book cover

Wished

by Lissa Evans

Interest age: 9 to 12
Reading age: 9+

Published by David Fickling, 2022

  • Adventure

About this book

Unbelievable! Half term is supposed to be fun but Ed and his sister Roo will be spending it with boring old Miss Filey and her disgustingly smelly cat while the builders are converting their house to accommodate Ed’s wheelchair.

Despite the lack of WiFi and TV the prospects for their week improve dramatically when they discover an old pack of birthday candles that grant real wishes. But it turns out that wishing is a complicated business and you don’t always get quite what you’d imagined. Although that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Celebrating unexpected friendships, the power of dreams and living in the moment, this is storytelling at its best: clever, compelling and life-affirming.

Ed is an intelligent, spirited protagonist who, whilst not being defined by his dependence on a wheelchair, is fully aware of some of the limitations it places on his life.

Utterly bonkers and totally brilliant; searingly funny and acutely painful; completely fantastical yet strangely believable; this crazy adventure will make you gasp, smile and maybe even shed a tear or two.

This is a story that will stay with you long after the last page has been read.

About the author

Lissa Evans still remembers writing her first joke, aged seven (it involved a hippo). She never lost her interest in funny lines, and, following a medical degree, she changed careers to become a comedy producer for radio and TV, where her credits included Father Ted. Eventually, after a decade of running a red pencil through other people’s work, Lissa began to write something of her own.

Her first book for children, Small Change for Stuart, was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the 2011 Costa Children’s Book Award. Her books for adults include Their Finest Hour and a Half, which was longlisted for the Baileys Prize and made into a recent film (Their Finest, starring Bill Nighy).

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