The Last Wish List
Nadia is lost without her best friend Lizzy. It’s been a year since she lost her, and no-one gets how broken Nadia still feels. Her family are the worst, her mother particularly so. Nadia is so frustrated that everyone wants her to move on, keep busy – in other words, get over it.
Her sorrow constantly consumes her still, and it’s not until she finally snaps at school that she is given an opportunity to do something to try and ease her grief.
Lizzy left her a list. It was supposed to for them to do it together, but Lizzy changed it to things Nadia can do alone. Some things on the list are simple, some almost impossible. Almost.
Nadia is soon flying out of London and heading to the US to get Lizzy’s PJ’s signed by their favourite popstar. The craziest thing on Lizzy’s list.
She knows she is going to be in serious trouble with her strict Russian mother when she returns home, but luckily there are others in her family who know she needs to get away for a while. With tickets to a concert, Nadia finally has something to focus on besides her aching heart – until the well laid out plans fall apart.
But she knows she will never get another chance if she doesn’t stay in the US for a little longer. Gathering all her courage, and determination to see this through, she finds so much more in small town USA. A boy, a way to honour Lizzy’s list, and how to sooth her broken heart along the way.
If you’re looking for a novel to make you laugh, cry and cry some more – The Last Wish List is it.
A devastating loss, a mother who just doesn’t understand, and a teen who is falling apart. The grief is so raw on the page, I wanted to step inside the book and give main character Nadia the hugs she needs to get through her days. The loss of her friend has taken so much from her, and her grief continues to creep up and swamp her and give her nightmares at night.
But just when you think she will never get through this wall of pain, somewhere and someone new, crack through. He has his own pain, but between them they discover another way of being. His determination holds true when hers sags, and she is the catalyst for discovering the truth about a loss in his life.
If you’re not reaching for the tissues during their road trip, you will be by the beautiful ending.
A simply gorgeous novel.
Author – Jacqueline Silvester
Age – 13+
(2025, Simon & Schuster, Family, Friendship, Grief, Love, Real Life, Road Trip, Loss, Grieving, Russian, Mexican, Popstar, Understanding, Escape, Ticking off a list)
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