What do you think?
Rate this book
Wishes and Wellingtons #1
Wishes and Wellingtons
Maeve Merritt chafes at the rigid rules at her London boarding school for "Upright Young Ladies." When punishment forces her to sort through the trash, she finds a sardine tin that houses a foul-tempered djinni with no intention of submitting to a schoolgirl as his master.
Soon an orphan boy from the charitable home next door, a mysterious tall man in ginger whiskers, a disgruntled school worker, and a take-no-prisoners business tycoon are in hot pursuit of Maeve and her magical discovery. It'll take all of her quick thinking and sass to set matters right.
Soon an orphan boy from the charitable home next door, a mysterious tall man in ginger whiskers, a disgruntled school worker, and a take-no-prisoners business tycoon are in hot pursuit of Maeve and her magical discovery. It'll take all of her quick thinking and sass to set matters right.
363 pages, Hardcover
First published September 25, 2018
136 people are currently reading
3885 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 672 reviews
December 31, 2019
I rarely read YA as I tend to prefer the A part of it more. But this was a free Audible pick & no other book looked good so I figured why not. And I'm so lucky I did!
This was just a dream of a story filled with magic & wonder. Remember when you believed in genies & fairies & had fun adventures with your friends? This story brings you back to that amazing time.
I can't recommend this book enough especially to all the little tomboys out there like me who were always getting into mischief.
And the narrator is perfect for this!
This was just a dream of a story filled with magic & wonder. Remember when you believed in genies & fairies & had fun adventures with your friends? This story brings you back to that amazing time.
I can't recommend this book enough especially to all the little tomboys out there like me who were always getting into mischief.
And the narrator is perfect for this!
January 23, 2023
Young Maeve, a girl who's too sassy for boarding school, finds more adventure and excitement than she bargained for when she discovers a djinni trapped in a lamp sardine tin. Together with her roommate, and a new pal from the orphanage across the street, Maeve faces down bullies, and thieves of all shapes and sizes while trying to pick just the right wishes that will bring her what she desires .. . . without getting her killed
This was pure fun from beginning to end.
Maeve is a terrific heroine, both plucky and introspective. The djinn is delightfully pompous and rude - I kept picturing Charles Emerson Winchester III from M*A*S*H - as he feels serving a 13-year-old girl to be far beneath him. I also loved the 1896 London setting
This is a great start to a promising series.
This was pure fun from beginning to end.
Maeve is a terrific heroine, both plucky and introspective. The djinn is delightfully pompous and rude - I kept picturing Charles Emerson Winchester III from M*A*S*H - as he feels serving a 13-year-old girl to be far beneath him. I also loved the 1896 London setting
This is a great start to a promising series.
March 4, 2019
This is a nice little story that is not predictable and has a lot of heart. Maeve makes mistakes, but she also learns from them. She's no superhero, just a clever girl who tries to deal with difficult circumstances while wanting more from life and society. Very enjoyable story and narration.
March 8, 2019
Our family listened to this book on a road trip. It was delightful and creative. We loved Maeve - so full of moxie and snarky commentary. My 8 yr old daughter loved quoting along with her, "Maeve Merritt does not back down to bullies!" There were many positive messages in this story. It has the usual clever twists that Berry is known for. We hope that this might be the first in a series as she did leave us with many ideas and unanswered questions about the genie's family history. We want to see more people take their turn with the "sardini genie," who may be full of tricks for those who don't deserve him. The entire family enjoyed this book.
December 2, 2020
Simply wonderful!
Maeve Merritt is a plucky young lass, always getting into trouble at her school, but that's how she ends up with a djinni . . . who smells of fish and lives in a sardine tin, not a lamp! She befriends an orphan boy, and "corrupts" her sweet-natured roommate, faces a mummy, monsters, and evil bankers!
This book reminded me so much of Five Children and It, or Mary Poppins! I hope she turns it into a series, I would love to read more about Maeve, Alice, and Tom!
Maeve Merritt is a plucky young lass, always getting into trouble at her school, but that's how she ends up with a djinni . . . who smells of fish and lives in a sardine tin, not a lamp! She befriends an orphan boy, and "corrupts" her sweet-natured roommate, faces a mummy, monsters, and evil bankers!
This book reminded me so much of Five Children and It, or Mary Poppins! I hope she turns it into a series, I would love to read more about Maeve, Alice, and Tom!
July 25, 2021
Fun Fun
I had a great time reading this wonderful story. The pace is active throughout.
Wonderful characters, especially poor Tommy who spends the book with two wonderful women.
The storyline is solid and very entertaining.
I recommend.
I had a great time reading this wonderful story. The pace is active throughout.
Wonderful characters, especially poor Tommy who spends the book with two wonderful women.
The storyline is solid and very entertaining.
I recommend.
April 17, 2019
This was a lot of fun.
Set in 19th century England, this whimsical tale is filled full of snark, magic and wonder.
It isn't a run-of-the-mill retelling at all!
It's so fun! Definitely heart-warming.
Will recommend to anyone with kids. Maeve can teach girls a thing or two.
Set in 19th century England, this whimsical tale is filled full of snark, magic and wonder.
