There's a special place for children whose parents have died: Orphan Wish Island. One night a year, orphaned children are transported to the island to hear a special message from their deceased parents and make a wish for the year ahead. Miriam is one of these orphans, and from the time she's 12 until she's 18, she awaits that special night each year when she gets to wish.
Honestly, because of the description in the press release I received and the book's cover image, I expected this to be a little more sci-fi with more of the focus on this special island. However, Orphan Wish Island not really like that at all. The story, which spans six years of Miriam's life, is kind of a basic middle-grade novel about a teenager who learns some life lessons about friendship, hard work, kindness, and responsibility.
I loved that the author, Sarah Anne Carter, was inspired to write the story after seeing streetlights flicker. That detail plays a key part in the Orphan Wish Island story. I also liked that Miriam was a nice, normal kid. There's no underage drinking or love interest in this novel, unlike so many other novels geared toward tweens and teens. Miriam has a nice group of friends that actually kind of reminded me of my friend group from middle school and high school.
That said, because this novel spans so many years, things seem to happen rather quickly, and the reader is only given quick glimpses into Miriam's life. I felt like I wanted to go a little deeper getting to know the characters and maybe not have every problem in Miriam's life solved tidily within a few pages. I reimagined this spanning only one year, or dividing the book into three parts with each part focusing on one year, skipping over a few years in between. With a little bit of editing, primarily in the dialogue of the kid characters, I think this book could really be something.
As it is, I would recommend it to middle schoolers who will soon be facing some of the same obstacles and dreams as Miriam and her friends.
Orphan Wish Island is published by Histria Kids and is available to purchase now. I received a free review copy in exchange for this review.
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