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Wish You Well
Precocious twelve-year-old Louisa Mae Cardinal lives in the hectic New York City of 1940 with her family. Then tragedy strikes -- and Lou and her younger brother, Oz, must go with their invalid mother to live on their great-grandmother's farm in the Virginia mountains. Suddenly Lou finds herself coming of age in a new landscape, making her first true friend, and experiencing adventures tragic, comic, and audacious. But the forces of greed and justice are about to clash over her new home...and as their struggle is played out in a crowded Virginia courtroom, it will determine the future of two children, an entire town, and the mountains they love.
432 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2000
About the author
David Baldacci
351 books118k followersDavid Baldacci has been writing since childhood, when his mother gave him a lined notebook in which to write down his stories. (Much later, when David thanked her for being the spark that ignited his writing career, she revealed that she’d given him the notebook to keep him quiet, "because every mom needs a break now and then.”)
David published his first novel, Absolute Power, in 1996; the feature film adaptation followed, with Clint Eastwood as its director and star. In total, David has published 49 novels for adults; all have been national and international bestsellers, and several have been adapted for film and television. His books are published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. David has also published seven novels for younger readers.
In addition to being a prolific writer, David is a devoted philanthropist, and his greatest efforts are dedicated to his family’s Wish You Well Foundation®. Established by David and his wife, Michelle, the Wish You Well Foundation supports family and adult literacy programs in the United States.
A lifelong Virginian, David is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia School of Law.
David published his first novel, Absolute Power, in 1996; the feature film adaptation followed, with Clint Eastwood as its director and star. In total, David has published 49 novels for adults; all have been national and international bestsellers, and several have been adapted for film and television. His books are published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. David has also published seven novels for younger readers.
In addition to being a prolific writer, David is a devoted philanthropist, and his greatest efforts are dedicated to his family’s Wish You Well Foundation®. Established by David and his wife, Michelle, the Wish You Well Foundation supports family and adult literacy programs in the United States.
A lifelong Virginian, David is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia School of Law.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,089 reviews
January 4, 2009
I am not a Baldacci fan...never read another of his books. But this is not characteristic of his legal thrillers. This is a beautiful story about 2 children learning what is really important in life...and it's NOT money. I've heard that in many places this is becoming required reading at the junior high/high school, level and it should be. It would be most impactful for this age. I loved it and will remember it long after I forget many of the other books I have read. I wish everyone would read this book. It's on the level of "To Kill a Mockingbird".
November 25, 2022
Was this Baldacci's attempt at his Great American novel? A huge departure from his normal 'mainstream thriller writing' is taken with this story set before the Second World War about a family overcoming and surviving tragedy, which on the face of it felt powerful, but just underneath, the lack of individual voices for the characters truly grated me, with the children not sounding or behaving like children for example. He went on to produce a film of this book, so it did mean a lot to him, and indeed the core of the book is a good story. A Two Star, 5 out of 12 read for me.
2007 read
2007 read
January 23, 2008
Everything about this book is terrible. The writing is sloppy (once you've written 800+ books, do you get a free pass on editing?), the plot is predictable and contrived, the characters are flat, and the theme of belief in the face of despair is bludgeoned in with no finesse.
Spoilers Ahead! (Kind of. This book is so predictable it'd be hard to spoil.)
The whole storyline is weak, but the ending is almost fantastically ridiculous. The previously comatose mother wakes up saves the day in the courtroom - a plot device pulled out of a made-for-TV movie. And I cringed at the "afterward" written by future Lou. She grows up to be a famous, wealthy writer, her brother grows up to win a World Series with the Yankees. Everyone's dreams come true. It's fairytale ending that even Cinderella would have trouble believing. If Baldacci had ever treated his characters/setting/subject matter with irony or even subtlety, I might have wondered if the afterward was playful meta-fiction, to be taken with a grain of salt. But, no, just straightforward drivel.
Quite simply, there are better books out there.
Spoilers Ahead! (Kind of. This book is so predictable it'd be hard to spoil.)
The whole storyline is weak, but the ending is almost fantastically ridiculous. The previously comatose mother wakes up saves the day in the courtroom - a plot device pulled out of a made-for-TV movie. And I cringed at the "afterward" written by future Lou. She grows up to be a famous, wealthy writer, her brother grows up to win a World Series with the Yankees. Everyone's dreams come true. It's fairytale ending that even Cinderella would have trouble believing. If Baldacci had ever treated his characters/setting/subject matter with irony or even subtlety, I might have wondered if the afterward was playful meta-fiction, to be taken with a grain of salt. But, no, just straightforward drivel.
Quite simply, there are better books out there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2017
I laughed and I cried (mostly cried)...I would not typically read this type of book, but this story of hope and triumph of the human spirit had me hooked to the very end. It was well written; the characters were deep and engaging and the setting beautifully described.
This is the story of Louisa May (Lou) Cardinal; a precocious 12 year old from New York. Her father is a famous (albeit underpaid) writer and she has a caring mother and a younger brother named Oz. When the whole family is in a car accident that kills her father and leaves her mother unable to take care of her and her brother, they are sent away to live with the woman who raised their father; their great-grandmother.
Suddenly Lou finds herself coming of age in a landscape that could not be more foreign to her. On her great-grandmother's farm…on the land her father loved and wrote about, Lou finds her first true friend, learns lessons in loyalty, tragedy, and redemption; and experiences adventures tragic, comic, and audacious.
This is the story of Louisa May (Lou) Cardinal; a precocious 12 year old from New York. Her father is a famous (albeit underpaid) writer and she has a caring mother and a younger brother named Oz. When the whole family is in a car accident that kills her father and leaves her mother unable to take care of her and her brother, they are sent away to live with the woman who raised their father; their great-grandmother.