It isn't a run-of-the-mill retelling at all!
It's so fun! Definitely heart-warming.
Will recommend to anyone with kids. Maeve can teach girls a thing or two.
July 24, 2019
I read a couple of the one star reviews where the readers didn’t like Maeve our main character and saw her as stupid as opposed to a plucky 14 year old who was prone to the mistakes and impulses of youth which drove the story. As someone who still is stymied by their occasional foolish impulses I saw her as more human when she did something less than stellar. Maeve is a rough and tumble tomboy who yearns for adventure and to be free of the severe restrictions on women and girls of the time. Suddenly this trouble maker finds a cranky genie in a sardine tin. Along with her trusted roommate and a new and unlikely friend she sets off on an adventure all the while having trouble keeping hold of her much coveted sardine tin after a foolish reveal. If you can see Maeve’s faults as human as opposed to writing her off you might quite enjoy her as a character. Oh to be young, bold and headstrong!
The story had some unexpected moments and demonstrations of insightful compassion which o found appealing. I enjoy YA novels so this was quite worth the listen for me. Thanks Audible!
The story had some unexpected moments and demonstrations of insightful compassion which o found appealing. I enjoy YA novels so this was quite worth the listen for me. Thanks Audible!
March 28, 2019
Sad...sad that I am finished with this book.
The story was the most delightful. The narrator was the most delightful. In fact I loved both so much I, upon completion, went back to Audible and sought out another book by this author and another book by this narrator.
The story to me felt like a cross between Pride and Prejudice (Elizabeth only, sorry Darcy fans) and Harry Potter (except with genies).
I have no idea if a book number two is in our future but I sure hope it is!
P.S. I am an adult who enjoys reading all genres. I’m not prejudiced against middle grade fiction which this book is.
EDIT: I just looked up some reviews. I was shocked and appalled to see all the one and two stars with no reason why. These people simply handed out the ridiculously low underserved, in my opinion, number of stars but did not supply a reason. They should be null and void. Please give a reason people why you don’t like a book. It’s not fair to anybody to just dole out a star and not say why. Geez it irks me.
The story was the most delightful. The narrator was the most delightful. In fact I loved both so much I, upon completion, went back to Audible and sought out another book by this author and another book by this narrator.
The story to me felt like a cross between Pride and Prejudice (Elizabeth only, sorry Darcy fans) and Harry Potter (except with genies).
I have no idea if a book number two is in our future but I sure hope it is!
P.S. I am an adult who enjoys reading all genres. I’m not prejudiced against middle grade fiction which this book is.
EDIT: I just looked up some reviews. I was shocked and appalled to see all the one and two stars with no reason why. These people simply handed out the ridiculously low underserved, in my opinion, number of stars but did not supply a reason. They should be null and void. Please give a reason people why you don’t like a book. It’s not fair to anybody to just dole out a star and not say why. Geez it irks me.
September 3, 2019
This is definitely a lovely little story that kids will enjoy very much.
I liked it, but the characters aren't what you exactly call complex.
It was an enjoyable enough little romp.
I liked it, but the characters aren't what you exactly call complex.
It was an enjoyable enough little romp.
June 12, 2019
Audible has some original titles every month that they make available for free to subscribers. In April (or May?) this one was available, and I thought it sounded cute, so I got it.
Just like the synopsis states, this story is about a girl named Maeve in historical London (If I recall correctly it starts in late 1896) who discovers a cranky djinni in a sardine can after she is forced to sort through trash as a punishment for misbehavior.
I didn’t like Maeve at the beginning of the story. She had a bad attitude about almost everything. She had a reason for it: She was sent to the school for “Upright Young Ladies” because her rich parents had decided it was untoward for their daughter to be fraternizing with common boys, (even though the only “fraternizing” she’d done was playing games with them that appealed to her more than having tea parties with rich girls she didn’t even like) so they sent her to the fancy boarding school to get her straightened out. However, I had trouble sympathizing with her because she was also extremely selfish and generally didn’t have much in the way of redeemable qualities. I also didn’t like that the first thing she did with one of her three wishes from the djinni was get revenge after some snobby girls at the school played a really mean trick on her. (Not that they didn’t deserve it… they played a mean trick AND lied so Maeve got blamed for the trick… but this is a middle grade book and I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of children reading about someone getting revenge and it being okay.) Around the 20% mark in the story, I told myself that if Maeve’s attitude didn’t change soon, and if the wishes didn’t get used for something besides revenge, I was going to be annoyed enough to not finish the book.
Thankfully, at the 30% mark, things started changing for the better. Turns out all Maeve needed to get her thinking about someone besides herself was to see that someone out there, in this case, a nice orphan boy from across the street, had it worse than her. She started getting closer to her friend and roommate, Alice, as well, and discovered she also wasn’t the only one with hopes and fears about the future. Slowly, though Maeve retained the sass and spunk that made her her unique self, she started turning into a more likable, sympathetic girl, and I found myself enjoying hearing about her and her friends having a mini adventure in the desert, learning more about the djinni, and outsmarting those who wanted to steal the djinni for selfish purposes.
