The Wish List

Image credit: Barnes & Noble

Being a book addict, I am never in-between reads for long. I cannot stand not having a bookmarked novel on my bedside table, missing from my bag, and out of reach when walking to work. But sometimes it's tricky to settle on a new book when you finish one. I’ve recently discovered that (for me) the best way to combat this problem is to finish an adult book and then read a smaller, slimmer, children’s book. The dopamine rush is just the same and it keeps the adrenaline going, ready for the next literary endeavour. This week, after closing the cover on Vicious, I did just that and settled down with a cute little tale from Eoin Colfer, the author of Artemis Fowl: The Wish List.

Meg Finn’s soul is up for grabs. Having been a delinquent most of her life, her inner good finally wins out when a burglary of a pensioner goes wrong. After an explosion, Meg’s soul floats between Heaven and Hell and she has the option of going back to Earth to tip the scales one way or the other. Unfortunately, her means of redemption lie with the old man she and her partner were attempting to burgle. Helping him complete his ‘Wish List’ is the only way Meg can get into Heaven, but the Devil is after her soul and has a few tricks sent her way to bring her down instead of up.

A cute and modern interpretation of the afterlife, The Wish List is a sweet and funny redemption story with just enough horror injected for its intended young audience. Colfer’s take on the fantastical was whimsical and different in Artemis Fowl and that same vibe flows through this book too. Taking old ideas and revamping them to suit the modern young reader is something Colfer is exceptionally good at, creating worlds and characters that are refreshing and new, whilst still being recognisable and achieving the same goals of their structural nature. In this case, the redemption story.

Meg and Lowrie, the old man she and her partner wronged, make a particularly cute team-up. The classic conflict of the young and the old is kind of perfect when dealing with the theme of death. Both characters have lived lives they are not proud of, the difference is that Meg’s was cut short. The generational divide and the miscommunications and misunderstandings it brings about give the story its heart-warming edge, as well as provides most of the comedy. 

Image credit: The Daily Mail

We then have a similar conflict with the opposing forces. The mutated and vengeful soul of Belch, Meg’s partner in crime, is teamed with a demonic hologram to thwart Meg’s attempts at redemption. Where Meg and Lowrie have the young vs. old thing going on, Belch and Elph’s battle with each other is one of conflicting intelligences with Elph speaking in algorithms and technical jargon, while Belch (a dimwit delinquent who is now fused with a dog) only has his street know-how and primal taste for blood guiding him. Quite a few of the book’s funnier scenes feature these two.

The Wish List is short and sweet. A very easy read and a lovely little story that’s fun for both kids and grownups.

Author: Eoin Colfer, 2000

Published: First published by The O’Brien Press Ltd, 2000. Published by Viking, The Penguin Group, 2003.