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The Wonderful Wishes of B.
All that stands between ten-year-old Beatrice and an amazing life are five wishes…and she’s got a plan to make them all come true! A magical and heartfelt adventure about grief, hope, and the power of human connection.
Beatrice Corwell has a crooked haircut, eight well-trained cats, and a she’s turning herself into a Tin Man. Once her heart is made of metal, she’ll no longer miss her beloved dead grandma, her absent dad, or her recently moved-away best friend.
While Beatrice awaits her transformation, she keeps vigil with a special doll and a handful of wishes she’s determined to make come true. With her encyclopedic knowledge, there must be a way to grant her heart’s deepest desires.
When an unusual boy named Caleb moves to town and mentions his granny’s interest in magic, Beatrice decides to enlist their help. She quickly learns, however, that spells don’t always go as planned, and witches can’t be trusted.
With the arrival of an unexpected visitor and a series of otherworldly messages, Beatrice’s plans begin to falter. Will her heart turn into metal? Will any of her wishes come true?
The Wonderful Wishes of B. is the story of a smart, quirky girl learning what she wants and what she needs—and how, sometimes, the wishes we hold dearest are granted in the most unexpected ways.
Beatrice Corwell has a crooked haircut, eight well-trained cats, and a she’s turning herself into a Tin Man. Once her heart is made of metal, she’ll no longer miss her beloved dead grandma, her absent dad, or her recently moved-away best friend.
While Beatrice awaits her transformation, she keeps vigil with a special doll and a handful of wishes she’s determined to make come true. With her encyclopedic knowledge, there must be a way to grant her heart’s deepest desires.
When an unusual boy named Caleb moves to town and mentions his granny’s interest in magic, Beatrice decides to enlist their help. She quickly learns, however, that spells don’t always go as planned, and witches can’t be trusted.
With the arrival of an unexpected visitor and a series of otherworldly messages, Beatrice’s plans begin to falter. Will her heart turn into metal? Will any of her wishes come true?
The Wonderful Wishes of B. is the story of a smart, quirky girl learning what she wants and what she needs—and how, sometimes, the wishes we hold dearest are granted in the most unexpected ways.
- GenresMiddle Grade
288 pages, Hardcover
Published June 4, 2024
2 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Katherin Nolte
3 books11 followersKatherin Nolte received an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow. Her fiction has appeared in dozens of publications and won multiple awards, but it was a late-night ER visit with her four children that inspired her to write Back to the Bright Before. An Ohio native, she currently lives with her family in Iowa.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 3, 2024
The Wonderful Wishes of B is a sweet deep story full of hope and with some The Wizard of Oz references! Beatrice is a girl that is full of pain and is just looking for a way to escape it. The friendship between Beatrice and Caleb is delightful and I really enjoyed seeing the relationships between Beatrice and the adults in her life develop! The characters are unique and the cats are charming!
November 7, 2024
Small town kid, quirky but lovable adults, great cats, new friend, lovely voice. I really enjoy this kind of kidlit. I liked her utterly mistaken quest to have a smooth heart, I liked how she and her new friend respected each others fantasies, I even liked her conflict with her mom over what things should change and how much to help her hapless dad.
June 1, 2024
“I just missed and missed and kept on missing her. Missing is not a thing you can ever run out of. That’s the truth and a point-blank fact.”
After her best friend moves to another state and her grandmother passes away, ten-year-old Beatrice Cornwell is left with eight small cats and five huge wishes. Most of all, Bea wants to become a “Tin Man” and stop feeling all the intense emotions she has been bombarded with every day since her mother was forced to take on the now-struggling salon that her grandmother formerly ran. She doesn’t even care if she must lose her happiness alongside her grief. To uncover the best way to make her wishes come true, Bea begrudgingly teams up with the goofy new kid in town, Caleb Chernavachin. With the eight cats in tow, the two search relentlessly for a magical solution to all of Bea’s problems, facing bullies, witches, and adults who just don’t seem to care.
