Alyssa's Wishes

May 13, 2024
In the second book of Read’s heartfelt Michaels Middle School series, a student finds herself in difficult circumstances outside of her control. Alyssa and her father live in a house overflowing with things. Her father’s “ever-growing collection of stuff” has blocked Alyssa’s access to her own bedroom. Instead, she does her homework and sleeps on a couch in a corner of their living room. She never invites friends to her house, and she’s careful to hide her living situation from her teachers. Alyssa loves her father, but she finds herself wishing that her life would change.
However, she’s horrified when her wish comes true. A tragic event destroys the life she has known and pulls her apart from her father. As she adjusts to her new circumstances, Alyssa believes that her wish makes her responsible for all the damage that has been done. Read’s sensitive depiction of Alyssa’s everyday life captures the ups and downs of her profound emotional burden. Alyssa slowly begins to find a new sense of stability at home and at school, but every time she celebrates a success—like when her research paper on puppy mills does more good than she could have imagined—she feels convincingly overwhelmed by guilt.
Alyssa expresses herself in poems that occasionally appear between chapters, but it’s her thoughtful, vulnerable first-person narration that carries the deepest emotional resonance, even as it occasionally limits readers’ knowledge of her circumstances—the true extent of her father’s hoarding is muted, conveyed indirectly through details like the family’s use of bottled water as a substitute for their unreachable kitchen sink. The depth of her father’s mental illness is similarly understated, but its devastating impact on Alyssa is heartbreakingly clear. But despite these difficult challenges, Alyssa’s caring and conscientious nature and the love of those who support her create an uplifting story of resilience in the face of adversity.
Takeaway: A gentle but honest story of a family’s struggle with hoarding .
Comparable Titles: Tae Keller’s The Science of Breakable Things, Cindy Baldwin’s Where the Watermelons Grow.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A