Suddenly Lou finds herself coming of age in a landscape that could not be more foreign to her. On her great-grandmother's farm…on the land her father loved and wrote about, Lou finds her first true friend, learns lessons in loyalty, tragedy, and redemption; and experiences adventures tragic, comic, and audacious.
May 5, 2016
There are a lot of books which make you feel things- sometimes happy, sad the other times, and much more. Then there are some books which grab you by the scruff, shake all emotions out of you and refill you with a new experience of things which you never felt before.
This is one of those books for me.
I won't dare to say this book is perfect. This is a story of a struggle, of how humanity works, of how you should live, of how you can improve, and I can go on listing things which the book very subtly touches and etches those things in you. And such books are never perfect, you can find a whole bunch of faults or loopholes in it, or you can appreciate it and take something worthy out of it.
I'll not even describe or comment upon how the characters were or how the story was, because they were not characters of a story; but live, breathing people with whom I spent my time, and went through all they went.
David Baldacci is, apparently (because I've not read him much), a writer of legal thrillers and such. But with this book he has shown his versatility, and convinced me to read more of him.
This is one of those books for me.
I won't dare to say this book is perfect. This is a story of a struggle, of how humanity works, of how you should live, of how you can improve, and I can go on listing things which the book very subtly touches and etches those things in you. And such books are never perfect, you can find a whole bunch of faults or loopholes in it, or you can appreciate it and take something worthy out of it.
I'll not even describe or comment upon how the characters were or how the story was, because they were not characters of a story; but live, breathing people with whom I spent my time, and went through all they went.
David Baldacci is, apparently (because I've not read him much), a writer of legal thrillers and such. But with this book he has shown his versatility, and convinced me to read more of him.
January 10, 2024
Wish You Well by David Baldacci. Another wonderful book to start off 2024! A car wreck leaves one dead, one comatose and 2 needing guardianship. Living in New York City these city children did not know what hard living really is. Living off the land, surviving the mines. 1940 Appalachian Mountains in Virginia Lou and Oz are about to find out. This is their story as they find themselves in a world they knew nothing about while living with their Great Grandmother. A story of love , forgiveness , death and healing. Follow them through their new journey.
December 11, 2022
While I can respect and appreciate that David Baldacci went out of his comfort zone for this book it overall fell flat for me. It felt like a story I’ve heard before and was rather predictable. The story wasn’t bad, but it was hard to really get into it. I wanted to like the main characters especially Lou and Oz but they just didn’t seem realistic to me. For a book with a lot of tragedy I had surprisingly dry eyes. Lou and her brother Oz have to go live with their great grandmother who they have never met after a car accident robs them of their parents (their mother is catatonic and they lose their father). Life on the mountains isn’t the same as life in New York City had been but they adjust more easily than I would have expected. Overall the story was ok, but it’s one I know won’t be sticking with me and if there were more in this genre by this author I would probably pass.
April 10, 2016
TLDR: David Baldacci read "To Kill A Mockingbird" and thought he could write the same book just as well. He was wrong.
“You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons.” –Gene Wilder, Blazing Saddles
Apropos of nothing, I’ve been thinking of Italian Western epics a lot lately, so I thought I’d do this review with a Sergio Leone flavor.
The Good: In truth, I enjoyed Wish You Well more than I thought I would. David Baldacci is not the sort of author I usually read, but my mother, who enjoys light and trashy paperback fiction convinced me to read it in return for (failing to try) reading Watchmen. I had expected far worse than I got.
The action centers around young Lou and Oz Cardinal who lose their father in a catastrophic car accident which also leaves their mother comatose in the framing sequences. The Cardinal children, along with their crippled mother are forced to migrate from New York to their Great Grandmother’s farm in Appalachian Virginia.
The story is fairly enjoyable and moves along swiftly and smoothly, with few sticking points to bog it down. Baldacci has a clear affection for the Appalachian mountains and lingers a lot on the power and majesty that he feels from them (Coming from Alaska, the Appalachians are just foothills to me, so I can’t really identify here) and that much shows in the writing. The plot is sweet without drifting too far into saccharine territory for the most part.
It’s also commendable for Baldacci to move beyond his usual themes of espionage and thrillers into something a bit more human, even if it is just a brief vacation.
One shouldn’t expect great, soul moving literature from a novel like this. That it’s quick and interesting enough for the reader to make it to the end is sufficient to qualify as brain candy.
The Bad: Nonetheless, inoffensive story aside, Wish You Well is not well written by any reasonable standard or comparison.
The viewpoint character, Lou Cardinal and her ubiquitous younger brother, Oz simply do not read as children. From page one on, they make decisions and think like adults. On occasion, Mr. Baldacci seems to recognize this and attempts to write them like true children, but still misses, with Oz seeming like a mildly retarded adult.
The trouble with the children is most glaring because of their primacy in the plot, but it applies to nearly all of the characters. None seem properly human. The elderly Great Grandmother, Louisa Mae reads like a flat stereotype of the “Tough but soulful old broad” category. Equally, country lawyer Cotton Longfellow and black farmhand Eugene Randall could easily just be called “City Educated Nice Guy” and “Country Educated Nice Guy” while sneaky, violent neighbor George Davis may as well be named “Asshole Hillbilly” (Or Bob Ewell or Dubya if you like). The book is rife with other one dimensional stereotypes masquerading as characters including “Corrupt City Lawyer”, “Spunky Country Boy” and my favorite “Moustache Twirlingly Villainous Mine Operator”.
Baldacci seems to have trouble fully developing many of his plot points, either starting them and leaving them forgotten or plopping them down jarringly without explanation or further visitation. An example of the former is the specter of the children’s dead father, or lack of one. It seems like he should be more palpably present in the story, since ostensibly, the plot turns on the grieving and growing of a shattered family. I’m thinking something in the vein of “Death of a Salesman” rather than “A Turn of the Screw” here. But, instead of letting us get to know Jack Cardinal by inches through his family and the home he grew up in, he’s mostly ignored except for a few brief episodes, leaving him less than even the one dimension given to most characters. We’re often told how much he is missed, but beyond that, we’re not really shown it.
