Growing up in a small town in Tasmania means that Charli
feels as though she's been bored for most of her life. In
June, her rainy winter, she's got to attend her best
friend's sister's wedding. She's seventeen and she feels
that there must be more to life than helping to run a gift
shop and marrying at twenty-one. She's not looking forward
to the event, and a car soaking her as she walks doesn't
improve her mood. The driver, here for the wedding,
apologises and later gets to know her. Adam is a French-
American lad, polite and good looking, but Charli is sure
he'll be flying out again so doesn't consider him as
boyfriend material.
SAVING WISHES follows Charli as she gives Adam the brief
guided tour of Piper's Cove. He's almost twenty-one and
after spending time with family he'll head back to New York
for law school. He asks her if she believes in fate, if
they were destined to meet. But thinking he's making fun of
her she allows two self-absorbed stylish girls to secure
Adam for the afternoon. She goes to school with them, and
it's back to normal routine next day. But Adam shows up
again, and once her older brother, surfer Alex, has met
him, Adam seems happy to spend more time with Charli. He
can't be serious can he? As time passes Alex becomes more
worried that Charli will follow Adam to New York. "You'll
be a long way from home if it ends badly," he warns.
I liked Alex and his responsible ways, and when a family
secret is revealed, it didn't make me think any worse of
him. By contrast it is very hard to know how dependable
Adam is; considerably more mature and sophisticated, he
pays a lot of attention to a girl still at school.
Refurbishing a boat and cliffside walks are all very well,
but for Adam this is just a diversion; he's from a city so
alien that the small-town girl can barely imagine living
there. Charli thinks she knows what she wants, but we can
see trouble looming.
GJ Walker Smith has given us a tale of growing up and
coming to face with realities in SAVING WISHES as well as a
slice of life where the next land is Antarctica. The
second book in this series will be called Second Hearts.
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