The Wish

Written by: Gail Carson Levine

First line: The old lady looked wobbly and feeble.

Why you should read this book: After her two best friends leave the district her English teacher reads her extremely creative creative writing piece aloud to all her classes, Wilma Sturtz goes from being a regular kid to being one of the most unpopular people she knows, until the day she gives her subway seat up to a witch and is granted a single wish: to become the most popular person in her junior high. The charm works like a charm: suddenly everyone, boys and girls, adores Wilma, although most of them can’t explain why, and she is the recipient of forty invitations to the Grad Night dance, many of them from other girls’ boyfriends, in addition to sleepover party invitations from the most popular girls in school. Only too late does Wilma realize the implications of her wish, because middle school is ending in three short weeks, and what will happen to the most popular kid in junior high when they all move on to high school?

Why you shouldn’t read this book: You’re always pandering to the popular kids.