The Art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

“Nobody ever feels just one way about another person, Margo. We're so much more complicated than that. I can see a million things you want from me, just like the million things I want from you. Some of them are wonderful. Some are awful. Some contradict each other, and some don't make sense at all. But none of those things matter, not really. What matters is what you do about them.” 

A while back, I picked up The Art of Wishing on a whim. I remember thinking that there weren't many books that were similar to it on the YA market. The entire concept just intrigued me. Alas, I put it on my shelves only to waste a few years in not reading it and somehow forgot I owned it. Picture this: I'm cleaning, organizing my stuff one day and suddenly it falls at me. Smacks me right in the face.

We exchanged a few words. By that I mean, I grumbled under my breathe. I was bitter for a hot minute. For some reason, it dawned on me then that I should finally read it. All it took was some persuasion on its part, aka trying to start a literature brawl with me, and I decided, "Who needs to clean when there's a book I haven't read."

So, I sat down. Opened it up. And devoured it.

When I say that I didn't move, I mean I DID NOT MOVE FOR HOURS. One minute it was light outside, the next it was dark and my muscles were mad. There was something so enchanting about The Art of Wishing that was unexpected in my eyes. I had a feeling I would like it (mainly because genies aren't altogether common in my library and it sounded like the good kind of fluffy) but I did not realize that I would be so captivated by it.

Lindsay Ribar is vastly underrated and I can't imagine why this gem of a book doesn't have a bigger fanbase than it does. Is it flawed? Absolutely--I am giving it a 3.5 for a few reasons that are just in my personal preferences--and that's okay.

My biggest complaint was that it wasn't longer but the good news is, there's a sequel to it. I also was a little underwhelmed by some characters. Not necessarily the main ones, but, there were some things that just felt like they were *there* but not actually so.

Overall, the relationships in this were genuinely sweet!

JUST SO CUTE. I CAN'T.

(And how great is Margo?) 

That being said, I think the best part of it was the worldbuilding. Which is such a huge deal, given the novels length. Ribar packs a serious punch and wastes no time on developing a richly drawn and magical experience for readers. Obviously, magical lovers will adore this world and all that is found in it.

I've always had a fascination with magical elements and exploration of new worlds, or worlds within our own, so this book appealed to me strongly from the getgo. I loved how unique it felt and found myself thoroughly engrossed in The Art of Wishing. It's so much fun and I definitely recommend it for a quick read.

Don't let my rating bring your interest down. I debated giving it a 4 but just couldn't commit to it when it boiled down to a couple of things that will, likely, be irrelevant to other readers.