Review: Saving Wishes

Saving Wishes

By: GJ Walker-Smith

Buy Saving Wishes on Amazon

Rating:5/5 Stars

Blurb:

For Charli Blake, being seventeen is a tough gig.

She's been branded a troublemaker, her reputation is in tatters and she's stuck in Pipers Cove, a speck of a town on the coast of Tasmania.

Thankfully, it's temporary. Her lifelong dream of travelling the world is just months away from becoming reality. All she has to do is ride out the last few months of high school, which is easier said than done thanks to a trio of mean girls known as The Beautifuls.
 

When Adam Décarie arrives in town, all the way from New York, life takes an unexpected turn. His arrival sets off a chain of events that alters her life forever, convincing her of one thing. Fate brought him to her.

Saving Wishes is the story of a girl who doesn't quite fit the life she's living, and the boy who helps her realise why.

Review: 

This book is a beautifully written tale of love, loss and betrayal.  I've grew up in a small town where I never truly felt as though I fit in, this made it extremely easy for me to relate to Charli.  She is a unique, but realistic character that has such depth that I learned from her - as an adult!  She has such a unique view of beauty, and I feel that I will never look at nature photography the same because of this novel.

The relationship between Charli and Adam is sweet.  Considering how Charli is treated in her town, the author does a great job describing her resistance to relationships and weariness of trusting others.  Reading about Adam slowly stripping layer after layer of Charli's resistance is a beautiful process.  Charli's inner strength is heartbreaking near the end, but it shows a significant amount of love and character growth.

While reading this book, I couldn't help but highlight large chunks.  This book is full of beautiful and thought provoking quotes.  I feel fortunate in the fact that I stumbled across this book, because it's truly a wonderful read that should be in any YA library.  I can't wait to read the next installment of Charli's story.

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