Sticks and Stones (The Wish Makers, #1)

by Shawn McGuire

[inlibrisveritas]

Sticks and Stones is a light paranormal fantasy book with a huge emphasis on facing your past, overcoming fears and pressure, and truly living for yourself. This was another impulse download during one of my stress induced freebie one-click fests, and I put it high on my list of books to get to because of Utopya this year and I’m so glad I did.

This is a true “coming of age” story, where a wish starts a the main character on an unexpectedly hard journey to find the happiness she wants more than anything. Mandy is a hard working girl who enjoys cooking but is incredibly caught up in doing everything right, a mistake means anguish and she just wants to be able to let go of the need to be perfect. I totally understood and loved Mandy. I get her desire to do everything right, to stay on everyone’s good side, and to stay quiet…and I get why it causes her so much sadness. And when her wish takes on a life of it’s own and becomes hard to death with, I was really rooting for her to keep pushing forward. I really liked getting to know Lexi, even when she started to make me wary because it was cool to see the side of Mandy she keeps tucked away as a tangible person. Plus who doesn’t like a genie story? Desiree, the wish granter in question, is given some depth of her own and I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were a few chapters here and there going over her past and just how difficult granting wishes can be for her. I’m happy with the way the book ended because I can’t wait to see more of her and of Mandy’s friend Chrissy.

I wouldn’t call this book an ‘easy’ or ‘fluff’ read as it does deal with a lot of different issues, but it’s definitely one of those books capable of making you smile and wanting the best for everyone. There is a lot of female directed cattiness in this one, and normally it really bothers me but I think this book showed a real purpose to it and reminded me why I hate it so much…because it really does happen, especially in high school. Maguire’s writing is easy to dive into and get lost in, and definitely makes me want to find more books by her to devour.

Sticks and Stones is great for those who enjoy contemporary with a little fantasy twist, and like seeing characters tackle those tough moments where they have to focus and improve themselves before being able to find true happiness.