wellwished

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Well Wished

Franny Billingsley

Billingsley, Franny. Well Wished. Aladdin Paperbacks. New York, NY. 1997.

Franny Billingsley’s Well Wished is a distressing, cheerless, new-age version of Pinocchio, that reminds us how lucky we are. Billingsley based the story on her sister, Madison, who died in a car crash in 1993, four years before Well Wished was published. The story’s ability to connect a childish concept to real-life situations is disturbing, and at times urges readers to question their sanity. However, Well Wished’s tragic and eye-opening story is what makes it a must read for teenagers.

Penelope, the main focus in the story, never liked herself. She couldn’t stand her short temper, the awkward shape of her face, her curly hair and wide eyes -- and the fact she was no longer a living, breathing human. Ten years before the story takes place, Penelope’s life was taken in a car crash, and she couldn’t rest in peace without getting her wish -- to be the gorgeous, living creature she had always wanted to be. She was unable to move on to the afterlife and was stuck wandering the earth until she could let go, but all she focused on was her reflection, remembering the life she had and dreaming of the one she never lived. As sad as the story begins, it only becomes more upsetting.

Often times, Penelope followed little girls home from school that she found appealing, longing for their faces. After years of making herself miserable, a new girl named Charlotte -- the peerless, unlikable Mary-Sue of the story -- joined the school and reminded Penelope of herself, excluding the fact that Charlotte was beautiful. The straight hair and rounded face that Charlotte had was the same one that Penelope had dreamed of her entire life and beyond. Penelope stalked her for days and days, which dragged on at a painfully slow pace. Then, at an abrupt change of direction, Penelope realized how intrigued she was by Charlotte, and declared that as soon as she found a way to revive herself, she would go to school with Charlotte; they would be the best of friends!

That night, Penelope was visited by her fairy godmother. She was radiant, blue, and unoriginally similar to the fairy featured in Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio. She recognized Penelope’s inability to move on to the afterlife and came to grant her one wish. Penelope tells her that she wants a carefree and lovely life equal to Charlotte’s. With the wave of the godmother’s wand, a flash of light swept before Penelope’s eyes, and she was suddenly standing in front of Charlotte’s house. She looked at her reflection in the glass windows and the reflection she saw only in her dreams stared back with an eager grin. Charlotte’s parents answered when she knocked on the door, and when Penelope asked about Charlotte, they told her they had never heard of her; that they didn’t even have children. As Penelope left, the fairy godmother explained to her that in order to bring new life onto the earth, existing life must leave. Penelope’s new life had replaced Charlotte’s.

Well Wished will, in the end, make readers feel original and unique. It was written to help teens appreciate what they have and who they are, and it is suitable for anyone over fourteen. Young readers may find it upsetting and will develop a sense of self-antipathy and insecurity.

3 out of 5 stars

Contributed by C. Corazza

November 18, 2012