BR - How to Make a Wish

[emma]

Hi everyone! This is a buddy read discussion thread for How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake. As of now I believe it's just Mina, Elke, and myself participating, but anyone else is free to join us!

[emma]

let me know how many pages y'all want to read today! :) I'll be a bit busy with work most of the day, but I'll catch up tonight.

[Elle]

Emma wrote: "Hi everyone! This is a buddy read discussion thread for How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake. As of now I believe it's just Mina, Elke, and myself participating, but anyone else is free to jo..."

I hope you guys love it!! this was one of my favs of last year.

[Mina 🦋]

Yay! I'm so excited for this :) I only have the ebook which has 279 pages. I'm also a little busy today, so I probably won't be able to get very far. I'm gonna try to read the first 4 chapters maybe? I don't think I'll be able to get more than that in today, but if you guys wanna go slower today, that's fine by me as well 😄

[emma]

Elise wrote: "Emma wrote: "Hi everyone! This is a buddy read discussion thread for How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake. As of now I believe it's just Mina, Elke, and myself participating, but anyone else ..."

everyone seems to love it! I don't want to hype myself up too much but I'm definitely expecting to enjoy this :)))

[emma]

Mina wrote: "Yay! I'm so excited for this :) I only have the ebook which has 279 pages. I'm also a little busy today, so I probably won't be able to get very far. I'm gonna try to read the first 4 chapters mayb..."

4 chapters would be totally fine with me!

[Elke]

I think I might be in a whole different timezone but I'll be sure to read 4 chapters before your tomorrow :)

[Mina 🦋]

@Elke: I think we're in the same timezone - you're from Belgium, right? :) I'm in Germany!

Anyways, I just finished chapter 4 and am gonna head to bed soon because it's late in Germany :D but so far I like the set up and can spy the love interest 👀

[emma]

Elke (BEroyal) wrote: "I think I might be in a whole different timezone but I'll be sure to read 4 chapters before your tomorrow :)"

ahh yes I'm in New York, so I'm a bit further behind you both! I'm finally starting the book now :)

[Kaylin]

Ahhh, I absolutely love this book and hope ya'll do too! ❤️

[emma]

ok, thoughts:
- wow Grace's mom s u c k s
- so does this Jay dude
- I like Luca tho!! yay for close platonic m/f relationships
- also I cannot WAIT to meet Eva

[emma]

Kaylin wrote: "Ahhh, I absolutely love this book and hope ya'll do too! ❤️"

it's going well so far, I'm excited about this!!

[Elke]

Grace's mom is..I can't imagine the strain it puts on you as a kid/teen/young adult to have to take care of your parent like that.
Emma, I agree with all of your points. I also like the writing style!

It's already pretty heavy tho, I wonder what it'll be like when it goes on (I'm struggling a lot myself at the moment so I'll have to be mindful of that). But yay for bi rep!

Til where are we reading today?

[Mina 🦋]

I agree with everything! I feel for Grace, but I'm also positively surprised that her mom seems to be written with a humane side (so far).

I'm also super curious where things are gonna go with this Jay douche. If he shall be forgiven or if he's just gonna keep being shitty.

My first gf's name is Eva (things did not end well), so I'm trying to change the pronunciation in my head for this Eva :D

Also, I have a bit more time to read today, so however far you guys wanna read :) I could do 4 chapters again, but also more today!

[Elke]

I already read two times four chapters because I have a lot of time 🙈😊 but i'm keeping track of my thoughts in chunks so i'm super flexible and can go to wherever you guys want to go

And Mina, I'm hoping the pronouncing thing works out for you 😊 or that, as we see more of Eva, there will be things that are totally different so they don't make you think of each other anymore.

[emma]

Mina wrote: "I agree with everything! I feel for Grace, but I'm also positively surprised that her mom seems to be written with a humane side (so far).

