overall Lethcoe’s world building lacked a cohesiveness and overall ability to enrapture the reader. Definitely not the worst book I’ve ever read, but also definitely not feeling motivated to read the rest of the series.

[Karly · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an adult that loves middle grade, I had a difficult time finishing this book. Kept falling asleep while reading it. But gave it 3 stars for creativity.

[Ham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out awesome. It was original, had a Charles Dicken's feel to it, and I loved the person reading it. But somewhere into the second CD it seemed the author lost his spark. (The main character suddenly seemed selfish and uninteresting, the fictional world took a turn for the absurd, and the story floundered and eventually sank.) My apathy toward the whole affair grew exponentially until I finally had to stop midway through the third CD. This entire book was recorded on THREE CDs. The fact that I didn't care to finish it (especially after such a great beginning) shows how thoroughly disgusted I was.

[Ariane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but with wishes rather than candy.

[Anna Cykoski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this was like being transported back into my childhood and it was SO refreshing. A simple joy to read something lighthearted that made me feel like a kid again!

[Aaron Remick · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Wish, is a book that will make all of your dreams come true. The story is written by Jason Lethcoe and is an action-adventure novel. The book is about a little boy named Benjamin, who is in a foster home. He doesn't have a perfect life at the foster home but his birthday is coming up very soon. On his birthday he gets a cake from his care worker which he is very grateful for. Once he starts to sing happy birthday to himself his whole life will change forever.

The story starts off with Benjamin Piff inside a kitchen washing dinner dishes. We start to see what his foster life is like with Mr.Roach yelling at him to wash more pots and pans. Ben does not like being in the foster home and wants his parents back. His adoption support lady comes to the door with a birthday cake for him. While he is singing happy birthday to himself he makes a special wish that you aren't supposed to make, he wishes for unlimited wishes. He ends up meeting candlewick who is a part of the organization that runs the wish factory. There is another company that is the opposing side to the wish factory called the curse factory. The curse factory and the wish factory have been at war many times over what is able to make the wish come true. They end up going to war with each other again, and Ben is involved. In the end, this mistake ends up making Ben's life a whole lot different and better.

I liked the story, I felt that it had a steady pace of not everything coming at you at once but it doesn't get so slow that you get bored. I felt that the setting of the story really shapes it into a great book. At the start of the story we are in an orphanage, this shows that Ben's life is bad and he is in need of some help which is the plot of this story. Then it moves over into some sort of magical land which is the hope of all of his problems getting better. My only problem with this book is that you didn't really know any of the other characters other than ben. He didn't have any meaningful conversations with people. Overall I really enjoyed this book, I would definitely recommend it to others.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this over 15 years ago, so I don't remember details. But I will tell you that the premise of the book really stuck with me, and I compare it to other similar books, like, for example, Olivia Kidney and The Glitch in Sleep(both also read years ago), and recently, Return to Sender.

The idea that an ordinary kid would unwittingly stumble into a hidden space that secretly controls things in our world that seem to be up to chance.

Discovering that some group of people (often incompetent) instrumentally control our lives seems like an insight worth experiencing, even if it is only metaphorically, because it so often does seem to accurately reflect reality. AND if that group can be infiltrated, influenced, and nudged into more empathetic practices, the metaphor seems even more important.

Anyway, I'm adding this book here because I've just read Return to Sender, and it made me think of those other books, too.

[Nathaniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite being a 26 year old male, when I saw the first three books in this series in a second hand bookstore I was immediately drawn to them. Given the title I was expecting something in the same vein as Artemis Fowl or Lemon Snicket with a mischievous young protagonist. Unfortunately the title was probably the best thing about this book.

The basic premise and structure of the plot is simple, beginning with the overused trope of a mistreated orphan boy who is one day granted infinite wishes. But Benjamin doesn't really get a chance to wreak havoc with this new found ability and instead remains a largely underdeveloped character as he unwittingly becomes part of a great war between the good, wish-granting fairy folk and a villain who wants to replace said wishes with nasty curses. The whole thing is rushed and poorly paced taking a rather drastic u-turn from the initial premise. I'm still unsure exactly what part of this was a 'misadventure'.

The footnotes are genuinely amusing and offer some depth and background to an otherwise bland world and were a lovely inclusion. Unfortunately too many cliches and an underdeveloped plot and cast left me uninterested in reading the rest of the novels in the series. This may keep your children interested for a short while, but with the plethora of amazing children's series out there I highly doubt it will become their favourite.

[Aimee Fuhrman · Rating 3 out of 5]

My ten-year-old son read this aloud to me as part of his homeschooling. He loved it, as did his older brother before him. The story is full of magic, humor, and action and reminded me of Roald Dahl's writing--perfect for 8-12 year olds. The story is pretty far fetched, but that's what makes it all the more appealing to kids. Think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets Pippi Longstocking and you've got a pretty good feel for the flavor of You Wish.

