Review: Saving Wishes by GJ Walker-Smith

For Charli Blake, being seventeen is a tough gig.
She’s been branded a troublemaker, her reputation is in tatters and she’s stuck in Pipers Cove, a speck of a town on the coast of Tasmania.
Thankfully, it’s temporary. Her lifelong dream of travelling the world is just months away from becoming reality. All she has to do is ride out the last few months of high school, which is easier said than done thanks to a trio of mean girls known as The Beautifuls.
When Adam Décarie arrives in town, all the way from New York, life takes an unexpected turn. His arrival sets off a chain of events that alters her life forever, convincing her of one thing. Fate brought him to her.
Saving Wishes is the story of a girl who doesn’t quite fit the life she’s living, and the boy who helps her realize why.

I was browsing Net Galley for a new book to start, and the cover of this one just grabbed me. I’m so glad that it did, because it ended up being a delightful story that captured my heart. The writing style was so fitting, because I felt like the characters really held their own. I’ve been struggling with reading lately, because while I love YA and NA novels, I’ve felt like the last few I read all blended together and luckily, Saving Wishes really took me out of that rut.
Charli is such an endearing woman, I was enraptured by her view on life and her ability to push through obstacles in her way. Her voice came through and it sounds silly but she spoke to the younger woman in me. The way she wanted to conquer the world with travel made me fall in love with her sense of adventure. The interaction Charli had with her brother, Alex, gave the story more dimension. I have a sincere appreciation for seeing healthy relationships with siblings in books, because I’m so close to mine.
Lets take a moment and swoon for Adam( it didn’t hurt that I love another book boy named Adam, If I Stay, anyone?!?!?). I love how sure of himself he seemed, without ever crossing the thin line to being cocky. The way he treats Charli is what really settled it for me, he was a gentlemen through and through. Maybe I’m making him sound too nice, or like a doormat, but I promise you he isn’t any of those things, he goes for what he wants, he just isn’t a jerk about it. I don’t want to give away spoilers, so I will just say you will truly enjoy the tinkering of their growing relationship.
GJ Walker-Smith has incredible ability to create characters and make you fall in love with them. She never fell into stero-types, the characters were very real and their emotions made the story a page turner. I have to recommend this book to everyone, it was that good. The best part, is its that start of a series, The Wishes Series. The second book, Second Hearts is also available, and I fully plan to start it soon. I’m sure you will end of having your breath taken away with the beauty in this book, just like I did.