I picked up this book for the cats, but I stayed for the character relationships. Both Beatrice and Caleb felt like actual kids with real personalities and flaws. I was deeply invested in the friends-to-lovers arc between Beatrice’s mother and Felix, a neighboring shop owner. Felix’s interactions with Bea felt very genuine, kind, and supportive, which Bea truly needed since her mother was very preoccupied. However, the relationships between the characters were not enough to make this a great book. The author was perpetually trying to do too much. Bea’s five wishes varied drastically in their significance and probability, and it never felt like Bea could figure out her priorities. Furthermore, none of these problems were resolved until the very end of the novel, where they were quickly and easily fixed or dismissed entirely. The pacing was off, and I felt like the author underestimated the intelligence of readers. The many attempts at quirky characters and phrases also detracted from this book. The phrase “the truth and a point-blank fact” occurred twenty-three times! While I love a distinctive character, Bea’s repetitiveness was exhausting. Lastly, I was confused whether this book was intended to feel realistic or fantastical. There are stories where realism can be blurred in an engaging way, but this narrative did not achieve that effect. While the characters are intriguing, this middle grade novel left me feeling unsatisfied, largely due to the undefined magic system and lack of character growth.
The Wonderful Wishes of B. releases on June 4th, 2024.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Books for Young Readers for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook @pinereadsreview, and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, author interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!
After her best friend moves to another state and her grandmother passes away, ten-year-old Beatrice Cornwell is left with eight small cats and five huge wishes. Most of all, Bea wants to become a “Tin Man” and stop feeling all the intense emotions she has been bombarded with every day since her mother was forced to take on the now-struggling salon that her grandmother formerly ran. She doesn’t even care if she must lose her happiness alongside her grief. To uncover the best way to make her wishes come true, Bea begrudgingly teams up with the goofy new kid in town, Caleb Chernavachin. With the eight cats in tow, the two search relentlessly for a magical solution to all of Bea’s problems, facing bullies, witches, and adults who just don’t seem to care.
I picked up this book for the cats, but I stayed for the character relationships. Both Beatrice and Caleb felt like actual kids with real personalities and flaws. I was deeply invested in the friends-to-lovers arc between Beatrice’s mother and Felix, a neighboring shop owner. Felix’s interactions with Bea felt very genuine, kind, and supportive, which Bea truly needed since her mother was very preoccupied. However, the relationships between the characters were not enough to make this a great book. The author was perpetually trying to do too much. Bea’s five wishes varied drastically in their significance and probability, and it never felt like Bea could figure out her priorities. Furthermore, none of these problems were resolved until the very end of the novel, where they were quickly and easily fixed or dismissed entirely. The pacing was off, and I felt like the author underestimated the intelligence of readers. The many attempts at quirky characters and phrases also detracted from this book. The phrase “the truth and a point-blank fact” occurred twenty-three times! While I love a distinctive character, Bea’s repetitiveness was exhausting. Lastly, I was confused whether this book was intended to feel realistic or fantastical. There are stories where realism can be blurred in an engaging way, but this narrative did not achieve that effect. While the characters are intriguing, this middle grade novel left me feeling unsatisfied, largely due to the undefined magic system and lack of character growth.
The Wonderful Wishes of B. releases on June 4th, 2024.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Books for Young Readers for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook @pinereadsreview, and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, author interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!
May 19, 2025
It was so cute and defiantly a fantasy, it was classic, and I LOVED it!
June 2, 2024
𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
💔 have ever lost someone important to you
🐈 love cats and could never have too many
🧞♂️ wish you could have five wishes granted
📖 know a middle schooler who might need this book
• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓
Beatrice Corwell has a crooked haircut, eight well-trained cats, and a plan: she’s turning herself into a Tin Man. Once her heart is made of metal, she’ll no longer miss her beloved dead grandma, her absent dad, or her recently moved-away best friend.
While Beatrice awaits her transformation, she keeps vigil with a special doll and a handful of wishes she’s determined to make come true. With her encyclopedic knowledge, there must be a way to grant her heart’s deepest desires.
When an unusual boy named Caleb moves to town and mentions his granny’s interest in magic, Beatrice decides to enlist their help. She quickly learns, however, that spells don’t always go as planned, and witches can’t be trusted.
With the arrival of an unexpected visitor and a series of otherworldly messages, Beatrice’s plans begin to falter. Will her heart turn into metal? Will any of her wishes come true?
• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒
This was a really sweet and deep book about a girl experiencing a lot of heartache and pain and wanting to just escape from it all with five special wishes. She also has 8 cats that she takes care of, but unfortunately they can only do so much to lessen her pain and hurt. The topics discussed in this book are a bit deep, in my opinion, for ten year olds, but I’m sure there are kids out there who could relate to Beatrice. The story was a bit long and the wishes are all wrapped up a bit too quickly at the end but overall, this is a solid read and I’d recommend it to anyone wanting to escape the pain of reality.