[Emma Whear · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neither here nor there but not "bleh" like 'Switch,' which I just read.

Literature should teach and delight.
This doesn't really teach much new, like the solid life-lessons of the Wingfeather books.
It's vaguely delightful in spots, like jolly world-building footnotes.

Some 'oops' on Lethcoe's part:
-The novel is modern day but has a old-timey feel, but every once and a while Lethcoe uses terms like "playstation" or a name of a particular videogame game, and that majorly kills the mood
-Lack of character development in 97% of the characters
-Poor pacing

I'd say it's most like Auxier's 'Peter Nimble,' in its level of horror + magic, but just way less well done.

Won't be reading the next ones, but good to know that it's not objectionable.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Hatred and wanting harm to come to your enemies will only make you miserable in the end. You have to learn to let it go, Ben. You give your enemies too much power when you allow them to eat you up inside. "

What a wonderful sweet book this was. So many good truth moments and learning to heal and forgive. I really enjoyed this sweet story!

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if you could wish for anything?

The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff is a good take on the disaster of too many wishes, in other words too much power that no one person can handle and the destruction of the balance of life when in the wrong hands.

After all the buildup to it, though, the war between wishes and curses was anticlimactic in its briefness.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story's premise is interesting, but parts I don't like. 1- I just don't think it was edited well, repetitive words that make reading aloud difficult and funny. Some other jumps that make me think it's the editing.
2-The battle is very scary with lots of things dying, which was alarming for my eight year old.

[Hailey Tebbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book, yet a little hard to follow at times.
The book cover and the beginning chapters didn't flow naturally into the climax and ending chapters in my opinion. However, the book as a whole was fun, and I enjoyed reading it.

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mite bit unbelievable that his first wish isn't what any logical person knows his first wish would be given his circumstances. Or even his second or third. Just saying.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable adventure! I'm not sure I understand the delay in retrieving the wish once it fell into the wrong hands; surely it would have been better to sneak in and get it back immediately?

[Jeremiah (Star struck and VERY smitten Cowboy) · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is some potty-humor.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, but didn't really stand out from other middle grade stories.

[tannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

idk who gave this to me but I'm so thankful (I'll read this book to my kids)

[dspeev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book years ago and still think about it to this day. Very whimsical and charming, perfect escape for a young reader

[Sarah Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it aloud with my kids and they liked it.

[Jessica reads stories · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quite a fun read to end 2021

[Filo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elfen, Dschinns und Zwerge – das gibt es wirklich. Zumindest Ben steht ihnen plötzlich gegenüber, als er sich an seinem Geburtstag unbegrenzt viele Wünsche wünscht. Das damit die Wunschwirkfabrik vor dem Aus steht, ahnt er nicht. Deshalb wird Mr Candlewick aus der Wunschwirkfabrik zu ihm geschickt, damit Ben den Wunsch zurücknimmt.
Jason Lethcoe erzählt die Geschichte aus Sicht von Ben und Thomas Candlewick. Beide Charaktere haben mir auf Anhieb richtig gut gefallen.
Ben ist mit seinen 11 Jahren zwar noch recht jung, trotzdem ist er in seiner Situation ziemlich stark. Außerdem überzeugt er dadurch, dass er nicht auf den Kopf gefallen ist und schnell die Dinge um ihn herum erfasst. Mr Candlewick ist ebenfalls ein toller Hauptcharakter, der während des Buches viele Facetten zeigt.
Auch die anderen Charakter kann man sich gut vorstellen und die Zauberwesen sind wirklich besonders. Aber nicht nur die Zauberwesen sind einzigartig, sondern auch die Welt in der sie leben. Die Wunschwirkwerke, die Fluchwirkwerke,... bilden eine ungewöhnliche, aber sehr schöne Welt für das Buch.
Auch sonst punktet das Buch mit Ideenreichtum und so werden z.B. die Mitarbeiter von dem bösen Besitzer der Fluchwirkwerke in Wesen aus der Mischung von Spinne und Affe verwandelt. Sehr schön fand ich auch die Idee der Flattersessel.
An der ein oder anderen Stelle stolperte ich allerdings über die Logik. Im Großen und Ganzen ist diese zwar gut nachzuvollziehen, aber wenn man mehr ins Detail geht, stellten sich mir so einige Fragen. Gut möglich, dass Kinder im Alter von 9-11 Jahre, an die sich das Buch hauptsächlich richtet, sich kein bisschen daran stören, aber ich war manchmal etwas verwundert.
SPOILER Um mal zwei Beispiele zu nennen: Ich empfand es etwas unlogisch, das man ausgerechnet den 11-jährigen Ben schickt, um die Wunschkugel zurück zu hohlen. Natürlich ist es seine Wunschkugel, aber er ist ja nicht groß vorbereitet und das er innerhalb von wenigen Tagen die Kampftechnik lernt, erscheint auch eher unglaubwürdig. Genauso war ich verstutzt, als Mr Candlewick mit einem Degen erstochen wird und er später wieder ganz normal auftaucht und kein Wort mehr darüber fällt, dass er eigentlich tot oder zumindest schwer verletzt sein müsste. SPOILER ENDE
Besonders schön im Buch sind die Zeichnungen des Autors, die häufig sehr lustig sind und bei denen man sich die Zauberwesen noch besser vorstellen kann. Außerdem ist vorne im Buch auch eine Karte aufgedruckt, in der man die Welt der Feen, Dschinns und Kobolde betrachten kann.