I was also pleased to find that, while at the beginning of the story it seemed nearly all the adults were mean or untrustworthy, things started to change from that perspective too. Yes, some of the adults who were mean remained that way, but then some were introduced who were good, helpful people, and some, including Maeve’s own parents, started to realize that perhaps they’d been looking at things the wrong way, and their relationships with Maeve and her friends began to change for the better.
When the ending came around, Maeve’s attitude had been transformed (in a realistic way) to the point that she was able to make the most unselfish choice she ever could have made. A choice that required self-sacrifice in order to benefit someone else who needed it very badly rather than herself. I couldn’t have been more satisfied.
In conclusion, while there were things I didn’t like at the start of the book, I now see that those things served in making it so that the story could have the sweet, satisfying ending that gave me all the warm fuzzies, and also holds a good lesson for kids. I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would and would definitely be interested in reading more books of this variety from this author. (I see she writes quite a lot of things in different genres and age ranges, some of which I am very much Not Interested In, but some look like they might appeal, so we’ll see. 😉) I give it a solid 4 stars.
Content Advisory:
Sexual:
From the beginning we learn that Maeve’s interactions with boys her age are seen by her parents and the heads of the school for “Upright Young Ladies” as being inappropriate because this is the 1800’s when even from a young age, girls from rich families were groomed to marry well. They, especially the heads of the school, seem to think her interactions with any boy are somehow flirtatious (once, it is referred to as “wickedly fraternizing), when in reality Maeve isn’t yet interested in boys as anything more than playmates and is disgusted that they think she’s batting her eyelashes at them like her older sister does with young men she’s interested in. As stated in the review, Maeve was sent to the boarding school because she kept sneaking out of her house to play innocent games with boys, not because she was interested in the boys specifically but because they played games, like cricket, marbles, hopscotch, and jacks, that were fun to her than the tea parties her mother made her go to. At one point, she ponders that her parents at least may have been less concerned about what she was doing with the boys than they were about the fact that the boys were from families that were poorer than theirs.
Violence:
The story opens on Maeve about to get a spanking for having punched another girl because the girl stabbed her in the behind with a needle.
A girl and her friends play a prank on Maeve that causes her to trip, fall, and hit her forehead on the floor, giving her a black eye.
The Maeve and her two friends are chased by a couple of large, magical, talking animals, but are able to escape unharmed.
At one point, Maeve and her friend Alice overhear a couple of adult servants talking. One servant notices that the other has a mark on her face and asks her if her boyfriend hit her. The other servant says she doesn’t have a boyfriend and that it was the mean mistress of the mansion she’s working at who hit her. She says her mistress is always angry and throws things and hits her with things like hairbrushes and other objects if she commits the least infraction. (The servant is advised by her companion to quit the job and go to the police.)
A strange man breaks into Maeve and Alice’s room at the school at night in order to try to steal an object, but the girls wake up and fight with him. He hits Maeve (who kicks him) and then when Alice tries to defend Maeve he scuffles with her, too (though he seems shocked that an angelic looking little girl is attacking him with such fervor). He gets away but is later seen with bruised fingers from Alice’s assault.
Magic:
The story revolves around what happens after Maeve finds a sardine can that has a djinni in it that can grant three wishes. The djinni can supposedly do unlimited magical things and during the course of the story, grants wishes that turn people’s hair green, transports people from one place to a very distant location in a way that seems like they’re being picked up by the wind and flying over the world, and gives someone a mansion and wealth. He also has the ability to (inside glowing orbs of magic) show Maeve scenarios in which she sees a volcano erupting, people on boats on a stormy sea, and also a scenario of what it would look like if she wished for the ability to travel the world and have the all-female cricket league she wants.
The djinni warns Maeve a couple times that those who own him tend to get so wrapped up in gold-lust that they destroy themselves. This warning seems to come less out of concern for Maeve and more from the djinni hoping to intimidate her into giving him up so he can end up in the hands of someone more powerful/important than a random little girl.
During an adventure in the desert, Maeve and her two friends discover an ancient ring that they take home with them, thinking it might be valuable. They later discover that it is a magical ring after Maeve angrily wishes that a mean girl would get pimples and then it happens. They think about using its magic to help them find something they’ve lost, but they figure out through trial and error that because the ring belonged to a sorcerer king who was a terrible person, the ring will only grant wishes that have malicious intent behind them. Therefore, they choose not to use it and intend to pawn it off to an oddity shop to get money to help a friend.
The same ring mentioned above ends up getting taken back by its owner, who considers it a talisman. Its owner is a dead, shriveled-up mummy/wraith who magically transports himself from his tomb in the desert just to find Maeve and threaten to hurt her friends (by speaking his name, which is a powerful and ancient spell, to collapse the building on them) if she doesn’t give the ring back. The mummy’s decaying body is described a bit and could be scary to very young children, but thankfully Maeve does give the ring back and the mummy never shows up again after that.
Language:
At the beginning of the story, Maeve uses the English term “arse” when telling the teacher that she’d been stabbed in the behind with a needle. The teacher considers this “language” and gives her 2 days suspension for it.