A particularly jarring interjection takes place later in the story when Lou is attacked by a pack of wild dogs during an ill-advised late night horseback ride. Until the pack closes on her, the problem of wild dogs isn’t mentioned once, though Lou seems fairly unsurprised by the animals. The scene is bafflingly resolved when the local mountain lion, famous for terrorizing farmsteads and killing livestock, swoops down upon the dogs and chases them off. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. This bizarre occurrence is then brushed aside and never revisited.
The Ugly: Something that struck me about Wish You Well and Baldacci’s essay on it on his website was his desire not just to convey his affection for and the beauty of the Virginia mountains, but also the simple people inhabiting those mountains. Unfortunately, he either flubs it entirely or is far too honest. His mountain people as a whole, with the notable exception of Louisa Mae, come off as ignorant, close-minded and grasping as such people very likely are. Baldacci manages to not make his hillbillies quite “Deliverance” quality throwbacks, but the picture he paints of the people of Appalachian Virginia in 1940 is far from favorable.
The honesty, if honesty it is, should be commendable. But when an author sets out to paint a picture of an idyllic country setting and instead fills it with mobs carrying torches and pitchforks (exaggeration mine), he has failed.
In the end, Wish You Well was not the worst book ever written. The story has its charm. But the characters are poorly executed and the writing overall feels rushed and poor. Hearsay has it that Baldacci writes his novels very quickly, and here, despite good intentions, it shows.
“You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons.” –Gene Wilder, Blazing Saddles
Apropos of nothing, I’ve been thinking of Italian Western epics a lot lately, so I thought I’d do this review with a Sergio Leone flavor.
The Good: In truth, I enjoyed Wish You Well more than I thought I would. David Baldacci is not the sort of author I usually read, but my mother, who enjoys light and trashy paperback fiction convinced me to read it in return for (failing to try) reading Watchmen. I had expected far worse than I got.
The action centers around young Lou and Oz Cardinal who lose their father in a catastrophic car accident which also leaves their mother comatose in the framing sequences. The Cardinal children, along with their crippled mother are forced to migrate from New York to their Great Grandmother’s farm in Appalachian Virginia.
The story is fairly enjoyable and moves along swiftly and smoothly, with few sticking points to bog it down. Baldacci has a clear affection for the Appalachian mountains and lingers a lot on the power and majesty that he feels from them (Coming from Alaska, the Appalachians are just foothills to me, so I can’t really identify here) and that much shows in the writing. The plot is sweet without drifting too far into saccharine territory for the most part.
It’s also commendable for Baldacci to move beyond his usual themes of espionage and thrillers into something a bit more human, even if it is just a brief vacation.
One shouldn’t expect great, soul moving literature from a novel like this. That it’s quick and interesting enough for the reader to make it to the end is sufficient to qualify as brain candy.
The Bad: Nonetheless, inoffensive story aside, Wish You Well is not well written by any reasonable standard or comparison.
The viewpoint character, Lou Cardinal and her ubiquitous younger brother, Oz simply do not read as children. From page one on, they make decisions and think like adults. On occasion, Mr. Baldacci seems to recognize this and attempts to write them like true children, but still misses, with Oz seeming like a mildly retarded adult.
The trouble with the children is most glaring because of their primacy in the plot, but it applies to nearly all of the characters. None seem properly human. The elderly Great Grandmother, Louisa Mae reads like a flat stereotype of the “Tough but soulful old broad” category. Equally, country lawyer Cotton Longfellow and black farmhand Eugene Randall could easily just be called “City Educated Nice Guy” and “Country Educated Nice Guy” while sneaky, violent neighbor George Davis may as well be named “Asshole Hillbilly” (Or Bob Ewell or Dubya if you like). The book is rife with other one dimensional stereotypes masquerading as characters including “Corrupt City Lawyer”, “Spunky Country Boy” and my favorite “Moustache Twirlingly Villainous Mine Operator”.
Baldacci seems to have trouble fully developing many of his plot points, either starting them and leaving them forgotten or plopping them down jarringly without explanation or further visitation. An example of the former is the specter of the children’s dead father, or lack of one. It seems like he should be more palpably present in the story, since ostensibly, the plot turns on the grieving and growing of a shattered family. I’m thinking something in the vein of “Death of a Salesman” rather than “A Turn of the Screw” here. But, instead of letting us get to know Jack Cardinal by inches through his family and the home he grew up in, he’s mostly ignored except for a few brief episodes, leaving him less than even the one dimension given to most characters. We’re often told how much he is missed, but beyond that, we’re not really shown it.
A particularly jarring interjection takes place later in the story when Lou is attacked by a pack of wild dogs during an ill-advised late night horseback ride. Until the pack closes on her, the problem of wild dogs isn’t mentioned once, though Lou seems fairly unsurprised by the animals. The scene is bafflingly resolved when the local mountain lion, famous for terrorizing farmsteads and killing livestock, swoops down upon the dogs and chases them off. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. This bizarre occurrence is then brushed aside and never revisited.
The Ugly: Something that struck me about Wish You Well and Baldacci’s essay on it on his website was his desire not just to convey his affection for and the beauty of the Virginia mountains, but also the simple people inhabiting those mountains. Unfortunately, he either flubs it entirely or is far too honest. His mountain people as a whole, with the notable exception of Louisa Mae, come off as ignorant, close-minded and grasping as such people very likely are. Baldacci manages to not make his hillbillies quite “Deliverance” quality throwbacks, but the picture he paints of the people of Appalachian Virginia in 1940 is far from favorable.
