In the tradition of Wishtree and You May Already Be a Winner, this hopeful middle grade novel tells the story of three former friends who must come together at their annual town carnival to heal and reconnect after a tragedy.The small town of Clarkville has seen better days. Ever since the Cohen factory burned down a few years ago, jobs are scarce and unemployment is high. But each year for one night the Carnival of Wishes and Dreams comes to town and everyone gets to indulge in a little wonder and delight. And for three girls who each receive notes asking them to meet the anonymous sender at midnight at the Ferris Wheel, its an evening that promises to be truly magical. Audrey McKinley cant believe someone would ask her to ride the Ferris Wheel. Everyone in town knows shes afraid of heights; the last time she rode the Ferris Wheel it ended with her having a panic attack. But ever since her dad lost his job after the Cohen factory burned down hes been working too little. The carnival gives him a chance for some seasonal work, and she plans to spend the evening checking up on him and making sure he does his job. Maybe shell face her fears tonight, after all. Grace Chang isnt supposed to go to the carnival. Its too close to the burned remains of the old Cohen factorythe place where her firefighter father lost his life. And they always rode the Ferris Wheel together, so thats also something Grace isnt supposed to do. But since her mom just announced theyll be moving away from Clarkville the day after the carnival, Grace is sick of only doing things shes supposed to do. Shell be at the carnival. And she is definitely riding that Ferris Wheel. Harlow Cohen is surprised anyone would want to ride the Ferris Wheel with her. Harlow used to be popular. But ever since her grandparents old factory burned down and so many people lost their jobs, many of the kids at school blame herand her rich familyfor their own parents worsening economic situations. Harlow can never resist a dare, but when a note arrives asking her to meet an anonymous person at the Ferris Wheel at midnight, shes far from certain it will be a friend waiting for her. Can these three girls put their differences aside long enough for their wishes to come true? And is it possible to save a friendship that once seemed lost for good?

 

 

This book is aimed at children at US 3rd grade-7th grade.

This book has been graded for interest at 8-12 years.

There are 304 pages in this book. This book was published in 2019 by Simon & Schuster .

Jenny Lundquist was born and raised in Huntington Beach, CA. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Intercultural Studies with a minor in TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) at Biola University. Lundquist has published two middle-grade books, Seeing Cinderella and Plastic Polly . She lives in Rancho Cordova, California with her husband and two sons.