Author's Note: This is my Cause/Effect piece that is focused on the plot from Wish, by Alexandra Bullen. Not my best piece...
Olivia from Wish,by Alexandra Bullen, has lost her
twin sister, her best friend. Her twin, Violet, died unexpectedly which left
the whole stunned and breathless. Nothing seemed the same after that. The
family couldn't look at anything without being reminded of Violet. In some
time, the family decides to move to San Francisco in hopes that the memory of
Violet will be gone. They as a family cannot handle the loss. They want to
forget. They want to be happy again. Olivia agrees to go, with the same wishes
as her family.
When they arrive,
however, Olivia finds that maybe she doesn't want to forget. When she seeks a
dress boutique in a small shopping outlet, everything feels different again.
And that's when the dress appears at her doorstep the next day. She tries it
on, wondering how the store got her measurements perfect. As she's staring in
the mirror, she is reminded of her sister (since they are twins). She wishes
for her to come back…and that's what happens.
The wishing upon the
dress is the climax of this book. It is the point of no return, and Olivia can
never go back to being the same. This is true, because she gets reattached to
her ghostly sister, and then afterwards can never strip her presence from her
fully.
Leading up to the
climax was Olivia wandering around aimlessly in San Francisco, not knowing what
she wanted to do in life anymore. And since she was headed to nowhere in
particular, she stumbled across the magical boutique that appeared only to her.
The universe was giving her a target, although she didn't know it yet.
Violet, now being a
ghost, has the same characteristics as when she was alive, she even acts fully
alive. This makes Olivia worry, because when Violet thinks that she truly is
alive, Olivia knows Violet has to go back.
Olivia then seeks help. Although she loves her sister, she finds herself
learning that forgetting is not the answer, and neither is holding on, either.
She makes new friends in the process, hoping that they will help her find a
"cure" to her specific information. Violet's presence helps Olivia,
in two ways. 1.) Violet was always the more "socially acceptable"
twin and coaches Olivia on her first day at the new school and 2.) it makes
Olivia more independent when she is sneaking around Violet, looking for help
with her new friends.
The reason for the
magical dress and wish is unstated in the book. However, it is not unclear. I
believe that the wish came to Olivia because the universe is all about
"everything happens for a reason", and it is. It was a turn in the
book that helped Olivia overall to cope with the sudden death of her sister
and pull her family back together.
If Olivia would not
have received that magical dress from the magical boutique, her entire family
would still be silently suffering. Not talking about Violet's death yet
thinking about it, trying to forget yet at the same time holding on. They would
drag out their lives in San Francisco that would in the end hold nothing
positive for them.
In the end, after
making new friends such as Soren and Calla, (and after searching the boutique
for clues when they find the manager of the store who is also magical and
searching Violet's once favorite places such as the boat docks) they find a way
for Violet to rest in peace, a way back to the afterlife. This makes Olivia sad
yet happy at the same time, as she remembers her sister as well as the lesson
of understanding "everything happens for a reason".
