A fantastic, thought provoking book. Although I had an idea what he might wish for, it was still great to watch it happen. I was trying to think what I might wish for, and I couldn't - eighteen is so young to have to decide something that important! I'm almost glad I've never had to make a decision like this one.
Norie may be my favourite, but all the characters were good in different ways. I felt very sorry for Eldon's mother, trapped in that situation. Not something anyone should have to go through.

Thank you netgalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me to read.

I was alllll over this synopsis. I love the idea of a small town with a secret like wishes...sadly it was quite disappointing.

Eldon was a hard character to like and I’m not sure I ever really did. He acts before he thinks and often his actions are harsh words and punching. There are some other characters who had promise, but Eldon doesn’t let them get close enough to be helpful.

Plot wise, it was sloooooooooow. I did like Eldon going around and asking people about their wishes. I was intrigued to know what happened at the end, but I did spend a lot of time wondering if I could DNF. Especially when I reach the last few chapters and everything just fizzled out.

Overall, it was an interesting idea, but I don’t think this author’s books are for me.

**Huge thanks to Sourcebooks for providing the arc free of charge**

I love books with magical realism and was really intrigued by this premise. I was curious to see where Sedoti would go with this idea, and while I was not disappointed, I was not blown away either.

•Pro: I was immediately pulled in this story. I thought Eldon had a great voice, which was perfect for this story, and I liked being in his head.

•Con: I don't exactly know why, but the middle of the book seemed to drag a little. Maybe the book was too long?

•Pro: I was really surprised and pleased with the ending.

•Pro: I did find myself feeling quite a bit of sympathy towards Eldon, when his life was so negatively impacted by the wishes. He lost his social status, athletic status, and even more due to wishes. I could totally understand his reluctance to embrace his wish.

•Pro: This wish was probably the biggest decision Eldon ever had to make, and it was important that he struggled with it, because it was about more than the wish. This was him making a grown up choice and marking that passage from childhood to adulthood. Eldon's immaturity was addressed in many different ways, and I did think that he grew some during the story. He had a long ways to go, but he was slowly making progress.

•Pro: Ebba! I adored all the things I learned about Eldon's sister and wished with my whole heart that we could have gotten to know her better.

•Pro: The Wish Histories were fabulous! It was an interesting way for us to examine the cause and effect related to other people's wishes. I found these passages very insightful, and they left me really contemplating the saying, "be careful what you wish for".

•Pro: There are some really touching moments shared between Eldon and his family and friends.

Overall: I enjoyed being a part of Eldon's journey as he struggled with how to use his wish. This concept was intriguing and left me with a lots of things to consider.

In the desert town of Madison, not to far from Area 51, the town attempts to look innocuous, though it is hiding a big secret. Residents of this town are granted a wish on their 18th birthday. Eldon's birthday is fast approaching, but he is deeply conflicted about what he wants to wish for and if he wants to wish at all. His sister was in a horrific accident and his mother demands that his wish have something to do with her. Eldon isn't quite sure if that is what he wants. As Eldon researches other town member's wishes, he begins to question the system and the worth of a wish.

I enjoyed this novel. I felt that Eldon grew, even when other characters couldn't see it. I found it fascinating when the story explored other character's wishes. However, at times, it felt like a thinly veiled manifesto on religion, which hammered the reader over the head. All in all though, I enjoyed it.

This coming-of-age novel about self-discovery, wishing, and finding your path in life is excellent! It will be a great addition to our library!

This book was not at all what I was expecting. It ended up being much darker and much more thought provoking than I ever would have thought. There were lots of times where I thought I had it figured out, but then something would happen that totally threw me off course for awhile. Even though I knew by the end what Eldon was going to wish for, but how he got there and the aftermath was not what I expected.

Eldon was not exactly a likable character, in fact he is pretty self-centered and a jerk most of the time, but you also can’t help but feel sorry for him and also somewhat endearing. You still end up rooting for him even when he is acting like a complete idiot. For most of his life he was popular and well liked by his peers, (at least in his eyes) and then boom senior year, when his classmates start wishing to be popular and the best on the football team, his life is totally turned around. He also has experienced a lot of tragedy in his life, some of it due to the wishes of his parents, but also the recent loss of his younger sister. The pressure to make the right wish is huge on this kid, so no wonder he is a little messed up and hard to figure out. But as you can expect he does a lot of growing in this book, and it is more about his journey than the wishing in the end.

