WISH ON A WILLOW

Sent to Nebraska after a terrible accident, an 11-year-old girl fights to save a magical tree—and possibly her father’s life.

When “absolutely everything” changes, Eloise Atticus Cooper ends up spending the summer in Caspian, Nebraska, with her Gee-pa while her mother and 4-year-old brother, Jeremiah, remain in Oklahoma. Early in her stay, Eloise explores the attic, where she finds her father’s childhood journal in which he describes a magical tree growing on the family’s land. Then Eloise experiences the magic first-hand: Falling from the willow’s upper branches, she’s gently lowered to the ground, an event that’s witnessed by her two new friends, Olive and Kimiko. All three watch as a leaf heals Eloise’s scraped knee instantaneously. Eloise soon realizes that the tree’s very existence is somehow tied to the fate of her father, who remains in a coma after a truck hit him while he was cycling. When local developer Daniel Wells the Third buys Gee-pa’s land, which spells the end for Mama Willow, the girls know they must act. The characters’ straightforward authenticity and the less-than-perfect ending make Oka’s debut an appealing read for fans of gentle yet spirited tales such as Jeanne Birdsall’s The Penderwicks and Ingrid Law’s Savvy. Most characters read white. Kimiko’s mother is Japanese and her father is white. Final art not seen.

A heartwarming, nostalgic story of friendship, bravery, and self-discovery, with a touch of magic woven throughout.