The honesty, if honesty it is, should be commendable. But when an author sets out to paint a picture of an idyllic country setting and instead fills it with mobs carrying torches and pitchforks (exaggeration mine), he has failed.
In the end, Wish You Well was not the worst book ever written. The story has its charm. But the characters are poorly executed and the writing overall feels rushed and poor. Hearsay has it that Baldacci writes his novels very quickly, and here, despite good intentions, it shows.
November 9, 2008
This was a complete departure for Baldacci and I really enjoyed it. He showed a completely different side of him and his writing skill were shine. I cried, and learned about the hardships of people living in the nountains of Virginia just before WWII, with no power and hard life farming. ENJOY
December 27, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. I loved being transported to another time and place. I loved the characters and the writing made me feel as if I was there.
"The place smelled of coffee, wood smoke, and baking fruit pies. Umbrellas for sale hung from the ceiling. There was a bench down one wall, and three swivel chrome barstools with padded green seats were bolted to the floor in front of a waist-high counter. Glass containers filled with candy rested on the display cabinets. There was a modest soda and ice cream fountain machine, and through a pair of saloon doors they could hear the clatter of dishes and smell the aromas of food cooking."
"The place smelled of coffee, wood smoke, and baking fruit pies. Umbrellas for sale hung from the ceiling. There was a bench down one wall, and three swivel chrome barstools with padded green seats were bolted to the floor in front of a waist-high counter. Glass containers filled with candy rested on the display cabinets. There was a modest soda and ice cream fountain machine, and through a pair of saloon doors they could hear the clatter of dishes and smell the aromas of food cooking."
June 22, 2008
Really a touching story and a stark departure from his normal books. This tells of life in the mountains of Virginia and appreciation for the "simple" life.
August 18, 2017
I really enjoyed this book because it was set in a place I hold dear in my heart: Appalachia. A good read, for sure.
July 6, 2014
This is really a hard review for me to write mostly because those I know who have read it liked it and most of the reviews I have read loved it. I just don't understand WHY! I feel like I did not read the same book.
First, I think that it did not help that I read this book at the same time we were reading To Kill A Mockingbird. I do feel like this was a poor homage to To Kill A Mockingbird on some level -- two precocious kids, court room drama, evil protagonist. Sadly, David Baldacci is no Harper Lee. He can be descriptive and he can do it well but sometimes it feels like he is just droning on - you know like the person who goes on and on and pays no attention to whether anyone is listening ... "It was very early morning, when the birds had barely awoken and thumped their wings to life, and cold mists were rising from the warm ground, and the sun was only a seam of fire in the eastern sky". The man can turn a phrase but sometimes less is more.
Another issue for me was that he never really vests me in the characters. One example of this would be the character of the dad. (spoiler) He kills him off in the first chapter. We know very little about him except that he is a poor but respected writer. We don't really ever get a sense in the next 400 pages of why we should even care except that he dies tragically and his children miss him. He tries to evoke memories of him by hitting us over the head with his poetic nature via letters he had written to his great grandmother or his wife (one section even uses his writings from childhood) but it really does not work.
Which brings me to the issue of the kids -- I am a kid and neither I or even my smartest friends talk like this! He writes for children like how he thinks children would sound like ... When Cotton tells Lou something, she snaps at him and says something to the effect of "I can't look back anymore. I need to look forward and to take care of Oz (her brother)". She is 12! No 12 year old is that thoughtful - we are selfish creatures. My cousin lost his dad at a young age and before his dad died he was asked to take care of his little sisters - as thoughtful and sweet as he is, even HE doesn't talk like that. By the second chapter, Lou and Oz have lost one parent (in front of their own eyes) and another is in a coma. They get shipped off to rural VIrginia to do hard labor on a mountain farm. They go from New York City where they had museums, music, running water, and electricity to living with a great grandmother they never met or heard much about and they NEVER complain ... not once, not ever. Also, right away they acclimate - never would have happened that fast.
Don't get me started on the panther - they talk vaguely about this panther throughout the book and then all of a sudden it shows up one night and then is never seen or even mentioned again. Lou goes out on her own after (spoiler) Diamond dies and she is randomly attacked by a pack of wolves. What?? In the entire book, Lou and Diamond go out at night and they are never bothered by a pack of wolves ... wolves are never heard or EVEN mentioned as a potential problem while traversing the mountain at night. Lou goes out and she is attacked by the wolves and is saved by the panther ... you know the panther that all the farmers say is bad and evil. After that happens, Lou mentions it to no one and it is never discussed. Is the panther an angel, is it her father reincarnated to protect her ... who knows, no one because it is NEVER explained.
The characters are all standard and contrived ... salt-of-the-earth great grandmother Lou; honest, hard-working lawyer, Cotton; tough, yet sweet, school-of-hard-knocks kid, Diamond; and evil, (if he had one) mustache-turning evil neighbor, George Davis ... every last one unoriginal and stereotypical. I read that they made this book into a movie and that is perfect. It is an unoriginal, predictable, happily-ever-after clap trap they like to make in Hollywood.
First, I think that it did not help that I read this book at the same time we were reading To Kill A Mockingbird. I do feel like this was a poor homage to To Kill A Mockingbird on some level -- two precocious kids, court room drama, evil protagonist. Sadly, David Baldacci is no Harper Lee. He can be descriptive and he can do it well but sometimes it feels like he is just droning on - you know like the person who goes on and on and pays no attention to whether anyone is listening ... "It was very early morning, when the birds had barely awoken and thumped their wings to life, and cold mists were rising from the warm ground, and the sun was only a seam of fire in the eastern sky". The man can turn a phrase but sometimes less is more.