Name calling comes from quite a few people, adults and children included (sometimes children speaking to other children, sometime adults speaking to children, sometimes children speaking to adults.), and includes things like “Maeve the knave”, purple-face, ugly, dirty, stuck up, fat, rude, etc. Nothing profane, just generally unkind.
The djinni is not above name calling either and refuses to use Maeve’s name, calling her a “tiny female spawn” or “female hatchling” instead. (Maeve is not bothered by this and gives him sass right back.)
A servant complains to someone else about her mean mistress and says the woman “swears like a sailor.”
Spiritual/Religious:
When Maeve expresses in the narration that playing with boys from the wrong families is considered a “scandal and a sin” she says if that’s so, she’ll take a fiery afterlife as opposed to being forced to play dolls and tea party with the girls her mother approves of.
There’s a scene in church where the school girls are whispering about recent events instead of paying attention. No mention of what the sermon is about, but Maeve notes as the singing begins that the church frequently has them sing a song about “What can I do for England?” and Maeve doesn’t see what that has to do with religion.
Maeve is said to pray at least once, and once wonders who the patron saint of burglars is.
Other:
At the start, Maeve has an overall bad attitude towards her parents for causing her the misery of having to be at the boarding school.
The girl who stabbed Maeve with the needle is the type that acts like an angel around the teachers and a monster around peers she doesn’t like. She lied and said Maeve attacked her for no reason and therefore didn’t get punished for having stabbed Maeve with a needle. This same girl is always the instigator when there’s trouble between Maeve and herself. If she didn’t keep picking at Maeve, tricking her, lying about things she didn’t do, stealing from her, etc, Maeve likely would have just ignored her. However, it should also be noted that Maeve struggles for much of the story with insisting on getting back at this girl, though she eventually seems to learn to ignore her anyway.
Some girls lock Maeve in her room and then lie about it, saying Maeve attacked them with a poker. Maeve gets revenge by using her first djinni wish to turn the girl’s braids green, but then the girls cut their green braids off and lie that Maeve attacked them with scissors.
At one point, Maeve notes that a rich man on the street is ignoring someone else the way her father sometimes ignores her mother.
The headmistress of the girls’ school sometimes punishes the girls by locking them in a cold closet, or in the basement where there are rats and no light.
An adult steals something from Maeve and friends, and Maeve and friends later steal it back.
A couple of adults lie to cover up something bad they did, or to get Maeve and her friends in trouble when the children didn’t actually do anything.
A grown man threatens Maeve that he’ll lie to make her father lose his job and credibility if she doesn’t give him an object he wants. When she refuses he sends a hired man to break into her room at her house and at her school to try to find the object, and when that doesn’t work, he follows through on his threat and does try to make her father lose his job.
When the hired man breaks into Maeve and Alice’s room and the school they manage to cause enough commotion to scare him off and call for help, but their teachers and the headmistress don’t believe that there was a strange man in their room. (The police, however, do believe them.)
Just like the synopsis states, this story is about a girl named Maeve in historical London (If I recall correctly it starts in late 1896) who discovers a cranky djinni in a sardine can after she is forced to sort through trash as a punishment for misbehavior.
I didn’t like Maeve at the beginning of the story. She had a bad attitude about almost everything. She had a reason for it: She was sent to the school for “Upright Young Ladies” because her rich parents had decided it was untoward for their daughter to be fraternizing with common boys, (even though the only “fraternizing” she’d done was playing games with them that appealed to her more than having tea parties with rich girls she didn’t even like) so they sent her to the fancy boarding school to get her straightened out. However, I had trouble sympathizing with her because she was also extremely selfish and generally didn’t have much in the way of redeemable qualities. I also didn’t like that the first thing she did with one of her three wishes from the djinni was get revenge after some snobby girls at the school played a really mean trick on her. (Not that they didn’t deserve it… they played a mean trick AND lied so Maeve got blamed for the trick… but this is a middle grade book and I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of children reading about someone getting revenge and it being okay.) Around the 20% mark in the story, I told myself that if Maeve’s attitude didn’t change soon, and if the wishes didn’t get used for something besides revenge, I was going to be annoyed enough to not finish the book.
Thankfully, at the 30% mark, things started changing for the better. Turns out all Maeve needed to get her thinking about someone besides herself was to see that someone out there, in this case, a nice orphan boy from across the street, had it worse than her. She started getting closer to her friend and roommate, Alice, as well, and discovered she also wasn’t the only one with hopes and fears about the future. Slowly, though Maeve retained the sass and spunk that made her her unique self, she started turning into a more likable, sympathetic girl, and I found myself enjoying hearing about her and her friends having a mini adventure in the desert, learning more about the djinni, and outsmarting those who wanted to steal the djinni for selfish purposes.
I was also pleased to find that, while at the beginning of the story it seemed nearly all the adults were mean or untrustworthy, things started to change from that perspective too. Yes, some of the adults who were mean remained that way, but then some were introduced who were good, helpful people, and some, including Maeve’s own parents, started to realize that perhaps they’d been looking at things the wrong way, and their relationships with Maeve and her friends began to change for the better.
When the ending came around, Maeve’s attitude had been transformed (in a realistic way) to the point that she was able to make the most unselfish choice she ever could have made. A choice that required self-sacrifice in order to benefit someone else who needed it very badly rather than herself. I couldn’t have been more satisfied.
