The Wish List

The Wish List

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74  ·  rating details  ·  8,314 ratings  ·  479 reviews
Eoin Colfer has made millions of fans around the world with his much-loved character, Artemis Fowl, the star of his hugely best-selling series. Now, in a beautifully written novel that is already breaking records in his native Ireland, Colfer introduces readers to a lovable but troubled heroine, who has been given the opportunity for a special kind of redemption.

Meg Finn...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published July 1st 2004 by Scholastic Inc. (first published January 1st 2003)
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Levina  C.
Eoin Colfer's style can be detected from a mile away.

Whatever it is that he writes, Colfer's work will always have the markings of someone who writes bluntly humorous, technological, and sarcastic sci-fi fantasies - in other words, Artemis Fowl. He can't seem to adapt to different genres or story types.

The problem is, his style only seems to be effective when he's writing Artemis. In a book that is supposed to examine morality, and life and death, it just feels ridiculous at times. The gateway...more
Violet
It was okay. It wasn't the best but not the worst.

Okay, I'm not the type of person that believes in heaven and/or hell. (Though I do sometimes tell someone to go to hell.) I just think the all that stuff is a little over rated (if you haven't guessed all ready, I don't go to church). The whole go-to-heaven-if-good-and-live-forever-in-bliss, or go-the-hell-if-bad-and-live-forever-in-flames, is a little bit cheesy and over done. But the things that Eoin Colfer does in this book is very orignal. Wh...more
Kathy
From a blog post I wrote in 2006:

The Wish List is another Eoin Colfer creation.

The main character is Meg Flynn, an Irish girl whose Mother has passed away and whose Step-Father is pretty much an uncaring, lazy slob. Meg breaks into an old man's house with a neighborhood small-time hood named Belch but things take a dark turn. Meg and Belch end up dying.

On the way to heaven, it's discovered that Meg's soul is equally balanced between good and evil so she's sent back to Earth to try to make amends...more
Caroline
May 16, 2007 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who loved Amelie, and imperfect but happy endings
This is the type of book that Oprah usually parades around, but fortunately for Eoin Colfer she didn't find this one.

It's an old story: wouldn't it be great if you were given an opportunity at the end of your life to correct past mistakes? Thanks to some irresponsible decisions, a young girl finds herself in the tube to the afterlife...unsure where she's going to get routed. It turns out that her ledger is 100% even - she's sinned and sainted in equal numbers. So she ends up getting sent back t...more
Kyra
Dec 17, 2009 Kyra rated it 3 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: fantasy lovers
Now this is an interesting book. It dives somewhat into the realms of religion - if Satan is real or not, how he would act upon hearing the news of a soul he's trying to snatch. Meg Finn is neither good nor bad in the beginning - perhaps just mixed in with the wrong kind of folk. She has to help Lowrie with his wish list in order to get into the "Pearlies".

I believe this book to be a few steps down from Artemis Fowl. Artemis Fowl is complete fantasy and sci-fi. This book, although written with o...more
Radha Sukhu
“The Wish List” by Eion Colfer is about a young delinquent named Meg who began acting out due to her mother’s death and her stepfather’s abusive and slovenly behavior. She is killed when a break in at an old man’s house went awry and her partner turned against her. However, her soul is in limbo, and she must go back to Earth to help Lowrie, the old man, complete his “wish list” before he dies, without having her ex-partner’s soul interfere. The main aspect of this novel is the relationship betwe...more
El Templo de las Mil Puertas
"Meg nota que la situación se le ha ido de las manos. Nunca debió pedirle ayuda a Belch el Eructos, porque ahora se ve obligada a atracar el piso de un jubilado para devolverle el favor. Y no le gustan nada ni Belch, ni su perro diabólico, ni que el anciano señor Lowrie tenga un sueño ligero. En pleno “trabajillo” los dos chavales mueren, pero hay un problema: Meg tiene los mismos puntos para ir al cielo que al infierno. San Pedro decide mandarla a la Tierra como fantasma y darle una última opor...more
Rosenkrantz
Summary: The Wish List is the story about Meg Finn, a 14-year old girl forced to learn to steal underneath unfortunate circumstances. At the beginning of the book, she teams up with Belch in order to rob a pensioner by the name of Lowrie McCall, but the robbery goes awry and the both of them end up dead.

