Book Review: You Wish by Mark Scott Piper

Make a Wish!

Review by G G Collins Copyright 2022

High school still sucks in this well-written, fast-paced YA by Mark Scott Piper. You Wish is a book for anyone, even if graduation day exists only in your rearview mirror.

Jake Parker contemplates his lot in life, “A freakin’ nobody.” So it would seem. He sits in a “pile of rejects” while waiting his turn at bat on the baseball field. It’s the same with the girls at his school. They don’t know he’s alive. And why would they? Jake still rides a bike. With nearly two years to go before he can drive, he and best friend Lester make do in Santa Necia. And to end on a high note, his parents are now divorced.

Lester and Jake have a tree house that once passed as their secret pirate ship but having outgrown their yo-ho-ho days, the two renamed it The Snark in honor of the boat built by Jack London. They sometimes play out seafaring fantasies but guard against one of their classmates catching them fearing total humiliation.

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One day while exploring the Old Addison Place, a once beautiful Victorian house now in ruins and about to be demolished, Jake finds an old ship’s lantern. His life is about to change, but will it for the better? While polishing the lamp, Jake wishes he had a pizza and abracadabra one appears on his bed.

This plunges Jake into a moral dilemma about how to best use the remaining two wishes. The boys consider the possibilities from making them all rich to world peace. Just when Jake needs it, a new friend appears on the scene. Ben Ackyack, who may be in line to inherit the Addison Place, has parked his dilapidated trailer on the estate property and befriended Jake. Little does Jake know what an important part he will play.

Ben throws a wrench in the plans for the Addison property. So much so, the police begin checking him out. Trouble is, he appears to be devoid of a past. As Ben is arrested, Jake pulls out the lantern and makes his second wish. I won’t ruin it for you, but it’s something that’s caught on video. Reporters and the FBI swoop down on Santa Necia, infiltrating every aspect of Jake’s family life. The FBI even presents Jake with a demand from the President of the U.S. regarding the third wish.

Looking for advice, Jake turns to Ben. He counsels Jake telling him he will recognize when the time is right for the third wish, “It’ll be whatever you really want. Don’t worry, you’ll know.” And when the time comes, and it is a desperate moment, he makes the right wish.