Wish You Well by David Baldacci

Wish You Well

by David Baldacci

From bestselling author and master storyteller David Baldacci, Wish You Well is a dramatic and enthralling tale of family unity in the face of adversity.

Tragedy strikes the New York-based Cardinal family when their car is involved in a terrible accident. Twelve-year-old Lou and seven-year-old Oz survive, but the crash leaves their father dead and their mother in a coma. It would seem their world has been shattered forever until their great-grandmother, Louisa Mae, agrees to raise the children on her Virginia mountain farm.

But before long their rural idyll is threatened by the discovery of natural gas on the mountain. Determined to protect her home from the ravages of big business, Louisa Mae refuses to sell, but when the neighbours hear of the potential wealth the company could bring, they begin to turn against her. And now the Cardinal family find themselves ensnared in another battle, to be played out in a crowded Virginia courtroom: a battle for justice, for survival, and for the right to stay together in the only place they know as home.

Filled with both rich humour and desperate poignancy, Wish You Well is a tale of family, faith, humanity and prejudice, set against the magical backdrop of the Virginia high rock.

Reviewed by ibeforem on

5 of 5 stars

Share
This was a sweet story about a couple of kids that are given more hard knocks than they deserve. I normally don’t like it when authors switch genres (see: James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell), but this was wonderful writing from Baldacci. The ending is a little sugary-sweet-fairy-tale-ish, but it’s forgivable.

I felt a little bit of an extra connection to this story because it is set where I live. I’m not quite in coal country, but I’m on the cusp of it. People around here hold on to their way of life as fiercely now as they did then, even if that way has changed a bit. I can also appreciate Louisa Mae’s connection with the land, since my own family made their living from the land for a long time.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 April, 2007: Finished reading
  • 1 April, 2007: Reviewed