Meg's case draws the attention of both Heaven and Hell because her soul trail is purple (In the book, it's explained that people with blue trails go to heaven while people with red trails go to...more
Carly
Colfer does not disappoint in this thought-provoking novel about a girl named Meg, stuck between heaven and hell, who must help old man Lowrie fulfill his wish list before her time runs out. After Meg dies in an attempt to rob Lowrie with her associate Belch, she is sent to limbo because of her rare purple aura. This means she has a chance to go back and help Lowrie in order to change her aura to blue so she can go to heaven. Lowrie has a wish list of things he’s sincerely regretted during his l...more
Amy
Dec 20, 2012 Amy added it
Meg Finn is an Irish teenage girl who dies with an even number of good and evil deeds in life. She is sent back to earth in order to obtain a blue aura and enter Heaven. She must assist the older Lowrie McCall in completing his “wish list” before he dies, which includes kissing a high school crush and spitting over the Cliffs of Moher.

This book was extremely entertaining and engaging. I laughed out loud at several passages, and I found myself invested in the outcome of Meg Finn's aura. I was pl...more
Brick Andreasen
The Wish List begins when Meg Finn reluctantly accompanies her sometimes-partner-in-crime Belch and his dog Raptor on a trip to rob an old man's house. The only problem is that the old man, Lowrie McCall, is still in the house, and threatens them with a shotgun before he's attacked by Raptor. During the ensuing mayhem, Meg tries to protect Lowrie, turning Belch against her, and the following chase with a shotgun results in both of them dying in a gas explosion. On their way to the afterlife, Bel...more
Lalitha
Sep 04, 2012 Lalitha rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone
I read The Wish List at a time when I was feeling low and wondering whether there was any point in being nice and good to people. So I picked this book up because I needed to chase the gloom away, and I had found Artemis Fowl entertaining. I was expecting more of the same brand of tongue-in-cheek humour, and I wasn't disappointed.

The basic premise of the book is a girl who is balanced on the hair's breadth line between being good and being bad; and has a chance to go back into the world and try...more
Candice Beever
I was thoroughly unimpressed with this book. I picked it up because I loved the Artemis Fowl series and wanted to read something else by Colfer. This being one of his earlier books, I think I picked the wrong story to start with. I'll have to try something more recent later.

On to the story:

I liked the concept. The idea of a person being perfectly balanced between heaven and hell is intriguing. And the general plot of Meg having to go back to Earth and earn herself some extra good points to get h...more
Nena
Audiobook Version:

This is now one of my favorite books. I haven't laugh this hard since Sophie Kinsella's Can You Keep A Secret?. If you have a strict Catholic 1960's upbringing like I had, you will "get" this even moreso and laugh even harder.

Even though there are really no offensive words, extreme violence or explicit adult scenes in here, I think everything funny in this story would be kind of wasted on kids. The humor is very sophisticated without being obnoxious or foul. The dialogue is sh...more
Adam
I, as well as many, am fascinated with stories that portray Heaven and Hell in a new light. The Wish List does just that and has the death of Meg Finn and Belch Brennan, during a burglary, serve as a catalyst for the rest of the story. Megg has an equal amount of good and bad deeds so she has to go back to Earth and help with an old man's dying wishes. Meanwhile Belch is sent to Hell and then back to Earth to stop Megg. I have always been told that dark characters are fascinating, but this novel...more
Matt Sands
Death. Just one word can change someone's life. Can somebody really be too good for hell and too bad for heaven? Meg Finn can and she is. After dealing with her mother's death, Meg's abusive father shuns her and kicks her out of her own home. As a drifter, she does what she can to survive, but sometimes people make mistakes. After being forced to help Belch Brennan rob an old man, the situation ends in a disaster. Were it not for Belch shooting the gas tank, him, Meg, and his dog, Raptor, would...more
Ellen
Mar 29, 2010 Ellen rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: readers who enjoyed Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series.
By the end of the first chapter, 14 year old Meg Finn is dead, along with her 16 year old partner in crime, Belch, and his ravening pit bull of indeterminate age. Her last living act--robbing an old age pensioner. Belch's last living act--miscalculating the effect of shot gun pellets on a rusty old gas tank.

