odd and mysterious and we think she’s magical somehow. Her father is lost in his grief over his missing and presumed dead wife. Aunt Elena is the fun-loving, kind younger sister of her mother. Aunt Vera is the grumpy, strict older sister of Natasha’s mother. Ava is the upbeat and positive youngest sister who still believes in magic. Darya is the pretty and outgoing middle sister with a wicked sarcastic streak. The cast of secondary characters is well built. My daughter and I felt very connected to her and her struggles to be seen and loved for who she is. But what happens when she gets too tired trying to hold everyone together - to be the good girl all the time? Natasha is a beautifully layered character. She’s the glue in a family shattered with grief. She’s a writer of stories without endings. She isn’t outgoing, popular, upbeat or joyful. Natasha loves her sisters but feels very removed from who they are. She’s the oldest of three girls - all very close in age if not close in personality. Once she settled in, we couldn’t read it fast enough. Partly because the last one was a really good read and partly because the story was a bit jumbled with a bunch of secrets and mysteries. Anyway, my daughter had a hard time settling into the groove of this one. It’s interesting that YA lit likes to use that concept.

We didn’t realize that it was going to include another girl looking to solve the mystery about her missing mother.

After finishing The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane (about a girl looking to solve the mystery of her missing father), my daughter picked this book up. Wishing Day was the current mother/daughter read in our house. The third will be one from the depths of her heart. The second will be one she can make come true for herself. After her 13th birthday, a young girl will walk up a hill to a weeping willow tree and make three wishes.

Wishing day by lauren myracle