Title: When You Wish Upon a Star
Author: Elizabeth Lim
Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5

“Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight . . . ” so begins the wish that changes everything—for Geppetto, for the Blue Fairy, and for a little puppet named Pinocchio. The Blue Fairy isn’t supposed to grant wishes in the small village of Pariva, but something about this one awakens some long-buried flicker within. Perhaps it’s the hope she senses beneath the old man’s loneliness.

Or maybe it’s the fact that long ago, before she was the Blue Fairy, she was a young woman named Chiara from this very village, one with a simple wish: to help others find happiness. Her sister Ilaria always teased her for this, for she had big dreams to leave their sleepy village and become a world-renowned opera singer. The two were close, despite their differences. While Ilaria would give anything to have a fairy grant her wish, Chiara didn’t believe in the lore for which their village was famous.

Forty years later, Chiara, now the Blue Fairy, defies the rules of magic to help an old friend. But she’s discovered by the Scarlet Fairy, formerly Ilaria, who, amid a decades-long grudge, holds the transgression against her sister. They decide to settle things through a good old-fashioned bet, with Pinocchio and Geppetto’s fate hanging in the balance.

Will the sisters find a way back to one another? Or is this, like many matters of the heart, a gamble that comes with strings?

I really liked the narrator of this audiobook. I enjoyed her different voices and her varying inflections. I loved the relationship between Chiara and Ilaria and how close they were growing up—but I honestly didn’t care for Ilaria much. She was so selfish and self-absorbed that I had real trouble relating to her. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Pinocchio, so I came to this story with fresh eyes, and I enjoyed this new take on an old Disney classic.

Elizabeth Lim lives in New York City. When You Wish Upon a Star is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Disney in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 4/4.)

I love this series so much. I just love the idea that you can read a story you grew up with and see it in a totally different light. To create a story from the perspective of the Blue Fairy is just fantastic. She was always this beautiful mysterious woman who makes Geppetto’s dreams come true. I loved everything about this story. The juxtaposition between having a conscious and not, ties so perfectly into the story we already know. Monstero’s backstory makes his role in the original movie make more sense. Everything just ties together beautifully. This is one of those books that in this series that just makes the original tale even better. Thank you so much.
Thank you to Disney Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to listen to an advance copy of this story.

The newest of the Twisted Tales series, When You Wish Upon a Star focuses on the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio and explores the question, “What if the Blue Fairy wasn’t supposed to help Pinoccio?” The book really goes into depth about the Blue Fairy’s origin story and weaves both familiar and new characters into the story. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t love it. My main gripe is that I felt that the pace was extremely slow. I was mentally editing the book in my head while listening (“that sentence/paragraph/chapter could have been omitted…”), and by the time I was 75% through the story, I was ready for it to be over already.

Although the plot moved slowly in my opinion, I do still recommend this for readers as young as 4th grade, especially fellow Disney fans. Woven within the fantastical story are positive themes that really apply to the real-life lives of young readers, but the plot and characters take center stage. And let’s be real - who doesn’t want to read about turning into a fairy?! I wish we had gotten more of the fairy experience in the book and a little less of the small town angst that seemed to stretch on for too long. Although, I probably wouldn’t have lasted long as a fairy as I found them all (good and evil) to be too long-winded and preachy.

The narration is very well-done, and this book did make me want to go back and read any of the Twisted Tales I’d missed in the series. It’s very possible that this book wasn’t a match with me because Pinocchio isn’t one of my most beloved Disney films. I am looking forward to reading more in this series about other movies that I know by heart!

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Audiobooks for providing this Advanced Reader’s Copy!

Audiobook review - This is a fantastic addition to the twisted tales series! All Disney fans and fans of fairytale retellings will enjoy this story. The Blue Fairy is a Disney character that we don't know much about so it was great to learn her backstory.

If you love all things Disney, read this!

I love all the twisted tale series so far but I really enjoyed the Blue Fairy’s story. Her story tells the tale of her family before she became a fairy and while she is away in her fairy trial. I love that this story is focused on the fairies. We also get to see Gepetto when he was young and learn his story.

So good!

Thank you NetGalley!

I love that this story focused on the Blue Fairy this time around instead of Pinocchio. It was a refreshing take on the original story that I loved the entire time. Most of the book focuses on the Blue Fairy as a young woman named Chiara as she learns about the fairies and makes the tough decision to become one of them.

One of the best parts of this book was the family dynamic and its importance in Chiara’s story. Chiara is incredibly close with her parents and siblings, especially her sister Ilaria. I liked how the book did not only focus on Chiara but also on her sister. It had me feeling for both girls in different ways.

We also got the original tale of Pinocchio throughout the book, mainly near the end of the story. Geppetto plays an essential role in both Chiara’s and Ilaria’s lives. He was such a sweet man that I loved reading about from when he was a young man and then as an older man. It adds so much more to the story of Pinocchio, seeing more of Geppetto as a character himself. Out of anyone who deserves a child, it is definitely Geppetto.

I highly recommend the audiobook for this book. Carlotta Brentan’s narration was perfect for the story and fit both Chiara’s and Ilaria’s voices throughout their story. I’m glad that I listened to this. Another great addition to the A Twisted Tale series.

Having a teenage daughter to share these with gives me a good reason to dive in and read. I would confidently pass this one on to her feeling safe with its content.
Knowing the original tale of Pinocchio, it was nice to see the moral element of that played out in this story. Add to that a dash of the original movie with a fresh take on the blue fairy and how she came to her position as such. At times the moral rating was five stars, however the overall pace of the plot made this a three star listen for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to preview this book ahead of its publication date!