I'm also super curious where things are gonna go with thi..."

hmmm I totally get the Eva thing, it's so hard to disassociate people you know from character names!

and I agree that Grace's mom is a really well-written character! she's definitely believable

I can read another 5 chapters or so today, or however much I need to catch up to you guys :)

[Elke]

Emma wrote: "Mina wrote: "I agree with everything! I feel for Grace, but I'm also positively surprised that her mom seems to be written with a humane side (so far).

I'm also super curious where things are gonn..."

I read until chapter 13 (12 included) but I can always read less tomorrow if it's too much to catch up 😊

[Mina 🦋]

Okay, so I stayed up late to catch up (and because I didn't really wanna put it down 😄) and am now also done with chapter 12! Phew.. I don't know, I have to collect my thoughts a little bit more tomorrow morning, but I love it so much? I'm so furious at Grace's mom and at the same time, I can totally empathize with Grace and "she's still my mom" and defending her. Ugh, it's written so well.

Elke, I hope you're getting through the heavy stuff okay! <3 I can imagine some things being hard to read about, especially when you're struggling.

Also, regarding my ex-gf name-association with Eva, the book gave me this: "But my full name is Evangeline, if that helps". Yes, it helps, thank you book.

[Elke]

Yes, indeed! I also loved the realness and rawness of Grace's struggle with her mom and still wanting to defend her. The fact that the mom got rid of the piano tho! I was so heartbroken

Thank you for your kind words, and I'm glad the full name helped :)

So my thoughts were:
I love the first meeting with Eva! I love how it builds up, too. That they keep it as a little secret between them, and that they continue doing it.
Jay is an absolute ass at first, especially with his shitty comment about how Grace couldn't really still be mad about this text thing. I wanted to punch him so badly. But then at the end, I guess he shows a small part of his human side? I still don't like him (and I'm glad I don't have to worry about the book leading towards him being in the main relationship) but it made him feel more real. And I'm a tad less likely to throw my book at him now :)

The bi rep. It's making me so happy. Honestly, Grace talking about Natalie and how she thought all girls looked at girls that way - that was me until so recently and I feel so represented. I honestly hadn't figured out that maybe I looked at girls differently and that I appreciated their bodies in another way too. I'm so glad Grace has a friend who wanted to understand and was accepting and helpful.

[emma]

ahhh sorry I was MIA yesterday but I just finished reading up to chapter 16! I'm really loving this ☺️

I feel like Grace's frustrations with her mom are written so well, and how hurt she is by her mom paying more attention to Eva.

I love the way Eva and Grace's relationship is developing! And I totally agree about the bi rep, the whole transition from "girls are just pretty and everyone thinks that" to "wait this actually really gay" is sooo perfectly captured. I also feel lowkey called out by this book bc my first crush on a girl was literally a lifeguard I got to know the summer when I was 13

[Mina &#x1f98b;]

No worries, Emma :) today was also a busier day for me, but I just finished reading chapter 21. I don't know how far you guys are by now, but damn, that made me feel all kinds of things!

I agree with all the points you guys are making and yes again to Grace's relationship with her mom and now Eva being thrown into the mix and I can empathize with every one of them and their reasons so well, although I also wanted to smack Maggie for selling that piano and making that necklace for Eva without a second thought.

And yes, yes, yes!! The development of their relationship is so well done, my heart 😩and the representation is perfect, even though I don't identify as bi, I can at least speak for the "looking differently at girls" part and am honestly also just so happy to be reading "bisexual" on paper (or my iPad in this case)!!

Emma, omg that made me laugh because I also crushed on a lifeguard one summer when I was a teen. Is this a thing? 👀

[Mina &#x1f98b;]

And Elke, I agree with what you said about Jay! He got some more dimension, but I'm also glad we don't have to read about him all that much.

[Elke]

Emma, you said everything i wanted to say about Grace and her mom and the writing and feelings regarding their relationship!
I read till chapter 25 today and boy, does it get worse! I feel for these girls so hard.

