Wish You Well

powerful character-driven historical novel

In 1940s New York City, twelve years old Louisa Mae ¿Lou¿ Cardinal hero-worships her father, a Pulitzer Prize winning writer. Lou¿s dream is to become as highly regarded as he is, but she is unaware of how little money her dad Jack earns. Considered by critics one of the best authors of his generation, Jack is considering Hollywood in order to feed his family of four.

Lou¿s idyllic world crashes when her beloved father dies in a car accident. With her mother in shock, Lou and her younger brother Oz are displaced and move to their great-grandmother¿s remote Virginia farm. The two siblings begin to heal, but a new fight to save their new home is on the horizon.

WISH YOU WELL is a powerful character-driven historical novel that provides the audience a look at the bone marrow of emotions of the key players during tragedy. Readers will take to heart Lou, Oz, their mom, and their great-grandmother. The support cast augments the tale with even deeper glimpses of the Cardinals. Although David Baldacci overdoes the melodrama and reverts to a well-written courtroom climax, WISH YOU WELL is a great look at daily survival during a period of intense grief and displacement.

Harriet Klausner

11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

bane

Baldacci is writing what? That waspish question buzzed around publishing circles when Warner announced that the bestselling author of The Simple Truth, Absolute Power and other turbo-thrillers--an author generally esteemed more for his plots than for his characters or prose--was trying his hand at mainstream fiction, with a mid-century period novel set in the rural South, no less. Shades of John Grisham and A Painted House. But guess what? Clearly inspired by his subject--his maternal ancestors, he reveals in a foreword, hail from the mountain area he writes about here with such strength--Baldacci triumphs with his best novel yet, an utterly captivating drama centered on the difficult adjustment to rural life faced by two children when their New York City existence shatters in an auto accident. That tragedy, which opens the book with a flourish, sees acclaimed but impecunious riter Jack Cardinal dead, his wife in a coma and their daughter, Lou, 12, and son, Oz, seven, forced to move to the southwestern Virginia farm of their aged great-grandmother, Louisa. Several questions propel the subsequent story with vigor. Will the siblings learn to accept, even to love, their new life? Will their mother regain consciousness? And--in a development that takes the narrative into familiar Baldacci territory for a gripping legal showdown--will Louisa lose her land to industrial interests? Baldacci exults in high melodrama here, and it doesn't always work: the death of one major character will wring tears from the stoniest eyes, but the reappearance of another, though equally hanky-friendly, is outright manipulative. Even so, what the novel offers above all is bone-deep emotional truth, as its myriad characters--each, except for one cartoonish villain, as real as readers' own kin--grapple not just with issues of life and death but with the sufferings and joys of daily existence in a setting detailed with finely attuned attention and a warm sense of wonder. This novel has a huge heart--and millions of readers are going to love it.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Surprising & Wonderful!

Don't read the synopis or any of the overly detailed reviews. Let the characters and story reveal themselves to you. You will feel it in your heart and soul. I am a big Baldacci fan and have read many of his books. I was going out of town for a few days and found myself bookless - Yikes! I went on-line just before hitting the road, typed in Baldacci as he always is good to read. I looked for a book with lots of star ratings and just cliked and purchased. I am so glad that I didn't know what to expect. The book is a marvel. It flows over, under, around and through you with a palpable and physical draw. The characters are strong and the the plot engrossing. I laughed, I cried and I loved every moment.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Excellent

I have enjoyed Mr. Baldacci's other works, but I can tell this one was special and came straight from his heart. A wonderful story.

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

A most enjoyable read. Highly recommend!

One of the most enjoyable books I have read in a long time. I felt like I really got to know the characters for all of their good, and bad.

A very pleasant read and hard to put down once I started reading it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

WOW!

I have had this book for awhile and just got around to reading it. I certainly wasn't expecting to find that it was the best book I have read this entire year. In fact, I am going to buy it for 2 family members for Christmas. It is rare that a book is so well written that you see, feel and even smell the characters and their surroundings. I hope Baldacci will someday give us more of this kind of story. All books should be this entertaining.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

I just finished this wonderful book. It takes me back to my Grandmother's house with the smell of sugar cookies in the old oven. All I can say, it's a wonderful book and will tear at your heart strings.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Surprising Opinion

I can sum up my opinion of Wish You Well in 1 word, but since I am long-winded, I will elaborate. I was furious when I found out that Mr. Baldacci had a new book coming out that was not his usual blood-pumping, nail-biting style of writing. I vowed I would not read this book. Well, I was bookless, which all book lovers know is a fate worse than death, so I broke my vow and bought the book; a decision I do not regret. One word is all it takes to sum up my opinion. EXTRAORDINARY--extraordinary characters, extraordinary setting, extraordinary circumstances, and I repeat extraordinary characters. While it will always be my preference to read books that get my blood flowing, Wish You Well, was a nice change of pace. I would have given it 5 stars, but why risk Mr. Baldacci never again writing another thriller. This book is a keeper!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Captivating

This book is full of honesty, integrity and values told very gently and with depth. It is captivating. It has real life drama. I bought it on audiotape and will listen to it again and again. I highly recommend the tape. It is very well read. I also plan to read the book. Initially I was surprised that it did not follow his previous books' storylines, but it is equally well written-- and it keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next shoe to drop.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Can i join?

"My name is Cloudspots. I was wondering if i could be medicine cat." The tom was long-furred and black with white ears, white chest, and two white paws.

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Featherlight

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Patchclaw

Sorta

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Skystorm

Quickstar

No cats here. U should advertise.

Sandstar

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Good read

A story of hardship...hope...triumph

Great story.

Who knew Baldacci could do anything other than gritty political intrigue? I sure as heck didnt. Great story telling with emotional elements. I really recommend this book. Go Giants.