Careful What You Wish For

by Mahtab Narsimhan

Overview

A lonely teen discovers a website that grants wishes.

Eshana is a bit of a social misfit. She feels more comfortable talking to people online than in person. One day she discovers a website that claims to be a safe space where young people can support each other in making their dreams come true. She starts talking with someone called Wise One. They hit it off immediately. Eshana admits to the Wise One how hard it is for her to make friends. The next day she goes to school and suddenly everyone wants to talk to her. Eshana is thrilled. But then, after telling Wise One about a girl who has been bullying her, she hears that the girl has been injured in a car accident. Are Eshana’s wishes really coming true? If so, is having the life she’s always wanted worth the costs?

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459834002
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	08/16/2022
Series:	Orca Anchor
Edition description:	High readability edition
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	1,083,131
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.25(d)
Lexile:	HL550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Mahtab Narsimhan is an internationally published, award-winning author of over twenty critically acclaimed books. Mahtab writes for all age groups—from picture books to young adult novels—many of which have been shortlisted for the Silver Birch, Red Maple, SYRCA, MYRCA and CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens awards. She is deeply committed to representation and inclusivity in her work.

Editorial Reviews

Young adult readers will enjoy Eshana’s personality, the fantasy angle of the plot and the page-turner quality of the book as they wonder just what she’ll wish for and, more importantly, how that wish will be answered. Highly Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

There’s a quick pace and steady pulse to this brief story, and the ending is ultimately satisfying. The book presents basic lessons in cybersafety as well as overt positive moral messaging about being kind and grateful.

Booklist

09/01/2022

Gr 8 Up—A hi-lo retelling of "The Monkey's Paw" for the modern teen. Eshana, a bullied 10th grader, stumbles upon a strange fairy-tale—themed website called I-WISH. The creator of the website claims to be able to grant wishes. Eshana's wishes begin to come true, but they come at a cost. Her personality starts changing, becoming first rude and then cruel. When her final wish puts her family in danger, Eshana learns who her real friends were all along. Narsimhan succeeds at creating a story for teens who are reading at a lower level without infantilizing the content. Although the shortened form necessitates a more simplified story, the characters and concerns ring true for modern teens, some light swearing included. The author reflects her own South Asian heritage in Eshana's story, which resists the mistaken belief that stories for struggling readers need to remain as culturally and linguistically narrow as possible. The chat room—style website that Eshana discovers reads as a little dated, since most modern teens stick to app-based social media sites, but this throwback isn't too jarring. VERDICT An excellent choice where hi-lo fiction is needed.—Jeri Murphy

School Library Journal

2022-07-13
A mysterious website grants wishes…but not without cost.

After a bad day at school, 10th grader Eshana Mehra comes across a website called I-WISH, described as a safe platform for meeting people. She chats with another user, who offers a veiled warning that the site isn’t quite what it seems, but when Wise One, the site’s guide, tells her to ask for something, Eshana wishes to have plenty of friends. The next day, other students go out of their ways to talk to her, and Eshana is emboldened to ask I-WISH to stop a girl named Cara who’s been bullying her. The following day, Eshana learns that Cara was badly injured in a car accident. At the same time, Eshana finds that she is unable to keep herself from saying exactly what she’s thinking, even if it’s hurtful. She decides to make one last wish and then never visit the site again—but the price exacted by Wise One may be too great to bear. Eshana asks her friends Pia and Tito to help her shut the site down for good. This novel will engage reluctant readers who enjoy real-world–based fantasies. Eshana makes questionable decisions about online safety and revenge but learns from her mistakes. Eshana is of Indian descent; Tito uses they/them pronouns.

A satisfying tale about defeating an online predator and realizing the value of true friendship. (Fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews