Joplin, Wishing
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A heartfelt and magical middle grade novel in the tradition of Tuck Everlasting and Bridge to Terabithia, about family, wishes, and the power of true friends to work magic. While cleaning out her reclusive grandfather’s house, Joplin discovers pieces of a broken platter in a cookie tin. After having the platter repaired, Joplin wishes that she could both find a friend at school, and befriend the girl pictured in the platter.
The next day, Joplin befriends a boy named Barrett, and also notices a girl outside her apartment. A girl who looks remarkably like the girl in the platter…
The girl introduces herself as Sofie, and she has a terrible secret. Cursed to grant wishes for the owner of the platter for all of time, she has been trapped for centuries. Joplin and Barrett vow to help her, but freeing Sofie is more complicated than they could have imagined, and the three friends end up against a sinister foe who could put them all in terrible danger.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stanley (The Chosen Prince) deftly infuses magic and mystery into this uplifting story about friendship and second chances. After the death of fifth-grader Joplin Danforth's estranged grandfather, who was a famous author, Joplin and her mother trek from New York City to his remote cabin in Maine to salvage his final writing. There, Joplin finds a beautiful but broken antique platter. Once repaired, the platter reveals a lovely scene: a girl standing by a pond. Joplin, tired of constant ridicule by classmates, wishes for the girl in the image to be her friend, and is stunned to find Sofie sitting in her garden the next morning. Along with new friend Barrett, the children undertake the daunting task of getting Sofie back to her home a small Dutch village 400 years in the past. Stanley's clever premise will quickly capture the imaginations of young readers, but it's Joplin, with her headstrong determination; Sofie, with her soft-spoken resolve; and Barrett, with his enthusiasm and logic, who make this story special, exemplifying true friendship and sacrifice. Ages 8 12.
