Review of As You Wish

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce
(304 pages)

Ever since Viola's boyfriend broke up with her, she has spent her days silently wishing—to have someone love her again and, more importantly, to belong again—until one day she inadvertently summons a young genie out of his world and into her own. He will remain until she makes three wishes.

Jinn is anxious to return home, but Viola is terrified of wishing, afraid she will not wish for the right thing, the thing that will make her truly happy. As the two spend time together, the lines between master and servant begin to blur, and soon Jinn can't deny that he's falling for Viola. But it's only after Viola makes her first wish that she realizes she's in love with Jinn as well . . . and that if she wishes twice more, he will disappear from her life—and her world—forever.

Jackson Pearce spins a magical tale about star-crossed lovers, what it means to belong . . . and how important it is to be careful what you wish for.

This morning I started (and finished 4 hours later) As You Wish. Obviously I liked it, seeing as I finished it in four hours. Well, here's why.

The main characters, Viola and Jinn, were completely cute, funny, and honest. Viola seems like someone I'd like to be friends with. If she, you know, actually existed. So was Jinn. And Lawrence. And Ollie. All of the characters were fun, cool, and down-to-earth. People who could actually exist in real life. (Taking away the jinn thing, that is). They weren't fake, or too perfect. All of the characters had real life problems, like Lawrence being gay but still wanting to be friends with his best-friend-slash-ex-girlfriend, Viola. Or Viola having troubles accepting the fact that Lawrence will never love her the way she loved him. And her popularity issues. Everyone struggles with that at some point in their life.

I also found the fact that Ollie didn't go back to Arron really refreshing. I never really liked Arron, thought I did feel bad for him when Viola broke up with him, and I couldn't see Ollie be truly happy with him. I was happy that she found Xander.

The cover of this book, however, I was not completely happy with. I like the idea of stars on the background, and the fact that the girl on the cover isn't prefect looking, because Viola wasn't. I don't like the fact that the girl looks like she's in pain. She kinda looks funny. Sorry, but it's true.

I loved the struggles Viola faced throughout the novel, and the fact that she wasn't some shallow, selfish girl who just wanted three wishes. I liked the fact that, in order to press Viola into wishing, a car crash wasn't necessary. It was helping her friends that made her wish.

Another thing that I really liked was the fact that it wasn't Viola who first realized her feelings about Jinn. It was the other way around. Jinn was the first to realize that he was in love with Viola. It made the book that much better. It gave it a bit of a twist. It wasn't as predictable as most books are about that kind of stuff. I loved the fact that Viola didn't make Jinn fall in love with her by flirting, but by just being herself. She treated him as a normal person, as a friend. Not as a jinn or a potential boyfriend, but a friend.

And I liked the fact that, in the end, Viola made her own, true, friends. She did not stick with the "Royal Family".

Overall, this book was a fun, refreshing, and cute read well worth your time. Read it! You'll laugh and cry along with the characters! This book gets... FOUR SQUARES! :)

-Robyn