Wish You Well

David Baldacci takes a departure from his bestselling thrillers, in the semi-biographical Wish You Well. Baldacci’s mother is the basis for the main character Louisa Mae Cardinal. This young, twelve year old girl, is forced to grow up quickly after a tragic car crash kills her father and leaves her mother unresponsive. Louisa and her brother Oz, are sent to live with their grandmother in the Virginia mountains. The ensuing events elicite a range of emotions from hilarity and anger, to empathy and hope. The plot moves along at a nice pace, and you quickly lose yourself in the storyline. It is a wonderful coming of age novel, and a definite triumph for Baldacci. It reminded me strongly of To Kill a Mockingbird, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Harper Lee’s famous novel. It is also a great book for grandma.

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