Make a Wish

Wildfire #42

by Nancy Smiler Levinson

Jana and Shep have known each other for years. And now that Jana is almost seventeen, she wants Shep to be more than just her good friend. But Shep asks Holly to the May dance.

Hurt, Jana throws herself into a new part-time job at the department store. It's not very exciting, but there's Ross Dantine to talk to. Jana is flattered when he asks her out. She likes Ross very much, but she can't stop thinking of Shep, even though she knows it's time to let him go...

138 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1983

About the author

Nancy Smiler Levinson was born in 1938 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, she worked as a reporter, researcher, editor, and Head Start teacher before taking time to raise her two children. It was while reading to her kids when they were toddlers that Levinson first became interested in writing for young people, and in 1981 she published her first novel for young readers, World of Her Own. The first of many critically acclaimed biographies came in 1981, and since then Levinson has written a variety of well-received fiction and nonfiction for beginning readers as well as middle grade and young adult audiences.

Levinson has also contributed articles and stories to such publications as Seventeen magazine, Highlights for Children, Library Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. She has been a tutor for disabled children. She lives in California, where she enjoys reading and attending theater and symphonies.

Reviews

[Kristin King · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to re-read this book that I acquired and read back close to when it was published. I found I still liked it, though some of it is geared to a middle and high school audience. They were more innocent days.

It was actually fun to see the mention of things I tend to forget about pre-internet times. How 'bout those prairie blouses? We checked the movie schedule by getting a copy of the newspaper, and the phone was attached to the wall. Inventories were done by hand, counting items and listing them with pen on paper. There were aspects like this that made for a quick enjoyable tour of memory lane.

[Reading with Cats · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely contrast to the book I just finished in which women other than the heroine were seen solely as competition for men or were denigrated to make the heroine look better. In this book, the author could've easily made Holly the evil OW. She happily doesn't take that tired route. Instead, Holly is depicted as a kind, supportive friend to Jana. And Jana depends on and values her female friends. Yay!