💔 have ever lost someone important to you
🐈 love cats and could never have too many
🧞♂️ wish you could have five wishes granted
📖 know a middle schooler who might need this book
• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓
Beatrice Corwell has a crooked haircut, eight well-trained cats, and a plan: she’s turning herself into a Tin Man. Once her heart is made of metal, she’ll no longer miss her beloved dead grandma, her absent dad, or her recently moved-away best friend.
While Beatrice awaits her transformation, she keeps vigil with a special doll and a handful of wishes she’s determined to make come true. With her encyclopedic knowledge, there must be a way to grant her heart’s deepest desires.
When an unusual boy named Caleb moves to town and mentions his granny’s interest in magic, Beatrice decides to enlist their help. She quickly learns, however, that spells don’t always go as planned, and witches can’t be trusted.
With the arrival of an unexpected visitor and a series of otherworldly messages, Beatrice’s plans begin to falter. Will her heart turn into metal? Will any of her wishes come true?
• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒
This was a really sweet and deep book about a girl experiencing a lot of heartache and pain and wanting to just escape from it all with five special wishes. She also has 8 cats that she takes care of, but unfortunately they can only do so much to lessen her pain and hurt. The topics discussed in this book are a bit deep, in my opinion, for ten year olds, but I’m sure there are kids out there who could relate to Beatrice. The story was a bit long and the wishes are all wrapped up a bit too quickly at the end but overall, this is a solid read and I’d recommend it to anyone wanting to escape the pain of reality.
Read
February 19, 2024I found so much of this book spectacular...I would recommend it widely except one plot element is a bit of a sensitive spot for me. Because of that, it's one I'd recommend parents read first before handing to their kids--and plan on some discussions.
What I loved:
THE WIZARD OF OZ references! Honestly, it took me about halfway through the book to notice them, because they were subtle—until I noticed, at least, and then I was amazed I had not noticed earlier. I think the fact that they didn't hit you over the head was a sign of the gentle touch the author used, and the fact that the story is very much her own and not in any way derivative.
The friendship between Bea and Caleb is delightful and realistic. I also loved seeing the way Bea's relationships with the adults in her life developed.
The feeling of hope that permeates this novel is palpable. I'm a firm believer that all children's books should be filled with hope, and was happy to see that this did not disappoint!
WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE:
Okay, so one of Bea's wishes, a big one, came across as too juvenile for a child her age. I wonder if kids would be able to suspend disbelief. Certainly, all the trauma that Bea has gone through would make her maturity form at a different rate than the average kid, so as an adult I was willing to set aside my doubt, but I think it may separate her character from the target readers. (If I'm wrong, please chime in with a comment about your children's experiences!)
The Witch. The presence of a real, spell-casting, evil witch was the plot element that I referred to above. It was too dark for me, too real. At the same time…yeah…evil exists. Kids should be empowered to fight it! And there is no point in this story in which the witch's evil actions are justified or made light of, and I appreciated that. I felt better about it when I realized the Wizard of Oz references I had missing. But it still made me uncomfortable that Bea sought out a witch's help, and thus I hesitate to hand this book off to kids without prepping for lots of discussion!
What I loved:
THE WIZARD OF OZ references! Honestly, it took me about halfway through the book to notice them, because they were subtle—until I noticed, at least, and then I was amazed I had not noticed earlier. I think the fact that they didn't hit you over the head was a sign of the gentle touch the author used, and the fact that the story is very much her own and not in any way derivative.
The friendship between Bea and Caleb is delightful and realistic. I also loved seeing the way Bea's relationships with the adults in her life developed.
The feeling of hope that permeates this novel is palpable. I'm a firm believer that all children's books should be filled with hope, and was happy to see that this did not disappoint!
WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE:
Okay, so one of Bea's wishes, a big one, came across as too juvenile for a child her age. I wonder if kids would be able to suspend disbelief. Certainly, all the trauma that Bea has gone through would make her maturity form at a different rate than the average kid, so as an adult I was willing to set aside my doubt, but I think it may separate her character from the target readers. (If I'm wrong, please chime in with a comment about your children's experiences!)
The Witch. The presence of a real, spell-casting, evil witch was the plot element that I referred to above. It was too dark for me, too real. At the same time…yeah…evil exists. Kids should be empowered to fight it! And there is no point in this story in which the witch's evil actions are justified or made light of, and I appreciated that. I felt better about it when I realized the Wizard of Oz references I had missing. But it still made me uncomfortable that Bea sought out a witch's help, and thus I hesitate to hand this book off to kids without prepping for lots of discussion!
