Sunday, January 15, 2017

Autumn’s Wish by Bella Thorne - OPTIONAL

Thorne, Bella  Autumn’s Wish 320 pages. Delacorte Press, 2016.  $18.99.  Content: Language:  PG  Mature Content: PG-13  Violence:  PG

Autumn’s Wish is the third book in the Autumn Falls series, written by actress/celebrity Bella Thorne.  Autumn’s father died when she was fifteen and her mother moved Autumn and her brother from Maryland to their current house in Florida.  This book begins as Autumn and her friends are beginning their senior year of high school.  This is a momentous year and Autumn is nervous about where life after high school will take her and her friends.   In the previous two books, Autumn’s father left her a magic diary and a special dry-erase map.  In this book, she receives a magic necklace that allows her to travel into the future.  However, she can only “jump” 10 times.  Each time she travels into the future Autumn sees something that she doesn’t like.  When she returns to reality, she tries to alter the present events so that the she can change the future that she saw. 

As a reader who did not read the first two books in the series, this book is readable without feeling totally lost.  I enjoyed the time traveling aspect of the book and the idea of being able to see your future life.  I think readers will relate to all the different feelings that senior year of high school brings, as well as the changes in various relationships (friendship, family, romantic). However, I’m not sure how much of a draw Bella Thorne’s celebrity status is for the intended audience.  While the book takes place during senior year of high school, I don’t believe many high school seniors will actually read this book.  My 5th grade daughter is a fan of Bella Thorne.  However, I think that this book is a little mature for her, with underage drinking mentioned quite a bit.  If you have the first two books in the series, you should probably add this book so readers can see how the series ends.  Otherwise, this book alone isn’t a must-have. 

MS, HS – OPTIONAL.  Reviewer:  Nancy W.

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