The fact that Madison is a small town adds to the story. Small towns are hard, because everyone knows everyone and knows everyone’s secrets and business. This really adds to the story. It also makes sense when you factor in the keeping the wishing a secret as well.

This whole concept of the wish on your eighteenth birthday was fascinating. Eldon spends a lot of time talking to others about their wishes and how their lives were changed by it. There are chapters that tell these stories which were also fascinating. Even those who spend a long time on the wording of their wishes often do not end up happy in the end. There were also some tragic consequences of their wishes. The secrecy around the wishing and the town’s need to keep it a secret also affected how the wishes worked and how people misused them. There is some deeper meaning to the wishes and commentary on society and what makes us happy. It is not always what we think it will be.

This was a great coming of age story, where the character learns a lot about himself and his place in this world. The magical realism really works in this story and at times I found myself wondering if the wishes were really granted or if people’s belief that they were was what was really going. A very well crafted tale that will make you think.

Eldon lives in a small town in Nevada with a big secret. When you turn 18 you get taken to a cave in the mountains and can make a wish. Your wish can not impact you outside of town, but you can wish for money or beauty or popularity. Eldon is nearing his 18th birthday and struggling with what to wish for. His mom is pressuring him to wish for something to help his younger sister who is in a vegetative state after being hit by a car, but Eldon doesn’t believe anything can help her.

This was such a wasted opportunity of a book. The premise is interesting with a town able to wish, but that isn’t even fully explored. There is no known source of the wishes or history of how it came to be. The town just goes on as if there has always been wishing. Eldon explores people’s wishes and the consequences of them which are almost always negative. I wanted more about the wishes. The stories about why people wished for what they did and how a little wording made all the difference on the outcome was interesting.

The second misstep was the title. Seriously you have a Princess Bride reference as your title but don’t tie that into the story anywhere? Why not?? The title was the whole reason I picked up the book as I love Princess Bride.

The third misstep was the main character of Eldon. Plain and simple Eldon is an asshole with no redeeming qualities who needs a big personality change for his wish. He treats everyone terribly and I am not sure why he has friends. He even gets mad at his best friend when he likes a girl. He treats his ex-girlfriend like trash. He dumps on a girl he slept with at a party. He treats the rest of the football team like they are the enemy simply because some of them wished to be more popular or better at football and have taken his place at the top of the school hierarchy. The only redeeming quality he has is his love of his little sister, but even there he is an asshole. Basically Eldon is a giant douchebag and wasn’t fun to read about at all.

Then you have the wishing itself. Eldon agonizes over his wish. He doesn’t know what to wish for. He explores past wishes to see what happens. He sees the consequences of not wishing well. But he also sees that some people were very smart about their wishes and did get what they ultimately wanted. So what does he do? He plays god and wishes the wishes away. He takes away something special from the entire town. He makes a decision that can’t be taken back and doesn’t just affect himself. Again he is an asshole.

This was a waste of a read so why did I finish it. I wanted to see what Eldon would wish for. I kind of guessed what was going to happen and then it did and just reinforced my opinion that this book was a waste of paper.

I received it from Netgalley.

In the Mojave Desert there is a small isolated town where everyone is granted one wish when they reach the age of 18. This is the story of a boy who is approaching the date of his big wish and is methodically researching residents' past wishes in order to try to make a good decision when he makes his wish. Disturbingly many later wish they had never made a wish.

This book was just not my cup of tea and I was not able to finish it. I think that it would be a great book for someone else. Thank you for this opportunity, though!

