REVIEW: WISHFUL THINKING by ALEXANDRA BULLEN

This is my first Alexandra Bullen novel and I really enjoyed it. Contemporary YA is rarely on my wish list but this novel really has made me reconsider. Wishful Thinking is the story of Hazel Snow. It is her 18th Birthday and Hazel is expecting very little. Her life has been a series of stifled emotions and disconnection. Yes she is provided for by the former boyfriend of her deceased adoptive mother, but there is little love between them.

Roy however makes a monumental action (for him) on her special day: He gives her a copy of her birth certificate and she sees the name of her real Mother, Rosanna Scott. Flash forward to an artistic event showcasing Rosanna's art. Hazel pulls a fancy thrift store dress from her closet to attend, only to notice it has a tear. She takes it to the shop Mariposa on the Mission for repair only to have the wrong dress returned to her.

Having no choice, she attends the party only to learn it is a memorial service for Rosanna. Heartbroken, Hazel speaks her deepest wish: to know her mother. She wakes to find her self on a ferry headed to Martha's Vineyard and that she is 18 years in the past. She finds a note from the seamstress shop as well as two other dresses.

Each grants a wish and Hazel now has the power to learn where she comes from and why her mother made the decisions she did.

I really connected with Hazel in this book. She has to deal with a tough roommate, Jamie and finds her self on the cusp of first love. As she finds the true identity of her mother she tries to use her dresses to change her future only to discover the gift in the life she has been living.

A positive read with a wonderful cast and a very sweet message. This book is a sequel to Alexandra's book Wish. I haven't read Wish but Wishful thinking reads well on its own.