WRITE BEFORE YOUR EYES

Kline’s novel wastes no time with setup when 12-year-old Gracie discovers that the old journal she bought at a yard sale has magical properties: Write something on the pages and it comes true! Though she considers ending poverty and global warming, the repercussions of Gracie’s initial small entries prove disastrous enough to tell her she needs to clean up her past mistakes before trying anything bigger. After giving her little brother good grades, her sister a date with the boy of her dreams and herself the heart of her best male friend, Gracie finds that no wish goes according to plan. Through trial and error, she eventually decides to pass the notebook on and deal with the world around her without otherworldly interference. The magic in this book never truly thrills, and the malevolent Cheshire Cat (accidentally brought to life by Gracie’s words) proves an inadequate villain with unclear motivations. Nor do readers ever quite understand why Gracie’s faith in the journal never wavers. A good idea that does not come to life in an unexceptional novel. (Fantasy. 11-13)