How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake | REVIEW & DISCUSSION

Hey, guys! I am super excited to talk about a book I absolutely adored, which is How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake. This is a young adult novel that features two girls, one queer and the other bisexual, who find themselves drawn to one another through the lines of grief and loneliness. This is a book that deals with serious topics, such as alcoholism, but I definitely recommend you check it out because it is just so good. But let’s go ahead and jump right into the review!

Synopsis:

“All seventeen-year-old Grace Glasser wants is her own life. A normal life in which she sleeps in the same bed for longer than three months and doesn’t have to scrounge for spare change to make sure the electric bill is paid. Emotionally trapped by her unreliable mother, Maggie, and the tiny cape on which she lives, she focuses on her best friend, her upcoming audition for a top music school in New York, and surviving Maggie’s latest boyfriend—who happens to be Grace’s own ex-boyfriend’s father.

Her attempts to lay low until she graduates are disrupted when she meets Eva, a girl with her own share of ghosts she’s trying to outrun. Grief-stricken and lonely, Eva pulls Grace into midnight adventures and feelings Grace never planned on. When Eva tells Grace she likes girls, both of their worlds open up. But, united by loss, Eva also shares a connection with Maggie. As Grace’s mother spirals downward, both girls must figure out how to love and how to move on. ”

My Thoughts:

This book was the one that I needed to read. The representation was absolutely amazing for bisexuality. There were a lot of conversations about it that I really related to because it actually can be hard for people to grasp the idea that you actually can be attracted to both men and women. For example, my brother made this comment once that when I’m with a girl, I’m a lesbian and when I’m with a guy, I’m straight. Which is so not true. I am bisexual in any relationship. But it’s a concept that can seem foreign to lots of people and this book expressed that really well without sounding demeaning.

I also loved the character growth in this book because it was just so great. This book was about self-discovery and accepting yourself and loving yourself as much as loving someone else. You have to love yourself before you can love someone else and I relate to that on a deep level.

THE DIVERSITY. THE DIVERSITY. I absolutely loved that Eva was biracial. That was a touchstone to talk about racism from both sides, something people don’t even talk about all that much. There were a few discussions about getting racism from both sides. I cannot personally speak to that, but it seemed to be done really well.

This is a small thing, but it made me so happy that Eva and Grace actually had diverse hobbies compared to a lot of books. I am so sick of reading books about characters who are just super into reading. I get why. The author is super into books, but it just isn’t realistic. There is a small percentage of people who actually read for pleasure on the regular. There are people from all walks of life who are interested in things other than books, so it was nice to see some diversity in their hobbies.

I also just adored the love story between Eva and Grace. They both just work and are living the philosophy that you can’t love others until you love yourself and accept yourself, which I absolutely love. They just were so cute together, and I have resolved I need to find a girl to spend nights at the top of a lighthouse with. Iconic.

Overall, I just absolutely adored this book and it is most definitely one of my favorite reads of the whole year. I just cannot wait to read more from Ashley Herring Blake because this was so phenomenal.

And there you have it! That was my review of How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake. What is one of your favorite summer contemporary reads? Comment down below! I would love to know. And that is going to be it for this review today. Thank you all so much for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, and I will see you next time!