Another issue for me was that he never really vests me in the characters. One example of this would be the character of the dad. (spoiler) He kills him off in the first chapter. We know very little about him except that he is a poor but respected writer. We don't really ever get a sense in the next 400 pages of why we should even care except that he dies tragically and his children miss him. He tries to evoke memories of him by hitting us over the head with his poetic nature via letters he had written to his great grandmother or his wife (one section even uses his writings from childhood) but it really does not work.
Which brings me to the issue of the kids -- I am a kid and neither I or even my smartest friends talk like this! He writes for children like how he thinks children would sound like ... When Cotton tells Lou something, she snaps at him and says something to the effect of "I can't look back anymore. I need to look forward and to take care of Oz (her brother)". She is 12! No 12 year old is that thoughtful - we are selfish creatures. My cousin lost his dad at a young age and before his dad died he was asked to take care of his little sisters - as thoughtful and sweet as he is, even HE doesn't talk like that. By the second chapter, Lou and Oz have lost one parent (in front of their own eyes) and another is in a coma. They get shipped off to rural VIrginia to do hard labor on a mountain farm. They go from New York City where they had museums, music, running water, and electricity to living with a great grandmother they never met or heard much about and they NEVER complain ... not once, not ever. Also, right away they acclimate - never would have happened that fast.
Don't get me started on the panther - they talk vaguely about this panther throughout the book and then all of a sudden it shows up one night and then is never seen or even mentioned again. Lou goes out on her own after (spoiler) Diamond dies and she is randomly attacked by a pack of wolves. What?? In the entire book, Lou and Diamond go out at night and they are never bothered by a pack of wolves ... wolves are never heard or EVEN mentioned as a potential problem while traversing the mountain at night. Lou goes out and she is attacked by the wolves and is saved by the panther ... you know the panther that all the farmers say is bad and evil. After that happens, Lou mentions it to no one and it is never discussed. Is the panther an angel, is it her father reincarnated to protect her ... who knows, no one because it is NEVER explained.
The characters are all standard and contrived ... salt-of-the-earth great grandmother Lou; honest, hard-working lawyer, Cotton; tough, yet sweet, school-of-hard-knocks kid, Diamond; and evil, (if he had one) mustache-turning evil neighbor, George Davis ... every last one unoriginal and stereotypical. I read that they made this book into a movie and that is perfect. It is an unoriginal, predictable, happily-ever-after clap trap they like to make in Hollywood.
March 5, 2017
I am going to make this one short and sweet. I have never read anything by David Baldacci before as the only books I saw by him seemed to be legal-type books which I don't read much of. But after seeing Wish You Well on the shelf at the local library, it sounded like a book I could not pass up.
Because I really didn't know what I was in for, the first chapter or so didn't have me convinced, but once I got to about the third chapter I was totally captivated!! This was such a beautiful story! I can't even find the words worthy of describing it.
The setting of this book is magical. I could picture it so clearly in my head, although I have never stepped foot in the state of Virginia or been on a mountain in my entire life. David Baldacci's writing is almost poetic the way it filled my head with the images of this place that I can only think of as being amazing. Then we have the characters. There were so many that I fell in love with that I couldn't begin to tell you my favorite. But, if I had to pick, it would probably be Louisa. Little Lou and Oz melted my heart, and you couldn't find a better friend than Diamond or more exceptional people than Eugene or Cotton. And Louisa was the perfect example of an beautiful human being. I wish I knew someone like her in my own life, as I would certainly be blessed to know them. They will not be forgotten anytime soon.
There were many times I found that my eyes welled up while I was reading. To me this means that the book has reached me on such an emotional level that it has far surpassed any other book that I had thought was the best thing I had read before. I am quite sure that it will take me awhile to find another book that has this kind of impact on me.
If you want a book that you will become emotionally attached to - this is that book. When I closed the back cover, this book had definitely accomplished what it set out to do - it made me feel. It grabbed my emotions and never let go. It made me smile but it also broke my heart. It made me feel the pain of loss, and the shame of cruelty. But along with this I felt joy and love.
I have already recommended this book to many people. And now I am recommending it to all of you. If you only read ONE book this year, make it this one. You can thank me later.
Because I really didn't know what I was in for, the first chapter or so didn't have me convinced, but once I got to about the third chapter I was totally captivated!! This was such a beautiful story! I can't even find the words worthy of describing it.
The setting of this book is magical. I could picture it so clearly in my head, although I have never stepped foot in the state of Virginia or been on a mountain in my entire life. David Baldacci's writing is almost poetic the way it filled my head with the images of this place that I can only think of as being amazing. Then we have the characters. There were so many that I fell in love with that I couldn't begin to tell you my favorite. But, if I had to pick, it would probably be Louisa. Little Lou and Oz melted my heart, and you couldn't find a better friend than Diamond or more exceptional people than Eugene or Cotton. And Louisa was the perfect example of an beautiful human being. I wish I knew someone like her in my own life, as I would certainly be blessed to know them. They will not be forgotten anytime soon.
There were many times I found that my eyes welled up while I was reading. To me this means that the book has reached me on such an emotional level that it has far surpassed any other book that I had thought was the best thing I had read before. I am quite sure that it will take me awhile to find another book that has this kind of impact on me.
If you want a book that you will become emotionally attached to - this is that book. When I closed the back cover, this book had definitely accomplished what it set out to do - it made me feel. It grabbed my emotions and never let go. It made me smile but it also broke my heart. It made me feel the pain of loss, and the shame of cruelty. But along with this I felt joy and love.
I have already recommended this book to many people. And now I am recommending it to all of you. If you only read ONE book this year, make it this one. You can thank me later.