Absolutely loved this book

I always wondered the consequences of getting a wish. This book was amazing. I think everyone who reads it will enjoy it

As You Wish is a cautionary tale about getting what you want especially at an age where you don't even truly know what you want.
In Madison, a small town outside of Rachel (UFO headquarters) Nevada, each citizen gets a wish on their 18 birthday. The wishes run the gambit of normal things such as love and money, but manty wishes are deeper like keeping their father's business running. Eldon is about to turn 18 and he doesn't know what to vote for, but everyone else seems to have an idea. Eldon must decide who he is and how he wants to change his life.
Sedoti shows what it's like to be a teen and adds something huge on top of their normal lives (rather akin to picking a college and choosing a path of study). The novel chronicles how each teen deals with this immense privilege/chore reaching back into the town's history as well as present day stories. We see a variety of wishes and dreams and how they work out for each person. This lets us into each person's head or just a bit proving, once again, we don't know what's really going on inside someone.
While I did call Eldon's wish, before he ever decided what he wanted, I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. The ending backs up one of the morals of the books and I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Truth be told I was a little nervous going into this book because some of the other reviews were less favorable but I absolutely loved this story from start to finish!

Eldon isn’t your typical protagonist, from the beginning he’s every bit the anti hero who coasts through life with more than just a chip on his shoulder. He hates his town, he hates how his ex moved on, he hates the kid responsible for hurting his family and most importantly he hates the responsibility that comes with the tiny bit of magic that comes with the ability to make a wish on his birthday.

The entire journey of him evolving from this kid who is every bit a jerk to something a bit more was great to read and the concept of the wish is one of the most interesting ideas I’ve read in a long time. Seeing other characters deal with what they choose and the joys or regrets that followed them throughout their life was a nice break from the usual ya trope where magic solves everything because for some in this case, it did more harm than good.

The concept of religion as a foil to magic was also a fascinating addition as it created another layer of the concept of prayer and miracles against that of a wish granted by an unknown force and how one could balance the two if they chose to or not and how one impacts the other in terms of faith and luck.

I recommend this book to anyone willing to read something different that will leave them wondering what they would wish for, if they choose to have a wish at all.

**thank you to netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

While this was not the best book I've read recently, I did enjoy it. The small town vibe was really charming, and it was almost mysterious. I liked the fact that this was a secret space where visitors weren't really allowed. Also, the premise itself was very clever, and I hadn't read anything like this before. It was a bit too slow at first, but it picked up towards the middle. It was really interesting to read about all of the characters and their wishes. There were some parts that were very poetic and well-written, but the style of the book overall did not grab my attention that much. I did not enjoy the main character/narrator all that much, and he was a bit unfriendly. I personally am drawn towards nicer people, so I couldn't really relate to Eldon.

DNF 8% - It just didn't grab me from the beginning. The narrator seemed judgmental and annoying. The premise is interesting, but the set-up was lacking.

Imagine, if you will, the ability to make a single wish and to have that wish come true. Now imagine having that incredible power (or curse, depending on which way you look at it) at the age of 18. In Madison, Nevada, that’s exactly what happens. Each resident celebrates something called Wish Day, where on their 18th birthday, they get to visit the wishing cave and have their one wish granted. The entire town it seems is built on wishes of the past, but there’s an undercurrent of unhappiness that permeates everything from the landscape to the buildings to the residents. Granted wishes are dreams come true, aren’t they?

As You Wish had such an interesting and unique premise that I immediately wanted to get my hands on it as soon as I heard of it. And for the most part I enjoyed the heck out of it. The entire storyline surrounding the wishes was something I’ve not read prior to this, and I loved that it got me thinking. At 18, I’m not entirely too sure that any wish I made would have had any sort of impact, other than a selfish one, and such is the case with many residents. And many of them regret it. It seems only a handful of people are truly happy with their one and only shot at having a wish granted, and I’m still thinking of what my 18 year old self would have done with that incredible responsibility.

The characters were also incredibly dimensional and fleshed out, and I loved how each and every one was just as quirky as the town itself. There’s also a fair bit of heartbreak, and I felt my own heart breaking right alongside Fletcher and right alongside Eldon and his family. My only gripe was Eldon and how much of a jerk he was, and continued to be a jerk through the entire book. Not just a jerk, but a selfish one, and I wanted (wished!) to see a little bit of growth on his part but the Eldon we start and end with are pretty much the same guy.

