When fifteen-year-old Esme Silver objects at her father’s wedding, her protest is dismissed as the action of a stubborn, selfish teenager. Everyone else has accepted the loss of Esme’s mother, Ariane – so why can’t she?
But Esme is suspicious. She is sure that others are covering up the real reason for her mother’s disappearance – that ‘lost at sea’ is code for something more terrible, something she has a right to know. After Esme is accidentally swept into the enchanted world of Aeolia, the truth begins to unfold. With her newfound friends, Daniel and Lillian, Esme retraces her mother’s steps in the glittering canal city of Esperance, untangling the threads of Ariane’s double life. But the more Esme discovers about her mother, the more she questions whether she really knew her at all. My thoughts: It's been long time since I read a book where I could get lost to the extent that I didn't want to come back to my real world with its real problems. Esme's Wish is set in 1988, but it could have easily been today. The story feels timeless and enchanting. The book begins with a wedding. Esme's father Aaron finally got tired of looking for his missing wife Ariane and decided to re-marry. Everybody seems happy with his choice of a bride. Penelope is feminine and practical, she fits in the social fabric of the village. She is very unlike Ariane whose head was always up in the clouds thinking of the next painting she is going to make. Ariane's body was never recovered, but Esme still hopes her mother is alive and so she objects to the wedding. Unfortunately, nobody takes her seriously and her life is about to change after her father and stepmother going to come back fromtheir honeymoon. Ariane decides to take a trip to her grandmother's house where she finds her mother's notebook which gets snatched by a sea eagle. Desperate to retrieve it Esme runs to the rock pools at the water's edge. One of them has the same shape she saw in one of her great-grandmother's drawings. Ariane follows the eagle and dives in. And...discovers a portal to a magic world where you can breathe under water because it is enchanted. There she travels to a magnificent city of Esperance and makes new friends Daniel and Lillian and has lots of amazing adventures at the heart of which is her search for her mother Ariane. You guessed it right, Ariane visited this magic world many times. In fact, she probably spent in Esperance as much time as in her own world. The story is a sheer delight. Who hasn't dreamt of a secret place where magic is alive? Most citizens of Esperance get a magic gift which develops in their adolescence - charming water, seeing future, healing, singing spellbinding songs and many others. Didn't you dream as a child of having a special magic ability- something that would make you stand out from others? Unfortunately, the world of Esperance isn't stable. Terrible earthquakes have been devastating it for the past seven years. The same time as Esme's mother has been missing. Perhaps there is a connection to discover and perhaps it is up to Esme to save this beautiful city with its friendly people. Esme's is a fabulous character. She is determined and fiercely loyal. Esme might come across as a bit younger than her age, a younger teenager who is coming into her own. She shows courage and intelligence in going through her numerous adventures in Aeolia and it is easy to root for her. Wonderful world-building, good pace, likeable characters, Esme's wish has a lot going for it. Any big questions? family, trust, friendship, feeling of belonging or not belonging somewhere. Highly recommended. Thank you to the author and the publisher for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion. Comments are closed.
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