SuitabookThe Boy Whose Wishes Came True
Helen Rutter
- Reading
- Read alongside your child if the family themes feel close to home. Pause after difficult moments to check how the humour is landing, and revisit the ending together because its reassurance may not feel wholly realistic.
- Themes
- Wishes and personal agency: Archie receives nine wishes and hopes they will resolve problems including bullying, family difficulties and unhappiness. The wishes are presented as exciting possibilities, but the story also asks whether Archie himself has the power to change his life. Their reality remains deliberately uncertain.
- Young caring and parental depression: Archie lives with his severely depressed mother and is shown facing the difficulties of being a young carer. The subject is described as sensitively handled and as illuminating young carers’ difficulties without sentimentality or preaching.
- Bullying and belonging: Archie is picked on, excluded from teams and considers using a wish to get revenge on bullies. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Consider whether the book’s light handling of serious subjects will suit your child, particularly if depression, parental separation, bullying or caring responsibilities are personally relevant. The ending is described as broadly reassuring but somewhat unrealistic.