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Wishin' And Hopin' (2009)

by Wally Lamb(Favorite Author)

3.48 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

HarperCollins e-books

review 1: Probably a 3.5, but my guffaws and laughing out loud tell me to round up. Reading Wally Lamb's Wishin' and Hopin' brought to mind Ralphie Parker in Jean Shephard's The Christmas Story (actually a combination of stories from In God We Trust); Wishin' and Hopin' takes place in the 60s rather than the 50s, same age youngsters, bullies, friendships, life lessons learned, a parochial school and all the memories that will conjure up. It feels as though Lamb is reflecting on memories past rather than a made up tale. Very entertaining.
review 2: Hilarious!!! It is "A Christmas Story" and the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" combined into a nostalgic and heartwarming tale. I have to say that I am a huge fan of Wally Lamb and I have read ALL of his books. This book is nothing... more like his other books. I think of Lamb as a crusader for mental health issues and in that manner he did not disappoint me. There is one character who deals with bipolar disorder but that is where the similarity stops. It is the story of a 10 year old boy's life from Halloween To Christmas during the 60s in a Catholic school. His 5th grade teacher, a nun, has a break down when she sees a bat in the classroom and a French Canadian substitute is brought in. The book also fleetingly deals with prevailing prejudices of that time against "communists" and african americans. I would not recommend it for very young readers because of some of the adult language. If that was edited out this would be a great book for kids. I am looking forward to watching the movie. less

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