Readers never know much about Nuria's grandfather, who appears to play a prominent role in the community, or why any of the residents bother to stay in such a cruel and arbitrary village. Despite the interesting premise, Billingsley is not entirely successful in anchoring a logical fantasy world or in creating wholly compelling characters. And when Nuria asks the Wishing Well, 'I wish Catty had a body just like mine,' the sneaky well simply switches the girls' bodies, leading Nuria to desperate measures to get someone to recognize her.

Wheelchair-bound Catty is not exactly the kind of friend Nuria was wishing for-she's selfish and duplicitous. Nuria, new in town, begs her grandfather to use his one wish at the Wishing Well to bring the children back, but when he does, only one child shows up. The old saying 'Be careful of what you wish for' gets a bizarre twist in this first novel about a town where all the children have vanished. Knowing this, however, does not keep Nuria, in a time of dire need, from trying to accomplish what few others have managed.īeauty and greed, warmth and cold, walk hand in hand in this unusual fantasy to create an adventure filled with friendship, challenge, and the magic of love. Few have gotten anything but misery from it. The Wishing Well in Bishop Mayne has a mind of its own and creates problems for all who try to use its power. The Wishing Well, she is trickier than anyone has known. But there come moments when she wishes it did not exist. That is the third rule.' Nuria has given little thought to the third rule. To no one but to me, for your wish is my wish too.

'And for that cycle of the moon your lips are locked in this: To no one may you speak of your wish. But that's before she meets Catty Winter, who cannot walk, whose legs are mysteriously crippled. That is the second rule.' Only a fool would make a wish that needs to be called back, Nuria thinks. 'One cycle of the moon to repent and call it back. But now, because her grandfather, the Avy, has wished for them to come back, Nuria is sure that the one thing she wants - a friend her own age - will soon be there. That's why there are no other children around. 'That is the first rule.' But Nuria doesn't think she needs a wish. 'A coin for passage to your heart's desire,' says Agnes, Guardian of the Wishing Well in the village of Bishop Mayne.

Well wished by franny billingsley