Wishes and Wellingtons by Julie Berry

Wishes andWellingtons is a light-hearted Victorian fantasy about being careful what you wish for.

Wishes and Wellingtons by Julie Berry. Sourcebooks, 2020, 363 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 10-1

To call Maeve Merritt “feisty” is an understatement. She’s the terror of Miss Salamanca’s School for Upright Young Ladies, and most particularly of Miss Salamanca herself. Not that Maeve isn’t upright in her own way, but she’s obstreperous to a fault and won’t back down even when she could be a little more conciliatory. Her best friend and roommate Alice Bromley is a perfect foil, tempering some of Maeve’s excess. Unfortunately Alice isn’t around when Maeve finds the discarded sardine can while serving out another sentence in the coal cellar. If she didn’t like sardines, she wouldn’t have pried open the can, thus releasing a 3000-year-old djinni.

This magical being (who looks rather fishy, and smells likewise), introduces himself as Mermeros and finds his sudden-servitude to a whey-faced girl far beneath his dignity. After she carelessly throws away one wish and nearly kills herself and her friends while carrying out another, Maeve is determined to choose her last wish wisely. But rich Mr. Treazlton, the father of her school nemesis Theresa, has his eye on a certain sardine can and will do anything to get his hands on it.

This is a clever, fast-paced magical adventure with numerous unexpected turns. Maeve gets ahead of herself more than once, but Alice’s temperance and wisdom is a welcome counterweight: “I’m beginning to think that the things we want most in life shouldn’t come as granted wishes. If we don’t work for them what do they even mean? Do they even matter?” Maeve faces some knotty dilemmas that take wit and courage to unravel, and comes through with integrity intact and some important lessons learned. Victorian snow and a sweet Christmas scene make this an enjoyable winter’s read.

Consideration:

• In the early chapters, Maeve uses a vulgar word for derriere, mostly for its shock value.

Overall Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 4.5
• Artistic/literary value: 4.5

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• The Emperor’s Ostrich is another fun middle-grade fantasy by Julie Berry. Also see our review of her Christmas picture book, *Long Ago on a Silent Night.
• For older readers, the Bartimaeus Trilogy features an unforgettable djinni in the title character.

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