Next time we see Meg, she's a spirit awaiting her fate. But when her good and bad deeds are totaled--surprise!--it's a tie. Apparently there's no tossing a coin in the afterlife. Meg is sent...more
Elyse Bradley
Genre: Adventure/After-life/Revenge

While I have enjoyed reading some of Colfer's other novels, this one was not a particular favorite of mine. The Wish List follows 14 year old Meg Finn who's soul is caught in limbo after a short life of good and bad deeds. In order to save her soul, Meg has to return to Earth as a spirit and help fulfill the dying wishes of the old man she wronged shortly before her death. They must race to complete the wishes before their life forces run out or they're caught...more
Beverly
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Jason_W.
This is about two kids that have died from a propane explosion while they were stealing something from a man. The guy went to hell for his deeds but Meg went to Limbo. Limbo has given Meg a second chance as a "ghost" to help the man that they stole from. He has a wish list of things to do before he dies. So he gets off to go on before the Devil/Lucifer has a chance to take back Meg. Lucifer was indeed actually expecting her to go to Hell and the inconvenience has Lucifer to send a Soul Man to re...more
Stephanie Jobe
Meg Finn is anything but your normal fourteen year old. She has a terrible step father, an impressive juvenile record and she is dead. Belch is about the dumbest criminal she could have gotten mixed up with, which wouldn’t be so bad except he is also mean. Meg starts out a robber and ends up trying to save Lowrie McCall, the old man they came to rob. This change of heart is what gives her an incredibly unique situation, her good and evil tallies are exactly equal. So she is sent back as a ghost...more
Buckham Teens Library
Meg and her partner Belch are going big with their next stunt. They are going to rob an old man, named Lowrie McCall. But when they get there, Meg can’t do it, she realizes that what she is doing is wrong and leaves. Belch goes chasing after her, and he accidentally shoots in the wrong direction and causes an explosion. Belch, Meg, and Belch’s dog are all killed in the tragic accident. Belch and his dog go to hell but Meg doesn’t go anywhere. Her soul is a different color from everyone else’s an...more
Jennifer
Lately, I've been on an otherworld-fiction kick (Good Omens, The Gates, The Infernals), and what I find so amusing about stories that involve saints and demons-- and, by extension, heaven and hell-- is that these entities are usually portrayed as having human emotions and attitudes: the saints are bored from being all good all the time, and the demons are obsequious minions who are always aware of their tenuous positions of power, wherever they may fall along the totem pole in hell. It's a frame...more
Kate
The whole time I was reading this I couldn't help thinking through my teacher brain about the kids for whom this is intended. I was wondering how many of them would get all the content based on Christian, specifically Catholic, ideas of the afterlife. Colfer plays around with Saint Peter, and demons, and purgatory, and how a soul gets to heaven but most of the kids I know don't have any background knowledge in that stuff. And I suppose if they did, they'd probably be kind of religious and maybe...more
Helen Mc
The Wish List : Eoin Colfer
The Wish List is a fantasy novel by Eoin Colfer who has also written the famous Arttemis Fowel series.
This story tells of the adventures of Meg Finn, a young teenage girl killed in a gas explosion, who must return to Earth to help the pensioner she tried to rob in order to secure a place in Heaven.
Megs mother is dead and she lives with her lazy and abusive stepfather, her only living family member.
When Meg is forced to help the local idiotic criminal, Belch Brennan,...more
Cindy
Casandria, I think you'd really like this one. This is from Eoin Colfer of Artemis Fowl fame. this may not be considered a literary masterpiece, but I still think it was well written. It was just plain fun to read. It kept me entertained and wanting to read more-- which means it did its job.

It is the story of a troubled girl named Meg Finn. Her mother has died, and she has lived with an uncaring step-father. Thus she becomes mixed up on the street doing petty crime with a thug named Belch. While...more
Meggen
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Paula
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Sandra Strange
Not part of the Artemis Foul series This is a weird little book. I’m not sure kids will like it. Meg and her “friend” Belch are out to commit a little larceny, burglarizing the home of an old man. But things turn serious when the old man is home: the pair end up dead. Belch, no question, goes to hell, but Meg’s last minute kindness to the man puts her soul’s ultimate end in doubt: she has one chance to end up in heaven. She just must go back to earth as a ghost and help the old man fulfill his l...more
123eric
This book is a really weird one, but it is fascinating as well. The main character is a girl named Meg who is currently involved in robberies and burglaries, and she works alongside with a boy who is notorious for such stuff. They work together in the beginning of the book to try to steal from an old man, but their plan gets disrupted when the man comes down the steps of his house holding a rifle. A dog bites the old man, causing him to drop the gun, and the girl runs out of the house near some...more
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The Wish List (Hardcover)
The Wish List. Eoin Colfer (Paperback)
The Wish List
The Wish List (Hardcover)
The Wishlist (Hardcover)

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Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father and mother, who were both educators.

He received his degree from Dublin University and began teaching primary school in Wexford. He has lived and worked all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. After the publication of the A...more
More about Eoin Colfer...
Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1) The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, #3) The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl, #2) The Opal Deception  (Artemis Fowl, #4) The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl, #5)

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