The Forgetting Spell

Gr 4–6—In this somewhat uneven sequel to Wishing Day, readers follow Darya as she enters her 13th year and gets closer to her own wishing day. Through flashback chapters, readers see a young Darya just after her mother left, and get some insight into her distance from her family. In the now, Darya's mother is back in town, but secretly. Darya and her sisters have been instructed not to tell Papa or Aunt Vera. Darya had always thought that Mama's return would solve everything, but it's actually ruining things. Mama is not whole—she's smoking and confused, and above all else she wants Darya to use her wishing day wishes to fix her own mistakes. Darya feels betrayed, again. Her relationships with her friends and family are suffering, and she truly has no one to turn to. While the beginning of the book suffers somewhat from too many loose threads, the second half is much stronger.