Just One Wish by Janette Rallison

It seemed like such a good idea at the time, a foolproof plan, and not something that was likely to get me, say, thrown in jail. All I was trying to do was help my six-year-old brother, Jeremy, beat his cancer. He's been so afraid of his upcoming surgery that I was trying to use some of that "power of postive thinking" everyone keeps talking about.

I told Jeremy that I had a genie, and I still had two wishes left. He could use one for anything he wanted and one to make sure his surgery went well. I knew he'd ask for the new action figure of Teen Robin Hood. It's all he's talked about since he started watching the TV series.

But tere is no such thing as a foolproof plan where six-year-olds are concerned. Instead, he asked for the real Teen Robin Hood to come teach him how to shoot arrows. And now I have just a couple of days to drive to Hollywood, find the actor who plays Teen Robin Hood - incredibly hot and way too famous - and convince him to visit my little brother.

At times like this, I could use a genie myself.

I thought Just One Wish was super adorable and super funny. I've wanted to read this book since it came out and I finally got around to it now. Annika is like the greatest older sister. She loves her brother so much she would do anything for him. And the reader has no doubts because she is completely willing to drive to Hollywood to find famous actor Steve Raleigh and somehow convince him to accompany her home to Nevada. I must say, Annika and her friend get into a lot of shenanigans trying to get to Steve. Hair dye, snakes, and sneaking onto sets are all involved. I laughed so much during this because Annika does some crazy stuff. But what I also loved about Just One Wish (and what I was totally not expecting) was that is was actually really deep. I thought it was going to be really light and fluffy, but it's not because Annika's brother has cancer and that's always an undertone in the book. Also, there's some backstory to Steve that isn't all butterflies and candy. So Just One Wish was able to be funny but also contain serious topics and make it into a good message. That's really why I loved Just One Wish. It has all the things you love about books rolled into one neat package. I would definitely recommend Just One Wish; I read it in a day, so it's a quick read.

8 out of 10.

FTC: I borrowed this from my library.

2009/Putnam Juvenile/272 pages