Esme's Wish
“A fresh new fantasy of an enchanting world.” - Wendy Orr, New York Times best selling author of Nim’s Island.
When fifteen-year-old Esme Silver objects at her father’s wedding, her protest is dismissed as the action of a stubborn, selfish teenager. Everyone else has accepted the loss of Esme’s mother, Ariane – so why can’t she?
But Esme is suspicious. She is sure that others are covering up the real reason for her mother’s disappearance – that ‘lost at sea’ is code for something more terrible, something she has a right to know.
After Esme is accidentally swept into the enchanted world of Aeolia, the truth begins to unfold. With her newfound friends, Daniel and Lillian, Esme retraces her mother’s steps in the glittering canal city of Esperance, untangling the threads of Ariane’s double life. But the more Esme discovers about her mother, the more she questions whether she really knew her at all.
This inventive tale, the first in an MG-to-YA series, is suited to readers ten years and over. Perfect for fans of Narnia, Percy Jackson and Nevermoor.
Esme's Wish recently won first place in the fantasy category of the 2018 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, which recognises excellence in children's literature.
Title: Esme’s Wish
(Esme Series #1)
Author: Elizabeth Foster
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction / Fantasy
Pages: 252
Publishing Date: 10/30/2017
Publishing House: Odyssey Books
ISBN: 1925652246 (ISBN13: 9781925652246)
My Review
This is a fantastical ocean adventure sweeping readers into the depths of far away, magical places.
Esme's mother vanished when she was eight years old. Lost at sea and never found, they say, everyone has moved on it seems and accepted the unfortunate event, except Esme. Here it is, seven years later, the day of her father's wedding to Penelope, and she is the only soul at the ceremony who speaks her mind against it. Of course, who is to listen to a 15-year-old girl when there has been prejudice against her mother for years.
As Esme's father and his newly betrothed wife go away for a honeymoon, she is to stay at their home, the lighthouse keeper's cottage, right by the sea. To her dismay, Mavis - Penelope's older sister, is to stay with her. Going through her memories and pictures, Esme becomes immersed in her mother's artistic world. Art canvases tell the stories of sea creatures, ancient deities of the sea, caves, and dragons.
Upon reading letters by her grandmother, Esme wants to set out to the tiny island of Spindrift, where her mother used to stay at a cottage and paint. What she finds is a trip into the past, preserved with overgrown vines on the outside and a fully equipped art studio on the inside. Her mother's notebook and more letters hint at a distant, hidden life beyond anyone's knowledge.
When wading in an incoming tide to follow a bird that stole the notebook, she is swept under into the abyss, only to wake in a lagoon of the enchanted world of Esperance. A place of myth with dragons, leviathans, gorgons, beasts with countless tentacles and other creatures. There she meets Daniel, who dreams of becoming a dragon rider and Lillian, gifted to cast songspells. The three of them become great friends and begin to follow clues and solve riddles that would give Esme some proof that her mother wasn't actually lost at sea. At the same time, many things are happening in Esperance. Preparations for a festival are underway, repairs are made due to earthquakes that riddle the area, a history curse needs solving and a prisoner escape needs capturing who may hold many of the answers.
Esme and her friends stumble from one event into the next solving her mother's mystery. Not always unscathed, they become entangled into events that involve Esperance’s present and past. As they begin to peel back the layers of events, someone may just be using them to make the next move.
Will Esme uncover the secrets that lead to her mother's disappearance?
***
Much thought has gone into creating this imaginative world with its enchanting characters and creatures. An entire history with political intrigue fused with symbolism, myth and tales backs up the world of Aeolia on which most of the plot rests and draws from.
Esme is a lovely, tenacious character who shows some real feistiness in harrowing situations albeit her otherwise calm nature. Young readers will enjoy her detective work and inquisitiveness that hurls her from gaining information, into action and on to more old history that connects to her mother. A high value of family, friendship and loyalty has been placed onto the characters and shines through the entirety of the novel.
The settings were definitely sprawling from charming to grand and beautiful. An overall sense of awe envelops while reading about Esperance, its inhabitants, and creatures. A sort of magic system is set in place where people are bestowed with a gift or talent. Certain objects have symbolism and power, when used in the wrong way, they can have horrific consequences. There are what I call ‘the wise’ kind of folk in the novel. The ones that hold answers or ancient information that the main characters have to deduce their answers from and apply in solving clues.
All in all, this was a lovely story to read, however, I personally had trouble to truly connect with it. To me, there was almost too much going on in it. The overall concept and idea are of a grand endeavor. Some events seemed to be made to fit this concept, while others fell too easily into place. There was a slight pattern of information given, event followed, information given, event followed and so on versus, painting the scene, letting the information settle and simmer for just a bit. However, this novel encompasses a grand world wherein this system may offer a more overall understanding to the reader.
Definitely a promising debut novel and beginning of a series for kids 10 and up.
I received a digital copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.
All opinions are y own.
Thank you.