February 24, 2010
Alright, I'm not going to be eloquent about it, but I HAVE to add my two cents because there are just too many glowing reviews of this book. It is so so sooooo cliche, every plot device comes straight out of made-for-TV movies, which several reviewers have commented. Makes me think of Umberto Eco's essay on Casablanca, "The Cliches are Having a Ball," because the whole thing is a mishmash of courtroom drama and wistful 'long-lost simple life' tropes. The ending is ridiculous. I think I have an extra big chip on my shoulder for this one because I was forced to read it in a high school English class, because several cases were donated to the school, and I knew, oh I knew, that it would be terrible. Lifetime movies are more nuanced than this one.
October 14, 2015
Halfway through I thought I would have to put the book down forever (forever ever? yes. forever ever) because it felt like the book was taking a godly turn a.k.a a Milla-will-put-down-the-book-forever-ever turn, because I really don’t want to read about how God saves everything, because, yeah, I don’t do sci-fi, okaay? Anyhow…
The book is about a sister and brother who lose their parents in a car-wreck, and gets sent to live with their great-grandmother on a mountain.. Well, they lose their father, and their mother is in a coma, and is with them on the mountain, I should say. She just lies in a bed and sleeps throughout the book… I really wish I could have done that too instead of reading it…..
We follow sister Lou (11 or 12 I think) and Oz (5-6-ish) through their first year (ish) on the mountain..
Of course there’s some drama in it. What will happen to the children?! Meh. Boring.
Also. I found it creepy how the lawyer dude saw the woman in a coma (who literally just lost her husband in a car wreck), and automatically thought he wanted to “read to her”. Which we all know what meant, and it's absolutely ridiculous to add a love-story with a woman in a COMA who just lost her HUSBAND 2 days ago.. I mean.. Get away from me right now, I don’t even want to look at you.
Apparently the husband was soon forgotten..
There were also some mistakes in the book, which made it seem like it had originally been from a first person pov. I do not like mistakes in my books. The end.
All in all it’s just a boring story, really.
1 star.
The book is about a sister and brother who lose their parents in a car-wreck, and gets sent to live with their great-grandmother on a mountain.. Well, they lose their father, and their mother is in a coma, and is with them on the mountain, I should say. She just lies in a bed and sleeps throughout the book… I really wish I could have done that too instead of reading it…..
We follow sister Lou (11 or 12 I think) and Oz (5-6-ish) through their first year (ish) on the mountain..
Of course there’s some drama in it. What will happen to the children?! Meh. Boring.
Also. I found it creepy how the lawyer dude saw the woman in a coma (who literally just lost her husband in a car wreck), and automatically thought he wanted to “read to her”. Which we all know what meant, and it's absolutely ridiculous to add a love-story with a woman in a COMA who just lost her HUSBAND 2 days ago.. I mean.. Get away from me right now, I don’t even want to look at you.
Apparently the husband was soon forgotten..
There were also some mistakes in the book, which made it seem like it had originally been from a first person pov. I do not like mistakes in my books. The end.
All in all it’s just a boring story, really.
1 star.
November 9, 2008
I've never read any other David Baldacci books, so I can't comment on how this is a departure from those plots, even though it's very obvious that it is.
The story itself is well-written, with two main children characters who are forced to grow up and learn to rely on each other after they are faced with tragedy. They move from the city to a rural town in Virginia, where they first meet their Great-Grandmother, the woman responsible for raising their father.
The story follows the two children, Lou and Oz, as they make the transition from city dwellers to country kids, learning about their father, their family, and themselves along the way.
It's amazing that I liked the story as much as I did, especially because Lou very easily could have been qualified as an annoying girl who just didn't know when to shut her trap...but boy, did that girl have spirit. It was the spirit that kept her from crossing the line to a child you'd want to slap, and helped balance the initial skittishness of her little brother.
There's a classic tale of older sister taking care of younger brother, doing what she had to to ensure he was safe, while trying to keep the tough chick facade that she had created.
I'll admit the story ended up being a lot more touching and inspiring to me than I thought it'd be at the beginning. Baldacci's descriptions of the place the kids end up calling home speaks of beauty, love and pride in the land.
The story itself is well-written, with two main children characters who are forced to grow up and learn to rely on each other after they are faced with tragedy. They move from the city to a rural town in Virginia, where they first meet their Great-Grandmother, the woman responsible for raising their father.
The story follows the two children, Lou and Oz, as they make the transition from city dwellers to country kids, learning about their father, their family, and themselves along the way.
It's amazing that I liked the story as much as I did, especially because Lou very easily could have been qualified as an annoying girl who just didn't know when to shut her trap...but boy, did that girl have spirit. It was the spirit that kept her from crossing the line to a child you'd want to slap, and helped balance the initial skittishness of her little brother.
There's a classic tale of older sister taking care of younger brother, doing what she had to to ensure he was safe, while trying to keep the tough chick facade that she had created.
I'll admit the story ended up being a lot more touching and inspiring to me than I thought it'd be at the beginning. Baldacci's descriptions of the place the kids end up calling home speaks of beauty, love and pride in the land.
September 10, 2022
IMDb - credit to Baldacci book used for movie
YouTube - Movie trailer
What happens when the town you grow up in has little electric, running water, grocery stores? Lou (12-sister) and Oz (8-brother) have a sick mother and being raise by their aunt in the small Southern Tremont town.
The majority of the book's theme is how they are raised with little money until a rich Southern Valley Coal & Gas company offers $500,000 for their land. Could Valley Coal turn to legal - and take the money. Else how is the town & their lives saved?
YouTube - Movie trailer
Movie poster
What happens when the town you grow up in has little electric, running water, grocery stores? Lou (12-sister) and Oz (8-brother) have a sick mother and being raise by their aunt in the small Southern Tremont town.
The majority of the book's theme is how they are raised with little money until a rich Southern Valley Coal & Gas company offers $500,000 for their land. Could Valley Coal turn to legal - and take the money. Else how is the town & their lives saved?
