Esme's Wish by Elizabeth Foster Series: Esme's Wish #1
Published by Odyssey Books on October 30th 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 252
Source: Author
Amazon • Amazon UK
Goodreads
When fifteen-year-old Esme Silver objects at her father’s wedding, her protest is dismissed as the action of a stubborn, selfish teenager. Everyone else has accepted the loss of Esme’s mother – so why can’t she?
But Esme is suspicious. She is sure that others are covering up the real reason for her mother’s disappearance – that ‘lost at sea’ is code for something more terrible, something she has a right to know.
After Esme is accidentally swept into the enchanted world of Aeolia, the truth begins to unfold. With her newfound friends, Daniel and Lillian, Esme retraces her mother’s steps in the glittering canal city of Esperance, untangling the threads of Ariane’s double life. But the more Esme discovers about her mother, the more she questions whether she really knew her at all.
Esme’s Wish is Elizabeth Foster’s debut fantasy book for middle grade to young adult readers.
Esme’s mother was lost at sea, but Esme knows that can’t be the whole truth. When her father remarries and she’s left alone with her horrible aunt while the newlyweds are off on honeymoon, she decides to try to find out more about her mother’s disappearance. Accidentally swimming through a portal in a rock pool, Esme finds herself in Esperance, a place she’s only heard about in her mother’s stories.
Esme’s Wish is a delightful story of a vulnerable girl stepping into another world. She makes friends there, discovers new and terrifying creatures, and above all, follows the clues to try to discover what happened to her mother.
In this classic coming-of-age story, Esme finds her own gift, and uses it to help save the islands of Aeolia from destruction. Esme and her friends, Daniel and Lillian, are excellent characters, full of life and hope for their futures. As Esme discovers more about what her mother had been doing all her life, she goes through so many heartbreaking emotions. It reminded me that as we grow older, we realise that our parents are separate people with their own lives and desires.
Elizabeth’s writing style is lyrical and creates a sense of wonder about her descriptions, and although they can get a little flowery at times, the world building is detailed and beautiful. Also, there’s dragons and people who ride them, so I was going to love this book from the start.
I can’t wait to see what comes next in Esme’s story! If parallel worlds with mysterious creatures and island cities sounds like your thing, give Esme’s Wish a read.
Elizabeth Foster
Thanks so much, Anni. I’m glad you enjoyed it!