AS YOU WISH
If you could make one wish that was guaranteed to come true—what would you wish for? Eldon’s about to make the biggest decision of his life in this fresh, emotional, and captivating novel from the author of The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett.
In the sandy desert of the Mojave, Madison is a small town on the road between nothing and nowhere. It’s not an exciting place to live, but Eldon’s not about to wish to be somewhere else. Because in Madison, everyone gets one wish on their eighteenth birthday—and that wish always comes true.
If you could make one wish that was guaranteed to come true—what would you wish for? Eldon’s about to make the biggest decision of his life in this fresh, emotional, and captivating novel from the author of The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett.
In the sandy desert of the Mojave, Madison is a small town on the road between nothing and nowhere. It’s not an exciting place to live, but Eldon’s not about to wish to be somewhere else. Because in Madison, everyone gets one wish on their eighteenth birthday—and that wish always comes true.
Some people wish for money, some people wish for love, but no one wishes for happiness. In Madison, wishing is happiness. Except Eldon has seen how wishing has hurt the people around him. His parents’ marriage is strained, his sister is a virtual ghost in their house, his ex-girlfriend is dating his ex-friend…Where does he even begin? Can he make their lives better? Can he be happy if the people around him aren’t? What even is happiness?
One thing is for sure: Eldon has only twenty-five days to figure it out—and the rest of his life to live with the consequences.
- Sourcebooks Fire
- Hardcover
- January 2018
- 432 Pages
- 9781492642312
Buy the Book
$17.99
About Chelsea Sedoti
Chelsea Sedoti lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her short stories have been published in Pantheon Magazine and Balloons Lit Journal. She went to school for film and worked as a videographer before switching to writing. Chelsea spends her time rock climbing, baking, and exploring the Mojave Desert.
Praise
“Profoundly thought-provoking, endlessly entertaining, and totally awesome. I wish I could read it again for the first time.” —Lance Rubin, author of Denton Little’s Deathdate
Discussion Questions
1. Throughout As You Wish, Eldon seeks out the perfect wish—a wish that he’ll be happy with for the rest of his life. Do you think “the perfect wish” actually exists?
2. Have you ever gotten exactly what you wished for? If so, how did it turn out?
3. What are things you would have wished for five years ago? What might you regret about those wishes now? What would you wish for if you had to make a wish today?
4. Madison, Nevada, the town where As You Wish takes place, is near Area 51. In a world where wishing is real, does alien life seem farfetched? Which is easier to believe in, wishes or aliens?
5. The golden rule of wishing is to never let outsiders know it exists. What lengths do you think Madison residents would go to in order to keep their secret? How far would you go?
6. How much did Madison’s remote location influence the culture surrounding wishing? How might it have differed in a more populated area of the country?
7. Though wishing seems to give people more opportunities, Eldon doesn’t see it that way. In what ways might wishing limit the choices people have?
8. Occasionally, a wish impacts someone other than the wisher. Do you feel that it would ever be okay to make a wish that influences the course of another person’s life?
9. Many people use their wishes to alter themselves, in ways both big and small. What could be some consequences of this? Would you ever wish to change something drastic about yourself?
10. Do you agree with the final choice Eldon makes in regards to his wish? How would your decision have differed from his?