July 13, 2020
I'm so thankful my friend understands me :) She didn't mind that I just HAD to finish this book and was happy to wait for pizza until the last page.
All through the book there was a deep sense of sadness and tragedy but you can't help but cheer for the characters. Life is hard was a lesson Lou and Oz had to learn early. It seemed that at each tragedy they faced there was a savior to help them through. First their great grandmother Louisa, then Lou's first true friend in the Appalachians in Diamond, country lawyer Cotton Longfellow, and eventually most of the community came to support Lou and Oz.
With the final showdown in a courtroom, redemption and grace is given for their tenacity and long held hope. A coming of age story that is both heart breaking and heart warming.
All through the book there was a deep sense of sadness and tragedy but you can't help but cheer for the characters. Life is hard was a lesson Lou and Oz had to learn early. It seemed that at each tragedy they faced there was a savior to help them through. First their great grandmother Louisa, then Lou's first true friend in the Appalachians in Diamond, country lawyer Cotton Longfellow, and eventually most of the community came to support Lou and Oz.
With the final showdown in a courtroom, redemption and grace is given for their tenacity and long held hope. A coming of age story that is both heart breaking and heart warming.
December 5, 2014
Wonderful book about a girl and her brother who get sent to her grandmothers in the Virginia Mountains after her father is killed in a car wreck and her mother goes into a catatonic state. Very different from what Baldacci usually writes but very enjoyable. It is 1940 and the accidental death of their father sends two children, Lou and her younger brother Oz, along with their invalid mother, from New York City to the rugged mountains of southwestern Virginia to live with their great-grandmother, Louisa Mae Cardinal. Life is different in Virginia where food is homemade, school is a long walk down the road, and chores involve rising early in the morning. The children flourish. Then the local coal-and-gas company comes around, conniving to seize the property. The climactic courtroom battle, which will decide the fates of Lou, Oz, and their mother, is as unpredictable as it is relentless.
October 25, 2014
This is not your usual Baldacci, legal and crime writer. It's a story about two kids, 12-year old Lou and 7-year old Oz, who loose their father in a car accident in New York area, leaving their mother in a coma.
They move to their great-grandmother Louisa to live with at her Virginia Mountain farm. Quite another life, to get used to, and on top of that Louisa's farm is threatened by gas companies who try to take over her land.
Entertaining, easy to read, good feel of the times, culture and the mountain life.
They move to their great-grandmother Louisa to live with at her Virginia Mountain farm. Quite another life, to get used to, and on top of that Louisa's farm is threatened by gas companies who try to take over her land.
Entertaining, easy to read, good feel of the times, culture and the mountain life.
February 4, 2019
It's sad and funny and sweet and best of all it has a happy ending.
Lou and her brother Oz find themselves living with their great-grandmother in the mountains of Virginia after a deadly accident that claims the life of their father and the mind of their mother. Their grandmother Louisa is everything you would want in a grandma and Lou and Oz thrive. There are good neighbors and evil men and a country lawyer that is a saint. It's Pollyanna and Anne of Green Gables but was a great read that left you hankering for the good ole days.
Lou and her brother Oz find themselves living with their great-grandmother in the mountains of Virginia after a deadly accident that claims the life of their father and the mind of their mother. Their grandmother Louisa is everything you would want in a grandma and Lou and Oz thrive. There are good neighbors and evil men and a country lawyer that is a saint. It's Pollyanna and Anne of Green Gables but was a great read that left you hankering for the good ole days.
Read
March 2, 2009Wish You Well.
This is a book that made me cry, and pulled at my heart, but at the same time made me smile and really appreciate what I have before I loose it. The emotion in this book was powerfully written and motivating. It’s about an everyday family, everyday people who loose everything, but slowly learn to live in their new world and cope to the emotional turmoil that has happened upon, a young brother and sister.
I’m glad that I was encouraged to read this book, with this book’s setting being in the time of 1940 it was not a book I would have found and read on my own, and I really enjoyed reading about Lou and Oz. It was well written; the characters were deep and engaging, and so real you could almost see yourself in the lives and world that the words create.
With their father dead and their mother in an unconscious state, the two children move away from their home in Brooklyn, New York into a beautifully described Virginia rural mountain town, to live with their grandmother, on a farm. Oz teaches you to hold on to your faith and always believe in your love, when Lou shows you that through any tragedy you must come through strong and keep living and loving what you are left with. You learn about the ups and downs of a young brother and sister who loose their world and move into a new one, so completely different, but fit in so naturally.
This is a book that made me cry, and pulled at my heart, but at the same time made me smile and really appreciate what I have before I loose it. The emotion in this book was powerfully written and motivating. It’s about an everyday family, everyday people who loose everything, but slowly learn to live in their new world and cope to the emotional turmoil that has happened upon, a young brother and sister.
I’m glad that I was encouraged to read this book, with this book’s setting being in the time of 1940 it was not a book I would have found and read on my own, and I really enjoyed reading about Lou and Oz. It was well written; the characters were deep and engaging, and so real you could almost see yourself in the lives and world that the words create.
With their father dead and their mother in an unconscious state, the two children move away from their home in Brooklyn, New York into a beautifully described Virginia rural mountain town, to live with their grandmother, on a farm. Oz teaches you to hold on to your faith and always believe in your love, when Lou shows you that through any tragedy you must come through strong and keep living and loving what you are left with. You learn about the ups and downs of a young brother and sister who loose their world and move into a new one, so completely different, but fit in so naturally.
November 5, 2017
A wonderful story set in the 1940's in the mountains of Virginia. Lou (short for Louisa) and Oz (short for Oscar) are in a car accident with their parents and find themselves with no father and a mother who is in a coma. They are all sent to their great grandmother Louisa on her farm up in the mountains to live. Despite the lack of city amenities on the farm, the kids learn much about life and survival from Louisa and weather some difficult life lessons and losses. Ultimately we see how a family and good friends can be much more enriching for a life than money and loyalty is priceless. Recommended!