Mein Fazit:
Eine fantasievolle Geschichte, die durch die Charaktere, Zauberwesen und die Welt der Wünsche besticht. Eigentlich ist sie mehr für Kinder gedacht, aber man wird auch wenn man älter ist gut unterhalten. Also denkt dran: Beim nächsten Geburtstag die Augen schließen, alle Kerzen vom Kuchen auf ein mal auspusten und sich etwas wünschen. Achtung: Niemandem erzählen, was gewünscht wurde, sonst gilt der Wunsch nicht ;)

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As regular readers will know, I occasionally dip into children's and young adult fiction particularly fantasy. I find it is often imaginative and creative in a way that similar genres of "adult fiction" are not. And having been reading some more serious non-fiction, I decided to check out The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff. I had picked up the first volume, You Wish, at a library sale for a couple of bucks and decided to give it a read.

It was a quick and easy read, and entertaining in many ways, but not enough to tempt me to keep reading the series. While the premise is interesting, and the hook creative, the characters are just a little too flat and the setting not quite put together.

The basic plot is that Benjamin Bartholomew Piff is sent to an orphanage when his parents die in a plane crash. As is usually the case in this literary situation, it seems to be the default setting these days, things do not go well. He is forced to clean out giant soup pots with a toothbrush. The food is bad and the authorities cruel. Ben plans his escape but is foiled by, of all people, his kind hearted social working showing up with a birthday cake. When he makes wish on his candle, however, he unknowingly followed the rules of wishes exactly and thus is granted his incredible wish: unlimited wishes. Soon Ben is riding high and getting whatever he wants.

This sets off trouble in the realm where wishes are granted. The Wishworks factory is in crisis because it seem wishes are something of a zero sum game, if Ben gets unlimited wishes some children are bound to do without. This powerful wish also opens up an opportunity for the dastardly Cursework factory to build a diabolical weapon. It is up to Ben and the Wishworks team to defeat the Curse-makers. This will involve Ben giving up his deepest wish (and the original unlimited wishes).

As I said, the story moves at a quick pace and the idea of the wishing rules and the Wishworks factory is interesting. But the story doesn't quite live up to this promise. None of the characters really grab your attention and the setting is a little thin. The Wishworks aspect is the most developed, the author clearly enjoys creating that part of the story, but the rest of it seems a little cookie-cutter. It comes off lighthearted and fun but on the thin side and just too derivative.

Maybe the story gets filled in and developed in the rest of the series, and depending on the reader, not everyone requires a fully developed story and setting. For now I am not planning to read the rest of the series, but if your children are voracious readers always looking for another series to dive into, The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff might be a good fit.

[Jeanne Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ow, I just love it. My teeny heart will absolutely recommend it. I am a huge fan of the movie "the rise of the guardian", and I found similarities in the plot.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were moments in this book that I found clever and even fun, but overall this book was tepid, uninspired.

I bought this book because the premise seemed real interesting -- a young boy makes the granddaddy of all wishes -- that he have an infinite number of wishes -- and because he did everything just right in the making of the wish, the wish came true, and of course, when a wish like that comes true, it wreaks havoc on those granting the wishes.

So, a good idea...what went wrong?

First, there's the story-telling itself. A lot of telling rather than showing. It came across as a lack of focus as to the age group that this was written for. On one hand, it seemed aimed at the youngest readers -- eight years old or so, but on the other hand, it had some themes that seemed targeted to the early middle-schoolers.

Although I rolled my eyes a little at the idea of the 'hated orphan' aspect, it didn't bother me terribly. Again, the basic idea seemed pretty good, but once we got into the war between the wish-fullfillers and the nightmare handlers, I couldn't wait to be done with the book.

The great war came from nowhere, but even more so was the idea that our hero was better at a weapon like a boomerang than any of the fairy folk who trained with the weapon. There was no lead up to this, no hint, no forshadowing (couldn't he have been playing with a boomerang in the fron yard of the orphanage when he first got yelled at?). And the attempt at creating a friendly rival not only came from nowhere, the rivalry fizzled out early and was a waste of time.

I had hoped to find a book that would keep my kids interested, but I think this one would intsult their intelligence.