All in all, As You Wish was an incredibly unique story with a small town feel to it, and I love me a small town. Add in some magic, which this story has, and it’s almost a guarantee that I’ll love it. Or in this case, like strongly. Such an interesting book that got me thinking, and definitely one I’m going to recommend the heck out of.

The premise of this book was interesting and the plot was well driven, enough to keep me reading fast. The writing style is quick-paced and easy to read. However, Eldon, the main character, is such an awful brat. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. Overall, I enjoyed the read.

Some spoilers ahead, be warned!

A town where wishes can actually come true. On the surface it sounds fantastic, but I've seen enough Twilight Zone to know that it isn't going to be as great as all that. 

The main character Eldon is struggling with his wish decision because his family has suffered for it. The whole town has some story or other about wishes gone wrong, but for Eldon, it's to do with his mother wishing his father to fall in love with her, resulting in him never being able to love with someone else. His sister is in a coma in another city and his parents are pressuring him to use his wish to heal her. Tragedy and an insane amount of pressure are no picnic, but while reading I couldn't figure out whether Eldon was an asshole simply because of these circumstances or because that's just who he was.

Eldon plays God with his wish, thinking he knows what's best for everyone when he ends the cycle of wishes with his own. Were there consequences to the wishes, some careless ones made and some even bad? Of course and I can admit that, but Eldon's pompous attitude that he knew better made me hate him at the end. He had no right to make this decision for everyone. Yes he was under pressure and no his parents shouldn't have done that to him, but I don't see it as a reason, just an excuse for him to hide behind.

Given his anger throughout the book, at his parents and the whole wish system, I thought the ending was fairly obvious with regards to his choice and yet I still hoped for more. I thought he might grow, might learn something beyond his own narrow view, but I'm not sure he did.

In the book, there are some chapters that recount the wishes of other citizens. Eldon asks about them so he can make sure his own choice is the right one. One of the stories about a man named Gil disturbed me for the content itself and for the implications. Gil came of age in the 1970's, not a great time for someone like him. He's gay and he knows it, but he struggles with it because the people in town are not as open-minded as you'd think, considering the wishes and all.

So what does he wish for? He wishes for all of his homosexual feelings to go away. This backfires when he realizes that wishing away his liking boys doesn't mean he'll automatically like girls. This wish, to Gil, backfired and made him lonely and sad and empty. That's a horrible way to look at it because it makes it sound like people that are asexual are missing something in their lives when that's not true. It disgusted me, to be honest, and as this occurred around 37%, made me dread the rest of the book. If Eldon is insufferable and the author is making things like this happen to the characters, then what hell can I expect next?

Well, that turned out to be a girl named Penelope, after finding out that a classmate, Fletcher, has tried to commit suicide, wishes for his suicide to fail. In this town, though, that doesn't mean just the most recent attempt; it means all of them. That was not her decision to make. It reminds me of a quote, oddly enough, from The Incredibles: "You didn't save my life, you ruined my death." She took away his free will, which seems to be a real problem with the people in this town. They make wishes that end up affecting others lives and that, maybe, is one of the most horrible facets of the book of all. 

With an insufferable narrator, some problematic content, and pacing that was slower than molasses, I didn't like this book much at all, which was disappointing because the premise had so much possibility.

In As You Wish, Eldon starts to see his small town as it really is--a place that hinges on the hope of your eighteenth birthday and ends with unhappy people.
I appreciated the honesty of this novel, the many questions and ideas it explores are relevant to most readers. I think many teens can relate to a town where it seems like everyone is stuck--a place where it is hard to believe there is a future beyond their present circumstances. I especially liked Eldon wrestling with whether or not to keep the town's secrets. I like that he asks questions. I think most teens would like this read, however readers who prefer an idyllic novel as a form of escapism may be frustrated with this novel.

I thought this book was wonderful. The book takes place in a town that grants wishes. Despite this fantastical setting, the narrator's struggles felt very authentic. I think the book makes a point of demonstrating that it's not our circumstances that define us, but our choices. Highly recommended.