Book Review: The Wish and the Peacock

Since I still have young children at home about the age of the heroine in The Wish and the Peacock, I was excited to read this book with them. The story was so well-told and the underlying message a poignant reminder of what's important---that change will happen, but home is with the people you love.

Paige is a very relatable character. She's trying so hard to deal with the grief of losing her father and wanting to do all she can to hang on to the family farm and keep her promise to her dad. She's balancing a lot in her young life with her problems at home and school and friends. Then, her brother Scotty finds a wounded peacock that she wants to take care of, and once she finds out her mom and grandpa are going to sell the farm, she keeps the peacock a secret. Paige is determined to do everything she can to make sure the farm doesn't get sold---including resorting to some really funny, and yet awful, sabotage schemes.

I loved Paige's reactions and thought her growth arc was realistic and sweet. Though the book dealt with a grief theme, there are definitely some laugh out loud moments as well as some tender ones to create a heartwarming story with charming characters. The author has also drawn a wonderful secondary cast with Paige's friends, her mom, her Grandpa, and her brother. The peacock itself is such a great symbol and plays an understated role in the story, yet is central to the message. While the book is not preachy at all, I definitely will be thinking about what things I'm hanging onto in my life that may be holding me back, just like a peacock's tail can do the same for them if they don't let it go. This is such an inspiring and entertaining read! It's definitely a book I will read with my children again. The Wish and the Peacock has earned a special place on our keeper shelf!

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Here is the back copy:

Paige's favorite family tradition on the farm is the annual bonfire where everyone tosses in a stone and makes a wish. This time, Paige's specific wish is one she's not sure can come true: Don't let Mom and Grandpa sell the farm.

When Paige's younger brother finds a wounded peacock in the barn, Paige is sure it's a sign that if she can keep the bird safe, she'll keep the farm safe too. Peacocks, after all, are known to be fierce protectors of territory and family.

With determination and hard work, Paige tries to prove she can save the farm on her own, but when a real estate agent stakes a "For Sale" sign at the end of the driveway and threatens everything Paige loves, she calls on her younger brother and her best friends, Mateo and Kimana, to help battle this new menace. They may not have street smarts, but they have plenty of farm smarts, and some city lady who's scared of spiders should be easy enough to drive away.

But even as the peacock gets healthier, the strain of holding all the pieces of Paige's world together gets harder. Faced with a choice between home and family, she risks everything to make her wish come true, including the one thing that scares her the most: letting the farm go.