July 16, 2024
There's a lot to like about this middle-grade novel, which is reminiscent in some ways of the classic Wizard of Oz. Ten-year-old Beatrice (B) Corwell has a menagerie of adopted cats named after the planets--eight in all!--who are devoted to her and follow her around. But what she doesn't have is her best friend, Dianne of the Flame-Red Hair, who has moved to Florida, and her beloved grandmother, Glad, who recently died, or her father, who visits only on even years. She has a handful of wishes and figures that they might come true with help from a witch. Even while she tries to harden her heart or be without one, just like the Tin Man, readers can see that it remains soft as an unexpected friendship blossoms with Caleb, a new classmate who constantly refers to how rich his family is when nothing could be further from the truth. The novel contains several interesting characters, including the secondary ones, and more than a heaping of pain and disappointment as B.'s father turns out to be just the jerk and con artist readers might expect. The glimpses into how B. thinks are interesting even though they can sometimes be confusing, and there's quite a lot of shifting around from scene to scene as well as aspects of the plot that seemed rather far-fetched. My favorite part of the story was those cats who are described so lovingly and are a lot more reliable than certain adults in the novel.
June 12, 2024
I picked this book because of the cover. The cover is a wonderful illustration of a girl holding a cute little kitten and a bunch of cats following her. As a pet lover who has raised many cats myself, I was intrigued.
The B in the title stands for Beatrice, an almost eleven-year-old girl. The story starts with Beatrice rescuing a kitten, which warms my heart. I love the character of Beatrice. She was going through a lot in her life, yet she faced every day with so much hope. I wished her mother spent some quality time with her because she was lonely most of the time and talked to a doll that she believed would come to life so that she would feel less lonely.
Throughout the book, Beatrice had five wishes that she was hoping would come true. The wishes may be totally different from one another, but they all circle around the point of breaking her loneliness. Her love for her deceased grandmother was so beautifully expressed.
I loved most of the parts, but some scenes dissatisfied me. Some parts where the author claimed the involvement of magic were left unanswered. Overall, it's a very good read with so many emotions at play.
The B in the title stands for Beatrice, an almost eleven-year-old girl. The story starts with Beatrice rescuing a kitten, which warms my heart. I love the character of Beatrice. She was going through a lot in her life, yet she faced every day with so much hope. I wished her mother spent some quality time with her because she was lonely most of the time and talked to a doll that she believed would come to life so that she would feel less lonely.
Throughout the book, Beatrice had five wishes that she was hoping would come true. The wishes may be totally different from one another, but they all circle around the point of breaking her loneliness. Her love for her deceased grandmother was so beautifully expressed.
I loved most of the parts, but some scenes dissatisfied me. Some parts where the author claimed the involvement of magic were left unanswered. Overall, it's a very good read with so many emotions at play.
April 5, 2024
I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's through NetGalley.
Readers meet Bea as she is grieving several losses in her life. She has decided on the best way to cope - become like the Tin Man and feel nothing. The whole plot wraps around her desire to stop feeling pain and to be immune to emotions. This feels like a more adult concept than a ten year old would comprehend but I never rule out what kids are capable of. Nolte does share enough information to see why Bea feels this way and why she wants to escape from her reality. Her relationship with a new friend takes time to develop. Readers get hints of what he is going through as well. By the end, Bea learns that painful feelings are part of love and need to be processed and moved through.
I'm not fond of the evil witch motif but Nolte does make it work as part of the overall plot. It feels as though too many different losses weave together so Bea becomes unbelievable as a character rather than a strong 10-year old maturing and learning how to heal and move forward.
Readers meet Bea as she is grieving several losses in her life. She has decided on the best way to cope - become like the Tin Man and feel nothing. The whole plot wraps around her desire to stop feeling pain and to be immune to emotions. This feels like a more adult concept than a ten year old would comprehend but I never rule out what kids are capable of. Nolte does share enough information to see why Bea feels this way and why she wants to escape from her reality. Her relationship with a new friend takes time to develop. Readers get hints of what he is going through as well. By the end, Bea learns that painful feelings are part of love and need to be processed and moved through.
I'm not fond of the evil witch motif but Nolte does make it work as part of the overall plot. It feels as though too many different losses weave together so Bea becomes unbelievable as a character rather than a strong 10-year old maturing and learning how to heal and move forward.