In conclusion, while there were things I didn’t like at the start of the book, I now see that those things served in making it so that the story could have the sweet, satisfying ending that gave me all the warm fuzzies, and also holds a good lesson for kids. I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would and would definitely be interested in reading more books of this variety from this author. (I see she writes quite a lot of things in different genres and age ranges, some of which I am very much Not Interested In, but some look like they might appeal, so we’ll see. 😉) I give it a solid 4 stars.
Content Advisory:
Sexual:
From the beginning we learn that Maeve’s interactions with boys her age are seen by her parents and the heads of the school for “Upright Young Ladies” as being inappropriate because this is the 1800’s when even from a young age, girls from rich families were groomed to marry well. They, especially the heads of the school, seem to think her interactions with any boy are somehow flirtatious (once, it is referred to as “wickedly fraternizing), when in reality Maeve isn’t yet interested in boys as anything more than playmates and is disgusted that they think she’s batting her eyelashes at them like her older sister does with young men she’s interested in. As stated in the review, Maeve was sent to the boarding school because she kept sneaking out of her house to play innocent games with boys, not because she was interested in the boys specifically but because they played games, like cricket, marbles, hopscotch, and jacks, that were fun to her than the tea parties her mother made her go to. At one point, she ponders that her parents at least may have been less concerned about what she was doing with the boys than they were about the fact that the boys were from families that were poorer than theirs.
Violence:
The story opens on Maeve about to get a spanking for having punched another girl because the girl stabbed her in the behind with a needle.
A girl and her friends play a prank on Maeve that causes her to trip, fall, and hit her forehead on the floor, giving her a black eye.
The Maeve and her two friends are chased by a couple of large, magical, talking animals, but are able to escape unharmed.
At one point, Maeve and her friend Alice overhear a couple of adult servants talking. One servant notices that the other has a mark on her face and asks her if her boyfriend hit her. The other servant says she doesn’t have a boyfriend and that it was the mean mistress of the mansion she’s working at who hit her. She says her mistress is always angry and throws things and hits her with things like hairbrushes and other objects if she commits the least infraction. (The servant is advised by her companion to quit the job and go to the police.)
A strange man breaks into Maeve and Alice’s room at the school at night in order to try to steal an object, but the girls wake up and fight with him. He hits Maeve (who kicks him) and then when Alice tries to defend Maeve he scuffles with her, too (though he seems shocked that an angelic looking little girl is attacking him with such fervor). He gets away but is later seen with bruised fingers from Alice’s assault.
Magic:
The story revolves around what happens after Maeve finds a sardine can that has a djinni in it that can grant three wishes. The djinni can supposedly do unlimited magical things and during the course of the story, grants wishes that turn people’s hair green, transports people from one place to a very distant location in a way that seems like they’re being picked up by the wind and flying over the world, and gives someone a mansion and wealth. He also has the ability to (inside glowing orbs of magic) show Maeve scenarios in which she sees a volcano erupting, people on boats on a stormy sea, and also a scenario of what it would look like if she wished for the ability to travel the world and have the all-female cricket league she wants.
The djinni warns Maeve a couple times that those who own him tend to get so wrapped up in gold-lust that they destroy themselves. This warning seems to come less out of concern for Maeve and more from the djinni hoping to intimidate her into giving him up so he can end up in the hands of someone more powerful/important than a random little girl.
During an adventure in the desert, Maeve and her two friends discover an ancient ring that they take home with them, thinking it might be valuable. They later discover that it is a magical ring after Maeve angrily wishes that a mean girl would get pimples and then it happens. They think about using its magic to help them find something they’ve lost, but they figure out through trial and error that because the ring belonged to a sorcerer king who was a terrible person, the ring will only grant wishes that have malicious intent behind them. Therefore, they choose not to use it and intend to pawn it off to an oddity shop to get money to help a friend.
The same ring mentioned above ends up getting taken back by its owner, who considers it a talisman. Its owner is a dead, shriveled-up mummy/wraith who magically transports himself from his tomb in the desert just to find Maeve and threaten to hurt her friends (by speaking his name, which is a powerful and ancient spell, to collapse the building on them) if she doesn’t give the ring back. The mummy’s decaying body is described a bit and could be scary to very young children, but thankfully Maeve does give the ring back and the mummy never shows up again after that.
Language:
At the beginning of the story, Maeve uses the English term “arse” when telling the teacher that she’d been stabbed in the behind with a needle. The teacher considers this “language” and gives her 2 days suspension for it.
Name calling comes from quite a few people, adults and children included (sometimes children speaking to other children, sometime adults speaking to children, sometimes children speaking to adults.), and includes things like “Maeve the knave”, purple-face, ugly, dirty, stuck up, fat, rude, etc. Nothing profane, just generally unkind.
The djinni is not above name calling either and refuses to use Maeve’s name, calling her a “tiny female spawn” or “female hatchling” instead. (Maeve is not bothered by this and gives him sass right back.)
A servant complains to someone else about her mean mistress and says the woman “swears like a sailor.”
