Wishes come in threes by Andy Jones

Phyll is an 11-year-old girl who is in trouble for fighting at school. Through her chats with a counsellor, we soon learn that there are problems at home. Her mother is going through a bad patch of depression. Phyllis’ parents decide that a move to the seaside might help her mother’s mental health. Once they move Phyll goes to a summer school (like vacation care) and makes friends and enemies. A class trip to an old folk’s home leads to an ongoing friendship with Mr Djinn who tells great stories and claims to be a genie. Are the stories real and do wishes really come true? Due to family circumstances, she is unable to have a much yearned for dog. However, she advertises free dog walking and gets a job walking a dog called Dog! Later this gets her involved in some excitement uncovering petty crime.

Phyllis is delightfully self-aware and grows more confident as she faces various testy situations. You empathize with her as she feels responsibility for keeping her mother’s depression at bay. You are also happy for her with the romantic friendship she develops with Clark. Mr Djinn is a wonderful wise character and mentor for Phyll.

Wishes Come in Threes deals with some serious issues with great delicacy. Andy Jones balances out themes of mental health, animal cruelty, friendship and ageing in a well-paced plot with humour and hope. From the outset, while Phyll is awkwardly talking to the counsellor, you can also be amused by Phyll’s observations about the counsellor’s mild speech impediment. The counsellor can’t say th, so she calls herself Hevva (Heather) and the diary she gives Phyll to write her daily thoughts in she calls forts. The ‘forts’ are written as separate chapter headings throughout the book and give the reader a further insight into Phyll’s mature thinking. All in all, this is a wonderful, poignant read. I appreciated the way the author didn’t gloss over the realities in a way which is totally suitable for a younger audience. It reminded me of Aster’s Good, Right Things by Kate Gordon.

Themes: Ageing, Bullying, Mental health, Animal cruelty.

Jo Marshall