Publishers Weekly
03/10/2025
Sixth grader Emma Rockford was raised by her beloved late grandmother to believe in the magic of a powerful faerie portal that purportedly grants wishes. While on a class field trip, Emma uses instructions left by Nana to sneak away with her BFFs Kennedy and Allie to find the portal so they can each make four secret wishes. At a crucial moment, they’re interrupted by Emma’s brother, Noah, and new kid Jackson; later, Emma realizes that while her friends’ wishes have come true, her own seem to have benefitted Jackson instead. As big changes start occurring for Kennedy and Allie, Emma questions her own fate and struggles to deal with heartbreak and disappointment. She soon resolves to make her wishes come true, even if she must team up with Jackson to do it. In a playful middle grade debut, Painter (Nothing Like the Movies) employs a speculative premise to capture the joys and heartaches of adolescent physical, mental, and social shifts. Emma’s steadfast narration and organically rendered relationships deftly ferry messages of perseverance, faith, and acceptance in this sweet take on growing up. The protagonists read as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: James McGowan, BookEnds Literary. (May)
From the Publisher
In a playful middle grade debut, Painter … capture[s] the joys and heartaches of adolescent physical, mental, and social shifts. Steadfast narration and organically rendered relationships deftly ferry messages of perseverance, faith, and acceptance in this sweet take on growing up.”—Publishers Weekly
“A light fantasy that offers worthy lessons in friendship.”—Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
2025-02-15
After Emma convinces her skeptical besties to cast wishes with her at a magical spot in the woods, she’s dismayed to see changes in her friends, while her own wishes seem to have been gifted to someone else entirely.
Ever since Nana Marie told Em about the lore of four, Em has been obsessed with finding the magic portal where wishes, if delivered with the proper chants and ceremony, including a wish package, might be granted. Sneaking away from a class field trip, Em, Allie, and Kennedy find the portal, a seemingly bottomless hole in the ground. When it’s Emma’s turn to wish, someone throws a rock that hits her package, but it seems like a minor glitch. When seventh grade starts a few months later, however, Allie suddenly looks “stunningly beautiful,” while Kennedy’s braces are coming off early and she’s a popular online gamer. Em, however, is as short, flat-chested, awkward, and not-blond as ever. When annoying, dark-haired Jackson shows up taller, more muscular, blond, and with a charming personality, Em suspects a mistake—or outright theft of her wishes. Em and Jackson team up to set things right before the final wish wreaks havoc on their families. Painter uses italics, bold text, and all caps to appropriately convey the middle school drama, along with occasional light snark and honest musings on friendship and the importance of being seen. Main characters are cued white.
A light fantasy that offers worthy lessons in friendship.(Fantasy. 9-13)
