The Wishmakers

October 1, 2017

Gr 3-6-A perfunctory magical adventure series starter from the author of the "Janitors" series. Ace was just trying to make a sandwich, but rather than peanut butter, the jar he opens contains a young genie named Ridge. Releasing Ridge binds Ace into a seven-day quest to save the world. Ace and Ridge soon team up with another wishmaker and genie set, Tina and Vale, who are on their own world-saving quest; the foursome ends up crisscrossing the country in pursuit of an evil adult ex-wishmaker and his beleaguered wishmaker son. There is a twist on traditional genie lore in this title: wishes are unlimited for the duration of the quest, but each wish comes with a clear consequence to the wishmaker. The wishmaker then has 30 seconds to decide if the benefit of the wish outweighs the inconvenience, humiliation, or pain of the sometimes-permanent consequence. Unfortunately, while this premise is interesting, the characters are less so. Ace is a generic protagonist who is mostly unsympathetic despite having a mysterious backstory. There's no sense of excitement in the quest that Ace is forced into, and he barely wonders at the magic that is revealed to him. The attempts to inject humor into some of the less dire wish consequences falls flat. Ridge is described as having dark skin, Martina "Tina" Gomez is described as speaking Spanish in one scene, and one other genie is guessed to be Polynesian by Ace, but the other characters' race or ethinic backgrounds are not specified. VERDICT Too frustrating to be fun, but too glib to be taken seriously, with an ending that leaves a lot unresolved questions.-Kacy Helwick, New Orleans Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2017
Grades 4-7 Ace has no memory of his life before age nine, and he longs to know about his family. When he discovers a genie in a peanut butter jar, he thinks he might finally get his wish, but he quickly learns that each wish carries a less-than-desirable consequence. He also neglected to notice that opening the jar locked him into being a Wishmaker, and as such he must complete a difficult mission that will determine the fate of the world. As he and Ridge (his genie) race to accomplish their quest, he encounters two other Wishmakers on different quests, seemingly at odds with his own, and wonders if anyone can win. With only a week to complete their tasks, the three kids crisscross the U.S. by car, train, plane, and boat, going from one bizarre, frenetic adventure to another, and always facing some strange consequences for the wishes they use. Light on plot, setting, and characterization, but full of magic, this madcap series starter will appeal to middle-schoolers hoping for weird humor in their books.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

Starred review from November 1, 2017
In a tumultuous opener, young Ace opens a peanut-butter jar and finds himself saddled with an inexperienced genie and a desperate mission to save the world.Without getting into the deeper meaning of it all (as yet, anyway), Whitesides concocts an ingenious premise. Ace, a white foster child with no memory of his real name or life before age 9, learns that he has a week to prevent a certain someone from opening a magic jar or see humankind exterminated by zombie cats and dogs. He gets as many wishes as he wants, but each comes with a balancing "consequence" that can range, depending on the scale of the wish, from permanent fish breath to the temporary loss of an arm to the death of everyone he's ever met. The dark-skinned, T-shirt and shorts-clad genie, Ridge, is there not to grant wishes (that's done by the Universe) but to explain their consequences beforehand. As if the well-known hazards of hastily formulated wishes--and the burgeoning, often hilarious consequences--weren't complications enough, the author trucks in challenges like armies of stone men and malign stuffed animals, plus other young Wishmakers--notably demonstrably smarter Latina age-mate Martina Gomez--with convergent but possibly conflicting quests of their own. Art not seen.Narrow squeaks aplenty amid high hilarity, with a climactic twist that will leave readers fervently wishing for the sequel. (Fantasy. 10-13)

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