Title: Cloudwish
Author: Fiona Wood
Release Date: 1st September 2015
My Rating: 4/5
Blurb:
For Vân Uoc Phan, fantasies fall into two categories: nourishing, or pointless. Daydreaming about Billy Gardiner, for example? Pointless. It always left her feeling sick, as though she'd eaten too much sugar.
Vân Uoc doesn't believe in fairies, zombies, vampires, Father Christmas - or magic wishes. She believes in keeping a low profile: real life will start when school finishes.
But when she attracts the attention of Billy Gardiner, she finds herself in an unwelcome spotlight.
Not even Jane Eyre can help her now.
Wishes were not a thing.
They were not.
Correction.
Wishes were a thing.
Wishes that came true were sometimes a thing.
Wishes that came true because of magic were not a thing!
Were they?
In A Nutshell:
"Yay, new Fiona Wood!"... *calm down, take a deep breath* ... "Omigod, new Fiona Wood!"... *a stampede occurs to secure a copy*
My Review:
Fiona Wood’s latest novel, Cloudwish, picks up
where her second book concluded. Now in Year 11 at Crowthorne Grammar, our
favourite characters, Lou, Michael and Sibylla, take a step back and play supporting
roles to the main character, Van Uoc, who had a minor appearance in Wildlife.
Van Uoc’s story begins when she inadvertently
makes a wish when holding a glass vial marked ‘wish’, found in a visiting
author’s creative writing ‘inspiration box’. Somehow, the vial mysteriously
disappears and Van Uoc thinks nothing of it except for her distress that she
can’t return the item to the author.
When Billy Gardiner, the subject of her wish, starts
paying attention to her that very same day, Van Uoc initially thinks she is the
butt of his latest joke, until no joke is made. Billy is constantly popping up
and Van Uoc’s carefully strategized existence of staying under the high school
radar is suddenly null and void. Suddenly, people are staring at her and the rumour
mill lights up. Matters are only made worse when she incurs the wrath of
super-bitch Holly, who makes it her mission to tear Van Uoc down.
Van Uoc is left wondering if her wish has
actually come true, and if it has, how can she reverse it? Because no one wants
to be with someone if the feelings aren’t real, do they?
Van Uoc’s parents sought asylum in Australia 30
years ago following the Vietnam War. This background provides a place for Wood
to highlight some of the shameful behaviours displayed in Australia toward
people seeking asylum, something that has been occurring for as long as I can
remember.
Van Uoc’s frustrations at the way current
asylum seekers are treated and viewed, as well as the first generation
Vietnamese-Australian kids, is prominent throughout the book. This is such an
important perspective to be shown, particularly given its constant debate in
Australian politics, and it highlights the misconceptions associated with
asylum seekers and refugees, and specifically how Van Uoc is perceived at
school. As Holly likes to remind her, Van Uoc is seen by some of the students
and their families as the ‘poor, Asian Scholarship Kid’. This class elitism and
snobbery frustrates Van Uoc who has worked so hard for everything and she can’t
understand why a person’s worth is decided by how much money they have.
It is so important to see a diverse range of
characters in books, and in particular as the main character. This is not only
so readers understand that there are many different ways of life, but also so
that those who may not be part of the majority are able to see their life
represented, reflected and validated.
Cloudwish is the third companion novel in Fiona
Wood’s collection, following Six Impossible Things and Wildlife. Like the
others, Cloudwish is filled with characters you (mostly) want to be friends
with and consists of a story about family, friendship, standing up for others
and believing in yourself.
Thank you to Macmillan for this review copy.
Giveaway!
Thanks to the lovely people at Macmillan Australia, I have a copy of Cloudwish to give away to one lucky reader!
Thanks to the lovely people at Macmillan Australia, I have a copy of Cloudwish to give away to one lucky reader!
The giveaway is only open to Australian residents (Apologies to international readers!) and the winner will be contacted after 30th September 2015.