Some loose thoughts:
Eva's reaction to Grace's "i guess I'm bisexual" was great
I like Emmy and I get that she wants to help Eva, but I got annoyed that she didn't listen to what Eva says will help (in regards to not pushing for the dancing, not what they were arguing about on the 4th)

Honestly, my mind is just really full right now with thoughts of Grace and her mom and all the comolicated feeling in the mess of everything. It's heartbreaking that Grace has to deal with this.

Also, the development of Grace and Eva's relationship is incredible. I am continuously surprised by how real and raw everything is, and sometimes the pacing or how they act around eachother surprises me. Like, i wouldn't have predicted it would go like that after their first kiss, for example. And I think that's so cool, makes them feel so real, because real people and real life also doesn't go like i assume it will :)

[Mina &#x1f98b;]

Elke (BEroyal) wrote: "Emma, you said everything i wanted to say about Grace and her mom and the writing and feelings regarding their relationship!
I read till chapter 25 today and boy, does it get worse! I feel for the..."

Damn, I didn't really get to read today, but now I'm so curious what happens up til chapter 25, I'm gonna just read it now before bed 🤓

And Elke, I agree with all of your thoughts so much! Especially the development of Grace & Eva's relationship because so often in life things don't go as smoothly and easily as they're sometimes portrayed.. then there's doubts and awkwardness and questioning. And that was honestly exactly how things went with me and one girl, so I feel that's just written perfectly and I appreciate it so much! 💕

[Mina &#x1f98b;]

Hi hello I just finished the book and I'm emotional

[Elke]

Omg yes i feel you! I liked how it was hopeful but still realistic. (view spoiler)[ the part where Graces' mom took her to another town though, that was horrible! She was just so not there as a parent, I would have also believed if the book had ended without us hearing from her again. The thing with Jay was cool, I liked that even though he wasn't in the picture often, we could see him, and Grace and her perception of him, develop.
And also, it made me think about how difficult everything already was for Grace, imagine how it is when you don't have such great friends who are capable of taking care of you if you need it and can take you in. I was so heartbroken for all the people like Grace out there who literally have no other place to go than with their parent(s), no matter how bad for them. (hide spoiler)]

[Elke]

I finally finished my chaotic review :)

Emma, I'm really curious to hear your further thoughts!
Mina, I didn't react to that yet but I'm so glad you felt like something you experienced was represented and written well!

Thank you both for buddy reading this with me. It would have taken me way too long to start this if it had only been up to me, so I'm grateful it wasn't :)

[emma]

ahhh sorry I'm so behind you both, I'm hoping to finish today!!

I can't wait to read the rest, I feel like this is very solidly in the 4-5 stars range!!

[Elke]

Emma wrote: "ahhh sorry I'm so behind you both, I'm hoping to finish today!!

I can't wait to read the rest, I feel like this is very solidly in the 4-5 stars range!!"

No worries! There's no rush :) Hope you enjoy the final part, and I agree with your rating! I went with 4.5 :)

[Mina &#x1f98b;]

Elke (BEroyal) wrote: "I finally finished my chaotic review :)

Emma, I'm really curious to hear your further thoughts!
Mina, I didn't react to that yet but I'm so glad you felt like something you experienced was represe..."

Hi friends, sorry for my absence 😄just wanted to conclude that this was fun, my first ever buddy read, and also my first ever sapphic book (I have no explanation). So thank you guys for reading with me! 💕

Also, as for the ending.. I was so ready to finally full-on hate Grace's mom, but then I couldn't fully, again. I'm glad the book kept this up and left us with a tiny glimmer of hope for her. I also liked the thing with Jay and mostly, Grace's character arc. And Eva's. Ah well, I loved everything and I'm gonna give this 5 stars because it made me feel so many things and it's the best book I've read recently.

[Lulu (the library leopard)]

BTW, if any of you want to read a sequel short story the author wrote about Grace & Eva when you're done with the book, it can be found here (There are spoilers for the end of the book, obviously.)

[Olivia]

I didn't know there was a sequel short story! This just changed my life. Thanks for sharing!

[Althea ☾]

I just saw this and I'm so happy to see others loving this book! There are so many mixed reviews :'(