Some books gently work their way into your heart.
Wish You Well by Jamie Sumner does not.
This book grabs your heart with both hands and says, “You’re coming with us.”
It’s emotional. It’s heartbreaking. It’s funny in places where you almost feel like you shouldn’t be laughing. And at the center of everything are three kids with big diagnoses, even bigger personalities, and absolutely no intention of being reduced to the things happening to their bodies.
And I loved them for it.
About the Book
Violet Marino does not want sympathy. She doesn’t want people fussing over her, and she definitely doesn’t want new friends. What she wants is to play soccer and figure out how to deal with the fact that she is slowly going blind—preferably on her own terms.
Then she meets Wyatt.
Wyatt has a newly transplanted heart and the kind of personality that immediately makes you think, Oh no. This kid has ideas.
And he does.
Then there’s Noor, who is sharp as a blade, undergoing chemo, and armed with excellent snacks she can’t even eat.
On paper, these three do not exactly scream instant best friends.
Which, naturally, means they are absolutely perfect together.
All three have something else in common: a wish-granting foundation that keeps trying to get in touch with them. Wyatt decides that instead of simply accepting their individual wishes, they should team up and game the system. One sick kid getting one wish might be nice. Three sick kids taking three epic adventures together?
That could be legendary.
What begins as a scheme and a distraction, though, slowly becomes something none of them were planning on.
A real friendship.
And that is where Wish You Well gets you.
My Review
Violet completely won me over.
She’s feisty in the best possible way. She is hurting, but she is not fragile. She is scared, but she is not helpless. She has built walls around herself, but Jamie Sumner makes it incredibly easy to understand why those walls are there.
Violet doesn’t want her diagnosis to become the most interesting thing about her. She doesn’t want everyone looking at her differently or treating her like she could break at any moment. She wants soccer. She wants independence. She wants some control over a situation that is increasingly outside her control.
That combination of anger, fear, determination, and vulnerability makes her feel wonderfully real.
Then Wyatt comes crashing into the story with all his charm and terrible ideas.
I loved the energy he brings to this trio. He is the kind of character who can make you laugh while simultaneously making you wonder whether somebody should perhaps be supervising him a little more closely.
And then there’s Noor.
I adore Noor.
She’s clever, direct, and wonderfully sharp. Her humor gives the story another layer, especially because it exists right alongside the reality of what she is going through. None of these characters exist simply to represent an illness. They are funny. Irritating. Stubborn. Afraid. Hopeful. Occasionally ridiculous.
They are kids.
That distinction matters.
A story centered around three seriously ill children could very easily become overwhelmingly sentimental. Wish You Well certainly has emotional moments—and yes, there were parts that hurt—but it never feels as though the characters are there only to make the reader sad.
Instead, the heart of this story is friendship.
At first, Violet, Wyatt, and Noor are connected by circumstance and by Wyatt’s ridiculous plan. Their partnership is almost transactional. They have a common goal, so they might as well work together.
But somewhere along the way, pretending to be friends starts looking suspiciously like actually being friends.
And friendship is complicated.
Letting somebody into your life means giving them the opportunity to know you. It means allowing them to see the things you would rather hide. It means caring about what happens to them.
And when your future—or your friend’s future—feels uncertain, caring about someone can be terrifying.
Because when you finally let people in, you also give them the power to hurt you.
Or leave.
Or matter.
A lot.
That emotional idea was what stayed with me most.
There is so much fear underneath these kids’ actions, but Wish You Well is not ultimately a story about being afraid. It is about deciding that connection is worth the risk anyway.
I also really appreciated that the friendships aren’t magically perfect. These kids have complicated emotions. They make questionable choices. They push each other. They get things wrong. Their illnesses might be what initially bring them together, but their personalities—and everything messy that comes with them—are what make their relationship worth following.
And honestly, watching these three become a team was my favorite part of the book.
Final Thoughts
Wish You Well is one of those middle grade novels that reminds me why I love the category so much. It tackles enormous subjects—illness, fear, uncertainty, independence, grief, and what it means to have a future you cannot completely control—without forgetting that its characters are still kids who want adventures, friendships, jokes, and something exciting to look forward to.
Violet, Wyatt, and Noor absolutely grabbed me by the heart.
Their circumstances are heartbreaking, but this story is not without joy. There is humor here. There is mischief. There is hope. Most importantly, there is the reminder that opening yourself up to other people can be scary precisely because those relationships have the potential to mean so much.
Sometimes protecting your heart means keeping everyone out.
But sometimes the people you let in are exactly the ones who make the difficult parts worth facing.
Wish You Well is emotional, funny, tender, and beautifully human.
Just maybe keep the tissues nearby.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 stars
About the book:
Book: Wish You Well
Author: Jamie Sumner
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Synopsis:
From the acclaimed author of Roll with It comes a “winning, cathartic joy ride” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) of a middle grade novel about three kids with big diagnoses, bigger personalities, and one outrageous plan to team up and scam a wish-granting foundation.
Violet Marino doesn’t want sympathy. And she definitely doesn’t want friends. She just wants to play soccer and deal with the whole slowly-going-blind thing on her own terms.
Then she witnesses a boy choke on a hot dog at a hospital picnic. Enter Wyatt: dangerously charming and full of terrible ideas, especially for a kid with a newly transplanted heart. Add sharp-as-a-blade Noor, who is always armed with excellent snacks she can’t eat, thanks to chemo. Other than their illnesses, the three don’t have much in common—except for the fact that a wish-granting foundation keeps calling.
Ever the optimist, Wyatt has a plan: team up to game the foundation, even if it means faking friendship. One wish is fine, but three sick kids on three epic adventures? That’s history-making. The scheme starts off as a distraction. But soon the stakes feel real. Because when you finally let someone in, there’s more to lose.
About the Author
Jamie Sumner is the author of the Roll with It trilogy, Tune It Out, One Kid’s Trash, The Summer of June, Maid for It, Deep Water, Please Pay Attention, Schooled, Glory Be, and Wish You Well. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. She loves stories that celebrate the grit and beauty in all kids. She is also the mother of a son with cerebral palsy and has written extensively about parenting a child with special needs. She and her family live in Nashville, Tennessee. Visit her at Jamie-Sumner.com.