Spiritual/Religious:
When Maeve expresses in the narration that playing with boys from the wrong families is considered a “scandal and a sin” she says if that’s so, she’ll take a fiery afterlife as opposed to being forced to play dolls and tea party with the girls her mother approves of.
There’s a scene in church where the school girls are whispering about recent events instead of paying attention. No mention of what the sermon is about, but Maeve notes as the singing begins that the church frequently has them sing a song about “What can I do for England?” and Maeve doesn’t see what that has to do with religion.
Maeve is said to pray at least once, and once wonders who the patron saint of burglars is.
Other:
At the start, Maeve has an overall bad attitude towards her parents for causing her the misery of having to be at the boarding school.
The girl who stabbed Maeve with the needle is the type that acts like an angel around the teachers and a monster around peers she doesn’t like. She lied and said Maeve attacked her for no reason and therefore didn’t get punished for having stabbed Maeve with a needle. This same girl is always the instigator when there’s trouble between Maeve and herself. If she didn’t keep picking at Maeve, tricking her, lying about things she didn’t do, stealing from her, etc, Maeve likely would have just ignored her. However, it should also be noted that Maeve struggles for much of the story with insisting on getting back at this girl, though she eventually seems to learn to ignore her anyway.
Some girls lock Maeve in her room and then lie about it, saying Maeve attacked them with a poker. Maeve gets revenge by using her first djinni wish to turn the girl’s braids green, but then the girls cut their green braids off and lie that Maeve attacked them with scissors.
At one point, Maeve notes that a rich man on the street is ignoring someone else the way her father sometimes ignores her mother.
The headmistress of the girls’ school sometimes punishes the girls by locking them in a cold closet, or in the basement where there are rats and no light.
An adult steals something from Maeve and friends, and Maeve and friends later steal it back.
A couple of adults lie to cover up something bad they did, or to get Maeve and her friends in trouble when the children didn’t actually do anything.
A grown man threatens Maeve that he’ll lie to make her father lose his job and credibility if she doesn’t give him an object he wants. When she refuses he sends a hired man to break into her room at her house and at her school to try to find the object, and when that doesn’t work, he follows through on his threat and does try to make her father lose his job.
When the hired man breaks into Maeve and Alice’s room and the school they manage to cause enough commotion to scare him off and call for help, but their teachers and the headmistress don’t believe that there was a strange man in their room. (The police, however, do believe them.)
March 10, 2019
Am I too old for middle grade stories? For a second I thought I would have rated this higher if I were younger but then again I was far more pretentious when I was about 9 or 10. I fancied YA books that I couldn't really relate to because I was too much in a hurry to grow up. Now that I'm in my twenties, I'm much more open to all genres in whatever age bracket. This is why Wishes and Wellingtons is making me question myself. Everyone who's listened to it seemed to enjoy it a great deal. Except for me.
It's not that it's a bad story. The premise is promising. I just find the protagonist annoying. Have I been reading middle grade books with unrealistically mature characters? I don't believe so. They made plenty of bad decisions here and there but they weren't petulant. I really didn't like the lead in this one. Decisions, actions, thoughts... I couldn't believe I was listening to a book about a 13 year old girl. She sounded way younger than that. At some point I cheered for the adults who acted like villains towards her because on some level I felt like she deserved it.
"Because you're being childish!"
"Ugh you child."
"Ohhhhh shut the f*ck up." (this is harsh but I was already irritated at this point)
...were some of the things I repeatedly said aloud while listening to the book in my car. She was THAT bad for me. I just couldn't stand her. I actually found her friends and sister far more interesting and tolerable.
I was ready to mark this as DNF but I read one review that said the ending was heartwarming. I had to see for myself so I skipped a couple of hours only to find that it was underwhelming. I realized I was far too uninterested to find it redeeming in any way.
It wasn't all terrible. Just okay. Definitely not for me. The narrator was great though so gotta give props for that.
It's not that it's a bad story. The premise is promising. I just find the protagonist annoying. Have I been reading middle grade books with unrealistically mature characters? I don't believe so. They made plenty of bad decisions here and there but they weren't petulant. I really didn't like the lead in this one. Decisions, actions, thoughts... I couldn't believe I was listening to a book about a 13 year old girl. She sounded way younger than that. At some point I cheered for the adults who acted like villains towards her because on some level I felt like she deserved it.
"Because you're being childish!"
"Ugh you child."
"Ohhhhh shut the f*ck up." (this is harsh but I was already irritated at this point)
...were some of the things I repeatedly said aloud while listening to the book in my car. She was THAT bad for me. I just couldn't stand her. I actually found her friends and sister far more interesting and tolerable.
I was ready to mark this as DNF but I read one review that said the ending was heartwarming. I had to see for myself so I skipped a couple of hours only to find that it was underwhelming. I realized I was far too uninterested to find it redeeming in any way.
It wasn't all terrible. Just okay. Definitely not for me. The narrator was great though so gotta give props for that.
March 16, 2019
This is not the kind of children's book that adults love. Or at least, not this adult. The premise is interesting, and I think little girls may very well love it. But it seems like a fairly standard one-dimensional story of a misfit girl, rejected by her conventional family, battling mean girls and mean teachers. Only this story has a genie.
