David Baldacci is known for his fast paced thrillers. The reader can depend on a protagonist up against an evil that seems unbeatable. WISH YOU WELL is not what we would expect from a Baldacci novel.
Twelve-year- old, precocious Louisa Mae Cardinal is happily living in New York City with her timid younger brother Oz, her loving mother and her adored father. Lou’s father has found acclaim as an author, but very little pay.
After a terrifying accident, Lou finds herself on a train heading away from New York and into the mountains of Virginia. The rustic way of living is completely foreign to Lou and Oz. The work is hard and there are dangers that did not exist in New York. The remarkable part of their new life is the great-grandmother who is now responsible for the young brother and sister.
WISH YOU WELL is a coming of age novel warmly told by an author who obviously loves the area of his own youth. In true Baldacci style the characters are well drawn. It is hard not to fall in love with Lou’s new best friend Diamond Skinner or the only lawyer on the mountain Cotton Longfellow.
But the person who will stay with you long after the book is closed is Great- Grandmother Louisa. With almost unbelievable strength and patience, she teaches her new family the life lessons that are important to all of us. Because her work ethics are so strong, and because such work ethics are vital for existence on a rural farm in 1940, Lou, Oz and the reader learn “ ... from the great and little miracles that can change lives- or save them”.
It took me several pages to stop looking for the evil characters that I expect from David Baldacci and realize that the characters in this book are heart- warmingly real. There are bad characters just as there are in real life, but most of them are written with a touch of humanity. Wish You Well gives us a glimpse into the range of a talented author.
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