Cloudwish (Fiona Wood, Pan Macmillan)

Vân Uoc doesn’t believe in magic wishes. So when her long-time crush Billy notices her for the first time after she makes a wish on a weird glass vial from her creative-writing class, she knows it is a total coincidence. Only … Vân Uoc can’t get it out of her head. And between trying to keep her parents from realising she’d much rather be an artist than a doctor, juggling the very different worlds of home and school, and surviving her International Baccalaureate, Vân Uoc does not need the distraction. Set in Melbourne and reflecting on class, race and following your heart, Cloudwish rings with an authentic teenage voice that captures the frustration of seeing the problems in your world and not being able to change them. Vân Uoc’s combination of shyness and passion is incredibly believable, and she broke my heart several times over the course of this book with her painfully accurate reflections on the way the world sees her. About bullying, friendship, first love, family drama and Jane Eyre, there isn’t a single person who is or was a teenager who won’t be able to identify with this beautiful, powerful new book from Fiona Wood. 

Meg Whelan is the children’s book buyer at the Hill of Content bookshop in Melbourne

Category: Reviews