Audiobook via Audible monthly freebie. DNF at 10% after about an hour and a half of audio. The performance by Jayne Entwistle is very good, but not as inspired as her delightful readings for the Flavia de Luce series.
Audiobook via Audible monthly freebie. DNF at 10% after about an hour and a half of audio. The performance by Jayne Entwistle is very good, but not as inspired as her delightful readings for the Flavia de Luce series.
March 13, 2019
This was brilliant! And it was so funny. The narrator for this was one of the best I've listened to, and I caught myself actually laughing aloud at several moments. Nothing earth-shattering as far as plot goes, but that's not really what I look for when reading a middle-grade book. I just want something fun, light-hearted, and charming where I'm relatively convinced the good guys are going to win in the end. This delivered all of that and then some.
September 4, 2019
Fun genie plot, plucky heroine that you can't help but love. Love that my son is reading books about girls. Talks equally about how amazing both girls and boys are in different adventures, and how girls are good at this and that. Good adventure, fun historical setting.
April 4, 2019
Fun audiobook
April 27, 2020
This was cute, but INCREDIBLY frustrating!!!
Huge fan of the genie and his family though - I'd read more about them!
Huge fan of the genie and his family though - I'd read more about them!
October 3, 2018
Julie Berry has done it again, creating a middle-school fantasy book that is funny, full of exciting adventure, and heart-warming.
Berry proves repeatedly that books aimed to young readers need not condescend to the reader. Her protagonist is young, but at no point did I feel like this book was trying to be written for young kids.
Maeve Merritt is a fiesty British girl who is sent to a finishing school to help her learn to be an upright lady. She dreams of playing sports like the boys. She is quick to use her fists to solve her problems, and she feels fettered about the role that girls/ladies are allowed to play in her society.
When Maeve finds a sardine tin that is home to a ill-mannered djinni, her adventures begin and she is soon joined by her roommate Alice, an orphan boy, and a number of other people trying to get her prize from her. Maeve is so likable--albeit so flawed. Her growth in this story is wonderful.
At multiple points in the story, I thought Berry had turned British--from the descriptions of the foods they eat in the book, to the phrases they say, to historical references--this book is pure Brit. I assume a lot of research went into making her story so believable.
Wishes and Wellingtons is an audible original--meaning it was only produced as an audio book. There is no print version. The language is so delicious, as well as the names--"Miss Salamanca's Boarding School for Upright Young Ladies"-- it is such a pleasure to listen to the book's narration.
Jayne Entwistle does a fabulous job as the narrator--she's narrated enough of Berry's books that the author/narrator seem like a natural pairing.
Highly recommend for all readers young and old who enjoy an engaging fantasy story.
This would also make a wonderful listen for a road trip--a story that will hook all ages.
Berry proves repeatedly that books aimed to young readers need not condescend to the reader. Her protagonist is young, but at no point did I feel like this book was trying to be written for young kids.
Maeve Merritt is a fiesty British girl who is sent to a finishing school to help her learn to be an upright lady. She dreams of playing sports like the boys. She is quick to use her fists to solve her problems, and she feels fettered about the role that girls/ladies are allowed to play in her society.
When Maeve finds a sardine tin that is home to a ill-mannered djinni, her adventures begin and she is soon joined by her roommate Alice, an orphan boy, and a number of other people trying to get her prize from her. Maeve is so likable--albeit so flawed. Her growth in this story is wonderful.
At multiple points in the story, I thought Berry had turned British--from the descriptions of the foods they eat in the book, to the phrases they say, to historical references--this book is pure Brit. I assume a lot of research went into making her story so believable.
Wishes and Wellingtons is an audible original--meaning it was only produced as an audio book. There is no print version. The language is so delicious, as well as the names--"Miss Salamanca's Boarding School for Upright Young Ladies"-- it is such a pleasure to listen to the book's narration.
Jayne Entwistle does a fabulous job as the narrator--she's narrated enough of Berry's books that the author/narrator seem like a natural pairing.
Highly recommend for all readers young and old who enjoy an engaging fantasy story.
This would also make a wonderful listen for a road trip--a story that will hook all ages.
January 24, 2020
Well it's a children's story and I'm not a child, but I kind of enjoyed this book. It had some wholesome moments, a little bit of mystery and a happy ending.
I can't complain, but I can't say this was a great book either.
I can't complain, but I can't say this was a great book either.
March 14, 2019
Audiobook. I needed a pick me up, and this was just that. Sweet.
April 23, 2021
This was a decent story.
It’s always a dice roll on a YA story for me and this one, I think was more of a Middle Grade then YA, like I had originally thought. But I can’t manage to DNF a book, so here we are.
Overall, however it ended up being decent, quite possibly because of the genie. I found his parts to be the best and really felt let down when we didn’t delve deeper into his and his family story.
What made it even more fun is how the genie constantly pouted at Maev for her wishes not revolving around world domination or immense riches. That made me wonder about what masters did he have in the past? What kind of histories was he a part of? More! I wanted more but alas, there wasn’t more.