May 30, 2024
My heart goes out to B and anyone, especially any child, that finds themselves wishing to stop feeling because feeling hurts too badly. B has a wish for each finger and one is B’s wishes is to turn into something that does not have feelings. The reader gets to discover the hurt and gets to discover hope and joy and, of course, some more hurt. Even if the reader is not looking for a book about loss, this book can still provide so much. Actually, I think it is better to read a book like this when you don’t need it. To let Nolte entertain you with her wonderfully unique characters and some fantastically charming cats! And then when the child one day is coping with loss, that will be a wonderful time to remember B, her interesting friends, and her Cosmic Cats.
September 10, 2024
This is a sad story. It gradually builds towards a predictable but still satisfying expectation that this child's life is improving. The saddest part is how well the story shows how children suffer when they cannot count on their parents. She has a dad that visits every two years, a mom who is too overwhelmed to do any real parenting, and the most significant adult in her life (her grandmother) has just died.
I'm not sure how much of that kids will pick up on. The story itself is wonderfully told. There are several points where the reader is not sure how much is only in Beatrice's imagination. Her cats are a great addition, a source of comfort to the main character and somewhat amusing for the reader.
I'm not sure how much of that kids will pick up on. The story itself is wonderfully told. There are several points where the reader is not sure how much is only in Beatrice's imagination. Her cats are a great addition, a source of comfort to the main character and somewhat amusing for the reader.
did-not-finish
July 13, 2024DNF
So... the narrator had a really jarring way of talking/phrasing things that I couldn't get past. Reminded me of a book that had been translated into English, and translated poorly at that! And then the language itself felt really dumbed-down. Plus, I just straight-up didn't like the main kid. She was whiny and annoying and didn't care enough about her problems to continue.
Even 8 cats and the promise of a witch couldn't save this one for me.
So... the narrator had a really jarring way of talking/phrasing things that I couldn't get past. Reminded me of a book that had been translated into English, and translated poorly at that! And then the language itself felt really dumbed-down. Plus, I just straight-up didn't like the main kid. She was whiny and annoying and didn't care enough about her problems to continue.
Even 8 cats and the promise of a witch couldn't save this one for me.
February 18, 2024
This was intriguing but a little young, since Beatrice is ten. I'm all for hardening one's heart to deal with a death, but the doll and the eight cats put this into the realm of elementary fantasy. Reading about grief is just not all that appealing to middle grade students, who oddly never ask for this type of books even thought there are dozens and dozens of them. This might go over well with fans of Hunter's Warriors books.
August 21, 2024
Cute story of a girl, her eight cats, her deceased grandmother, and her mom's failing beauty shop. Beatrice is a very odd little girl, with a very crooked haircut. She collects and trains cats, and they speak to her... at least that is what she thinks. Along with Caleb (the boy with porcupine hair) and his granny witch, Raejean (her nemesis), and a collection of other quirky characters, we get to experience Beatrice's interesting life, and that's a point-blank fact!
December 22, 2024
a read for my LS 521 class- such a cute and whimsical read and very silly
February 6, 2025
My 10 year old daughter Beatrice, who LOVES cats gives the book 5 stars :)
March 17, 2025
I loved this book.
March 18, 2024
👦🏻 reviews: This book reminded me of that song “Got to Believe in Magic” and Wizard of the Oz. In this book, I was thinking of this question: How to handle misery? Beatrice decided to harden her heart by becoming Tin-Man number 2. She figured being emotionless is easier to handle grief, disappointment and frustration. However after meeting Caleb, Beatrice decided to try other methods to deal with her issues. Do you believe in magic and how would you approach if you encountered situations just like Beatrice? While reading, I see hope, friendship and rebuilding lots of relationships. My mom made me read this and I am not disappointed with this book.
Thank you @randomhousekids for this gifted copy to read and review.
Thank you @randomhousekids for this gifted copy to read and review.
June 8, 2024
This of could be a great read but I found that B read as being younger with her constant wish making and seemed to be a loner until Caleb. I also wonder if the constant bead pulling was a coping mechanism but wasn't properly discussed.
There were certain actions of B which I question as she did not seem to realise the consequences.
I did love B's cats they all managed to steal every scene they were in. i did like the homages to the Wizard of Oz but wish that there were more.
For all the above reasons The Wonderful Wishes of B 3 stars
There were certain actions of B which I question as she did not seem to realise the consequences.
I did love B's cats they all managed to steal every scene they were in. i did like the homages to the Wizard of Oz but wish that there were more.
For all the above reasons The Wonderful Wishes of B 3 stars
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews