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Dec 17, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

I laughed and I cried (mostly cried)...I would not typically read this type of book, but this story of hope and triumph of the human spirit had me hooked to the very end. It was well written; the characters were deep and engaging and the setting well beautifully described.

This is the story of Louisa May (Lou) Cardinal; a precocious 12 year old from New York. Her father is a famous (albeit underpaid) writer and she has a caring mother and a younger brother named Oz. When the whole More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 09, 2008

Maureen rated it:

This was a complete departure for Baldacci and I really enjoyed it. He showed a completely different side of him and his writing skill were shine. I cried, and learned about the hardships of people living in the nountains of Virginia just before WWII, with no power and hard life farming. ENJOY

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Jun 21, 2008

Christine rated it:

Really a touching story and a stark departure from his normal books. This tells of life in the mountains of Virginia and appreciation for the "simple" life.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 09, 2008

Jessica rated it:

I've never read any other David Baldacci books, so I can't comment on how this is a departure from those plots, even though it's very obvious that it is.
The story itself is well-written, with two main children characters who are forced to grow up and learn to rely on each other after they are faced with tragedy. They move from the city to a rural town in Virginia, where they first meet their Great-Grandmother, the woman responsible for raising their father.
The story follows the two c More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Sammy rated it:

Not going to lie, I didn't really have high expectations for this book. Perhaps if I didn't it wouldn't have been as good as I thought it was. You know how that happens? You set yourself up for something really great and then end up being disappointed when it's not as good as you thought it was going to be? Well, whatever, with Wish You Well I was not disappointed.

The only problem with the book was that it was a little clichéd at times, not a big deal, but a little annoying. Mos More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 04, 2009

Chris rated it:

I am not a Baldacci fan...never read another of his books. But this is not characteristic of his legal thrillers. This is a beautiful story about 2 children learning what is really important in life...and it's NOT money. I've heard that in many places this is becoming required reading at the junior high/high school, level and it should be. It would be most impactful for this age. I loved it and will remember it long after I forget many of the other books I have read. I wish everyone would More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Mar 02, 2009

Ashley added it

Wish You Well.
This is a book that made me cry, and pulled at my heart, but at the same time made me smile and really appreciate what I have before I loose it. The emotion in this book was powerfully written and motivating. It’s about an everyday family, everyday people who loose everything, but slowly learn to live in their new world and cope to the emotional turmoil that has happened upon, a young brother and sister.
I’m glad that I was encouraged to read this book, with this book’s More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 23, 2009

Shannen rated it:

Reviewing books is not my forte, so all I will say is that I enjoyed this one more than I had thought I would at first. The first couple of chapters I was, through tears of heartache, wondering what I had just gotten myself into. So, in order to calm my troubled heart, I read the end first. At least enough to enable me to keep reading. And I'm glad I did (keep reading and read the end first). It was a touching tale. It read very easily and was captivating - I stayed up until after 2am read More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 29, 2008

Dan rated it:

“You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons.” –Gene Wilder, Blazing Saddles

Apropos of nothing, I’ve been thinking of Italian Western epics a lot lately, so I thought I’d do this review with a Sergio Leone flavor.

The Good: In truth, I enjoyed Wish You Well more than I thought I would. David Baldacci is not the sort of author I usually read, but my mother, who enjoys More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2008

Alison rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2008

Tara rated it:

This is a heart felt story about people, about family. Lou and her younger brother Oz find themselves alone as their father has passed away and their mother has entered a catatonic state. They head up the hills in Virginia to live on the mountain with their great grandmother Louisa, whom they have never met, but heard frequently about from their father's stories. Their experience there is filled with trials, opposition, danger, learning, growth, understanding, friendship, love, and faith. I grew More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 30, 2007

Dawn Michelle rated it:

This was a really good book! Not your typical David Baldacci book that is for sure.

"The year is 1940. After a car accident kills 12-year-old Lou's and 7-year-old Oz's father and leaves their mother Amanda in a catatonic trance, the children find themselves sent from New York City to their great-grandmother Louisa's farm in Virginia. Louisa's hardscrabble existence comes as a profound shock to precocious Lou and her shy brother. Still struggling to absorb their abandonment, they More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 17, 2008

Kellie rated it:

Wonderful book about a girl and her brother who get sent to her grandmothers in the W. Virginia Mountains after her father is killed in a car wreck and her mother goes into a catatonic state. Very different from what Baldacci usually writes but very enjoyable. It is 1940 and the accidental death of their father sends two children, Lou and her younger brother Oz, along with their invalid mother, from New York City to the rugged mountains of southwestern Virginia to live with their great-grandmot More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 28, 2008

Pamela rated it:

Every summer the town I live in does a "one book--one community" thing where everyone that chooses to reads the same book and then has the option to go to discussion groups, etc., to talk about and often, to meet the author. David Baldacci is from VA and came to meet us! It was great--he is one of my favorite authors. The story is filled with imagery of the southwestern corner of Virginia--a very special and unique place. It also made me tired just reading sometimes...the hard work More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jul 13, 2007

Jaime rated it:

This was a sweet story about a couple of kids that are given more hard knocks than they deserve. I normally don’t like it when authors switch genres (see: James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell), but this was wonderful writing from Baldacci. The ending is a little sugary-sweet-fairy-tale-ish, but it’s forgivable.

I felt a little bit of an extra connection to this story because it is set where I live. I’m not quite in coal country, but I’m on the cusp of it. People around here hold on to t More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 05, 2009

Chelsea rated it:

Great story of triumph over trajedy

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 23, 2011

Wendy rated it:

At the young age of 12, Lou Cardinal and her 7 year old brother, Oz, have already experienced their first great tragedy. A car accident has claimed the life of their father and left their mother confined to a wheelchair and catatonic. Practically orphans, the two travel by train with their mother from New York City to the Appalachian mountains of Virginia to live with Lou's namesake, her great-grandmother, Louisa Mae Cardinal, who they've never met.

The early 1940s brings no modern luxu More...

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Jun 26, 2011

Kim rated it:

I wouldn't want to parse this book in a literature class or book club discussion, because it's fairly heavily (and sometimes heavy-handedly) laced with cliche', moralizing and stereotyping. And a profoundly obvious "happy ever after" ending. Even writing this review is risky, because overthinking Wish You Well could ruin the pleasant experience of simply taking it for what it is: a good story with well-formed characters, told in such a way that it made me care about the characters. More...

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Mar 20, 2011

Shelley rated it:

This is the story of two children whose life is changed in the flash of an angry moment. What follows is a story of undaunted spirit as Lou and Oz are sent off to live with their great-great grandmother, Louisa Mae Cardinal, in the mountains of rural, Virginia. The lessons of hard work and simplicity bring to light the strength and determination of those that make their home in the shadow of the Appalachian Mountains.

It is with Louisa Mae, that a true respect for the land is instille More...

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Mar 15, 2011

Kavyen rated it:

The story setting moves from New York to the mountains in Virginia when Lou’s dad and award-winning writer dies in a car accident. It describes the life of Lou and her brother Oz after being thrust to be cared by their great-grandmother in the mountains far away from civilization. The story has excellent promise and has all the emotional elements of friendship, trust, sadness, loss, truth, love and victory in the right proportions. The clear descriptions of the people, events and locations made More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 12, 2011

Charlie rated it:

Baldacci portrays a wonderful, moving story.

I have read several of Baldacci's books. i.e., Total Control, The Simple Truth, and Saving Grace and I have enjoyed all these novels. This book, if you are not aware, is a major departure from his normal genre. I suppose he is following in the paths of Grisham, Patterson, Hiaasen, and Parker by stepping out of their genre to create human interest, and young adult type stories. I think it's great that these gifted authors are creating such More...

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Jul 19, 2009

Tony rated it:

David Baldacci- Wish You Well (Warner Books 2000) 4 Stars

Wish You Well tells the tale of Lou and Oz Cardinal as they struggle through life’s challenges. Their father dies in a tragic car accident that also turns their mother into an invalid who remains unconscious. They must move away from the life they have known to live with a grandmother they have not met. To the mountains of Virginia they move with their mother. As they learn to live a mountain life, they hope and pray for their More...

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Jul 18, 2009

Judy rated it:

I approached this book with caution, having had it recommended by so many people that I was sure that I was going to be disappointed. I was not. David Baldacci plows (get it?) some new ground here in this story of two children who are forced to move to the mountains of southwest Virginia with their mother (who is in a catatonic state) to live with their great-grandmother, Louisa Mae Cardinal. Living in a house with no running water or electricity and farming acres of land that, often, unwilli More...

1 comment like

Jan 20, 2012

Jen rated it:

I enjoyed this story, its strong female characters, and lovingly described setting (though I have a soft spot for nostalgic themes!). It was a touching glimpse into how the children learned life lessons from their surroundings and their strong elders--either tough, or loving, or both. Maybe my sympathy for their childhood experiences is what makes the characters compelling for me. The colorful descriptions of them, their dialog, and the way the insights into their lives unfold for us in brief, r More...

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Mar 11, 2010

Laura rated it:

Great read! Memorable characters. Very well written. A book club choice for March 2010 and as it turned out,one great choice. Not always the case with book club picks. I picked up a copy from my local library with, I admit, some trepidation. I am acquainted with David Baldacci, not because I have read any of his work, but because his name appears frequently on best seller lists. He is a best selling author of suspense novels which is a genre I plunge into on a regular basis. When I paused i More...

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Apr 15, 2009

Anne rated it:

I usually think of David Baldacci's novels as full of legal and political intrigue. This one, however, focuses on 13-year old Lou and her younger brother Oz. Their father is a famous, but not so well compensated writer, who sets all his novels in the mountains of Virginia where he was born and raised. When their family suffers a heart-breaking tragedy, Lou and Oz travel to those mountains to live with their great-grandmother Louisa. Their new life is a million miles from the big city - filled w More...

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Jan 07, 2009

Burgendya rated it:

Wish You Well is unforgettable & heartwarming. One of the best coming of age tale. It was so captivating and beautiful. I luv it alot. It is extremely worth reading.

David Baldacci has done brillant writing. I loved the characters and the rural setting. My favorite characters were Lou, Oz, the Great-Grandmother and Diamond.

This novel reaches to your heart strings. Tragedy has strike these brother and sister Lou and Oz. When they lost their father and their mother stuc More...

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Aug 19, 2011

Rhona rated it:

A wonderful, heart warming, exciting book to read. Everyone will like this. Sad, happy, wonderful. Finally, I read a great book. Very well written.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 28, 2011

Ron rated it:

I guess I'll call this a feel good book. I can see how some people might think this is an extended episode from the Walton's or something, but I read it as a slice of Americana and an homage to a rural way of life in Appalachian Virginia in 1940. Baldacci clearly has a deep love for this land, and he allows the reader to build an appreciation for it, and the hard life it entails, through the development of young Lou Cardinal, who comes to the mountain her father grew up on, after her father's un More...

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Apr 13, 2011

Dominique rated it:

I so enjoyed this book. I was a lovely story. It is so rare to read a coming of age story now days and I was surprised to discover that David Baldacci had written one.

I really enjoyed reading this. Great moral lessons in it. Magical beauty in the coming of age as a child grows into a woman. Great themes such as self vs self, or need vs wants, or corporations vs community, or man versus man, and on and on.

Baldacci purpose for writing this (which he shares at the beg More...

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