Shelly's Book Blog

The Wish Giver, by Bill Brittain, is one of those books that I had known about and seen over and over again but never read. It was a very quick read (I read it in just a few hours) but a good story. Four people go to the Coven Tree Church Social, which is an annual carnival-like event. They all agree to pay 50 cents for a chance to have one wish come true. Each is convinced that the promise was false and that he/she had been cheated, but soon after the Social the first three people want something so badly they decide to try making the wish anyway. All three wishes come true, just not in the way the wishers had intended. Whatever mysterious force that is in charge of granting the wishes seems to be very literal-minded. The results are sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always entertaining.