“The Wish” Book Review

October 15 is Sweetest Day, which is basically a second Valentine’s Day celebrated by the Great Lakes region.

In honor of Sweetest Day, here’s a book review of a sweet book I read recently.

Nicholas Sparks never fails to produce love stories that tug at the heart. “The Wish” is no exception, which came out last year in September. If you’re a Nicholas Sparks fan or want a sweet read this Sweetest Day, “The Wish” is the perfect book for you.

“The Wish” By Nicholas Sparks Review

Maggie Dawes is a 39-year-old travel photographer who also runs a gallery in New York. Suffering with melanoma skin cancer, she is forced to stop traveling and only run the gallery when her diagnosis worsens. Being more and more worn out from her sickness, she hires a personal assistant named Mark. Weary at first of Mark, Maggie grows a close relationship with him. Mark asked Maggie a few questions about her past, to which Maggie offers telling her story. Mark eagerly listens while Maggie takes him back to 1995 when she was 15-years-old.

Maggie found out she was pregnant at the age of 15 in October of 1995. Her parents did not want Maggie to ruin her reputation in high school or abort the baby, so they sent her to live with her aunt in Ocracoke, North Carolina. Ocracoke is a remote village that does not have many people, especially people Maggie’s age. While Maggie had a rough start in Ocracoke, it completely changed when she met Bryce Trickett. Bryce begins to tutor Maggie, which allows them to gradually grow a strong relationship. It is through Bryce that Maggie appreciates Ocracoke and develops a her passion for photography.

The chapters alternate between Maggie’s current life in 2019 and the retelling of her old life in 1995/1996. What happens with the baby she is carrying to term? What happens with her relationship with Bryce? Why aren’t they together in 2019? Is there still hope for their relationship? Read the whole story to find out 🙂

Likes

Nicholas Sparks does a great job of keeping you intrigued throughout the story. I am someone who becomes easily bored after reading too much description. The book has a great balance between dialogue and description. The book also spends a decent amount of time with the 2019 story and the 1995/1996 story. In typical Nicholas Sparks fashion, there is a twist at the end that left me open-mouthed. The twists throughout the story leave you shocked and wanting to scream, cry, and celebrate all at once.

Dislikes

There was not anything major that I disliked about this novel. Maggie can be a frustrating character to follow at times because of her pessimism. However, you just have to bear with her character and allow her to grow. Once she moves past that, she becomes a delightful character to follow.

Rating

I give this novel 4/5 stars. It is not one of my all time favorite novels, but it is definitely up there. There are not many novels that leave me shocked to the point that I sit there with my mouth open and pause reading to take in what happened. The novel had me rooting for a result, which kept me wanting to read to figure out what happened. You will not be disappointed spending time reading this book.

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Sweetest Day is a fun holiday that gives the Great Lakes region an extra day to celebrate the ones they love. Whether you have someone to celebrate this day with or not, you can get into the spirit of this day by diving into “The Wish.”