Maev as a character was ok. She’s innately a good person with good dreams and a good role model for teens. Albeit a bit rebellious but hey, at that age, all I wanted to do was to be rebellious so as expected. But reading it as an adult, she as a character did not fascinate me as much as I hoped.
Same goes for her supporting cast of friends.
All the “proper tropes” and “moral lessons” are there and I’m sure those will read as educational to a younger audience, so not knocking those lessons in the slightest.
Overall, I’d say if this is a read along with a kid, it might be a solid adventure.
Although, there are better picks out there: Fablehaven, Percy Jackson, Alchemyst are some that come to mind.
Although consider: a Genie. There is a genie here. The kind who lives in a sardine can. Also grumpy most of the time.
Make your pick :)
Roman
It’s always a dice roll on a YA story for me and this one, I think was more of a Middle Grade then YA, like I had originally thought. But I can’t manage to DNF a book, so here we are.
Overall, however it ended up being decent, quite possibly because of the genie. I found his parts to be the best and really felt let down when we didn’t delve deeper into his and his family story.
What made it even more fun is how the genie constantly pouted at Maev for her wishes not revolving around world domination or immense riches. That made me wonder about what masters did he have in the past? What kind of histories was he a part of? More! I wanted more but alas, there wasn’t more.
Maev as a character was ok. She’s innately a good person with good dreams and a good role model for teens. Albeit a bit rebellious but hey, at that age, all I wanted to do was to be rebellious so as expected. But reading it as an adult, she as a character did not fascinate me as much as I hoped.
Same goes for her supporting cast of friends.
All the “proper tropes” and “moral lessons” are there and I’m sure those will read as educational to a younger audience, so not knocking those lessons in the slightest.
Overall, I’d say if this is a read along with a kid, it might be a solid adventure.
Although, there are better picks out there: Fablehaven, Percy Jackson, Alchemyst are some that come to mind.
Although consider: a Genie. There is a genie here. The kind who lives in a sardine can. Also grumpy most of the time.
Make your pick :)
Roman
April 12, 2022
Hard not to love so many of the characters in this great story. It will always hold a special place in my heart now since this was the first book our five year old son and I read and then discussed for our own mini bookclub. Lots of interesting things to talk about before bedtime with this one!
April 20, 2019
A cute little YA slice of fantasy about a Victorian-era girl who finds a magical wish-granting genie in a sardine tin.
While the world is cute and sufficiently British, the plot is a little slow-going and doesn't generate needed momentum. The girl that finds the genie, Maeve Merritt, is an engaging enough tomboy-esque character who burns through her first two wishes fairly quickly so a lot of narrative drive is lost early. What's left is a somewhat slapdash hunt for the person that has stolen the magical sardine tin.
Enjoyable overall, but a bit of a lost opportunity given that a lot more could have been done with the premise of the three wishes--especially given the dire warnings given out by the genie early in the story.
While the world is cute and sufficiently British, the plot is a little slow-going and doesn't generate needed momentum. The girl that finds the genie, Maeve Merritt, is an engaging enough tomboy-esque character who burns through her first two wishes fairly quickly so a lot of narrative drive is lost early. What's left is a somewhat slapdash hunt for the person that has stolen the magical sardine tin.
Enjoyable overall, but a bit of a lost opportunity given that a lot more could have been done with the premise of the three wishes--especially given the dire warnings given out by the genie early in the story.
February 25, 2020
4.5 ⭐
A fun middle grade adventure set at a boarding school in the late 1800's. I really enjoyed the hijinks our main characters get up to and the underlying themes of friendship, morals, and individuality. I am also a huge fan of Jayne Entwistle!
A fun middle grade adventure set at a boarding school in the late 1800's. I really enjoyed the hijinks our main characters get up to and the underlying themes of friendship, morals, and individuality. I am also a huge fan of Jayne Entwistle!
September 8, 2019
Fun middle grade with a good premise but there were a lot of loose ends that never got tied up. Pacing was a little off. Liked Alice.
April 1, 2020
This was a really funny and cute book, I really liked the characters too, would love to own and will recommend :)
August 3, 2020
Ok this really was a good story - I got it free on Audible a listened to it in a few days. Sooooooo I only gave it 3 stars because it gave me anxiety- like the whole time. Maeve Merritt is a 13 year old Tomboy attending a girls comportment school in London in 1896. She longs for Cricket games and traveling the world, but petticoats and embroidery are not on her priority list. She seems to get in trouble more often than not and one such occasion brought about her searching through trash in the back of the school. She finds herself face to face with none other than a magical genie. I’m not sure that finding the genie was really worth it since it seemed to bring about one problem after another. Maeve constantly makes terrible decisions and gave me severe anxiety! I’m much more like Alice than Maeve! Anyway it’s a cute story without a dull moment and without Maeve EVER behaving at all! I think that having a 13 year old child myself made it harder for me to appreciate Maeve’s constant need to misbehave.
August 20, 2020
A fun and adventurous story for middle grade readers!
November 28, 2021
4.5
Utterly precious, delightful writing! Perfect for djinni loving kids and adults alike!
Utterly precious, delightful writing! Perfect for djinni loving kids and adults alike!
June 1, 2025
Very good i liked how the girl kept running away🤣🤣🤣
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 672 reviews