Esme's Wish

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Esme's Wish

Esme's mother has been missing for seven years. While her father is ready to move on, Esme is not. She's never given up hope that one day her mother will come home. Esme decides it is past time for her to investigate her mother's disappearance. When she finds herself at her grandmother's sea cottage, she is unexpectedly swept into the world of Aeolia. A land where dragons soar through the sky and magic exists. To Esme's surprise, her mother often visited Aeolia. She begins to trace her mother's journey, but not everything she learns will be pleasant.

This is an engaging adventure suitable for young adults, and it is age-appropriate for a younger reader. The bonds of friendship Esme forms are refreshing to read as romance does not enter the picture. I always say there is so much more to stories than developing a romantic relationship between characters. It is just as important for young readers to learn how to form friendships.

Esme was a well written and developed character. The emotions she felt as the realization that her mother spent time away from her, time that Esme would have cherished before she disappeared, made her so emotional and angry. The realistic emotions stood out to me and still linger in the back of my mind. Following Esme's adventure was fulfilling and intriguing as she discovered more about her mother and the world of Aeolia. I do wish the secondary characters had been as well developed as Esme. But given the age range this book is for I don't think the target audience will mind as much. I admit I am a highly detailed reader.

I would also have liked to see a bit more interaction between Esme and her stepmother. The reader gets a sense of how they feel towards each other, but don't ever see it fully told in the story. Esme does interact with other members of her stepmother's family, and I don't blame Esme for not liking them. Esme's new aunt is overbearing and doesn't hesitate to try and erase Esme's mother from their house.

The world-building of Esme's Wish was wonderful. I could see myself in the city of Esperance, breathing in the sea salt air and marveling at the dragons as they played in the ocean. The culture and magic system were well explained. The magic of the world was unique, and I can't wait to read more into this series to find out more about the world.

Her mother has gone missing and her father just remarried. Is seven years too long to still grasp onto the hope that Ariane will return? Or should Esme move on too and just accept that her mother met her fate and will never come home?

Esme's Wish is a story of emotion, questions, and adventure. What begins as a mental breakdown with Esme coming to reason that everyone is likely right about her mom, then takes a sudden turn and launches her into a world lined with the hope that maybe, just maybe, her mom is still alive in this world.

Esme is an easily likable character and one that we can sympathize with. Though her actions make her out to be a typical, stubborn teenager in the eyes of adults, we learn about her and realize that she is vastly misunderstood. We, as the readers, get to know her in the way that her mother knew her and therefore the treatment she receives for still believing that her mom might return is seen and felt by the readers as unjust and unfair.

The world of Aeolia is so, so beautiful. The vibrant colors and descriptions, the magic and mystery, and the creatures are all so enticing. This world encouraged my imagination to soar into the sky with the colorful and powerful dragons, just before delving deep into the waters with sirens, if the rays and ghosts didn't get me first 😉 It's definitely a world that I would love to see in a movie someday.

What I loved most about Esme's Wish is how realistic Esme reacted to finding a new world. She was skeptical, questioning her sanity, and didn't just jump into believing like typical fantasy novels. Esme's discovery of the quest was also very well done. It wasn't forced, it was happened upon by accident and though there was help from other characters along the way, I loved that everything happened for a reason other than “she was destined”. It was so much more unpredictable like that.

Esme's Wish is great for both Middle Grade audiences, and Young Adult audiences. It's completely clean, with no vulgar language, no romance, and no intense action scenes (though there is some action and mentions of blood). Overall, I was very, very pleased with this book and cannot wait for Book 2 to release!

I received this book from the author through my affiliation with Book Sirens. I was not required to write a positive review, all comments and opinions are entirely my own.

This is a LiteratureApproved.com Review.