September 14, 2011
Throw that cheesy Vampire down the stairs, while you're doing that, toss this one as well. You will not ever get these hours back in your life :)
October 18, 2019
Este viene a ser el primer libro y mi primer acercamiento con Baldacci, David y creo que erré el tiro. Buena Suerte es un libro atípico dentro de la bibliografí de Baldacci. Todavía no sé si esta novela es una mota de polvo en su pristina biblioteca o una perla en un vertedero de basura.
En lo concreto, Buena Suerte, ambientada en la época pre Segunda Guerra Mundial, es la historia de dos hermanos que quedan a cargo de su bisabuela luego de un accidente automovilistico. La señora en cuestión vive prácticamente sola en las montaña de Virginia, a varios kilómetros de cualquier atisbo de comodidad citadina, lo que abloga a los niños a aprender a trabajar duro en las labores de la granja.
Es una historia en que pasa tdo lo que tiene que pasar y que fácilmente cae en lugares comunes y en la cursilería del relato de época.
Es una historia olvidable, no lo recomiendo.
En lo concreto, Buena Suerte, ambientada en la época pre Segunda Guerra Mundial, es la historia de dos hermanos que quedan a cargo de su bisabuela luego de un accidente automovilistico. La señora en cuestión vive prácticamente sola en las montaña de Virginia, a varios kilómetros de cualquier atisbo de comodidad citadina, lo que abloga a los niños a aprender a trabajar duro en las labores de la granja.
Es una historia en que pasa tdo lo que tiene que pasar y que fácilmente cae en lugares comunes y en la cursilería del relato de época.
Es una historia olvidable, no lo recomiendo.
June 25, 2007
Not going to lie, I didn't really have high expectations for this book. Perhaps if I didn't it wouldn't have been as good as I thought it was. You know how that happens? You set yourself up for something really great and then end up being disappointed when it's not as good as you thought it was going to be? Well, whatever, with Wish You Well I was not disappointed.
The only problem with the book was that it was a little clichéd at times, not a big deal, but a little annoying. Most common cliché was that whenever she was angry or upset Lou would shout/say/cry her final impacting statement and then take off running. That also leads me into how the kids themselves were walking clichés it seemed. I don't know if Baldacci had been around a lot of young people because his interpretations just seemed to be diluted copies of how other people have written kids.
I believe the main audience for this book would be women and/or young adults, but I wouldn't let that deter you men from reading this. The whole book contains messages that transcend all age and gender boundaries.
Large font, small pages, and short chapters could classify this book as a quick, yet moving, beach read. One thing Baldacci hoped to accomplish was to make readers interested in seeking out their own unique stories hidden in their family history. That's one of the most important messages in the novel, cherishing what's truly important and lasting not the fleeting, shallow joys of today.
Overall? Good, easy, enjoyable read.
The only problem with the book was that it was a little clichéd at times, not a big deal, but a little annoying. Most common cliché was that whenever she was angry or upset Lou would shout/say/cry her final impacting statement and then take off running. That also leads me into how the kids themselves were walking clichés it seemed. I don't know if Baldacci had been around a lot of young people because his interpretations just seemed to be diluted copies of how other people have written kids.
I believe the main audience for this book would be women and/or young adults, but I wouldn't let that deter you men from reading this. The whole book contains messages that transcend all age and gender boundaries.
Large font, small pages, and short chapters could classify this book as a quick, yet moving, beach read. One thing Baldacci hoped to accomplish was to make readers interested in seeking out their own unique stories hidden in their family history. That's one of the most important messages in the novel, cherishing what's truly important and lasting not the fleeting, shallow joys of today.
Overall? Good, easy, enjoyable read.
August 8, 2022
“Why do things like this happen, Cotton?” He sighed deeply. “I suppose it may be God’s way of telling us to love people while they’re here, because tomorrow they may be gone.“
I enjoyed this novel written by David Baldacci. Not his usual genre from what I understand and the first book of his that I’ve read. I thought the characters were well developed and was touched by the story of the difficult yet fulfilling life they lived in the mountains of south Virginia.
I enjoyed this novel written by David Baldacci. Not his usual genre from what I understand and the first book of his that I’ve read. I thought the characters were well developed and was touched by the story of the difficult yet fulfilling life they lived in the mountains of south Virginia.
September 15, 2017
Precocious 12-year-old Louisa Mae Cardinal lives in the hectic New York City of 1940 with her family. Then tragedy strikes--and Lou and her younger brother, Oz, must go with their invalid mother to live on their great-grandmother's farm in the Virginia mountains. Suddenly Lou finds herself coming of age in a new landscape, making her first true friend, and experiencing adventures tragic, comic, and audacious. But the forces of greed and justice are about to clash over her new home...and as their struggle is played out in a crowded Virginia courtroom, it will determine the future of two children, an entire town, and the mountains they love.
I've read all of David Baldacci's series over the years but this was so different from all of those. As I was reading it I kept thinking that it sounded almost like an autobiography, and then at the back of the book were family pictures from Baldacci's grandparents and his mother. So turns out it was a "labor of love".
This book displays what a magnificent story teller David Baldacci really is. It contains all types of surprises mixed with a scene that will bring tears to the strongest of readers. Taking place from the 1930's and 1940's it offers the reader an opportunity to take a vacation to another time and place and share in lives rich in family history.
I've read all of David Baldacci's series over the years but this was so different from all of those. As I was reading it I kept thinking that it sounded almost like an autobiography, and then at the back of the book were family pictures from Baldacci's grandparents and his mother. So turns out it was a "labor of love".
This book displays what a magnificent story teller David Baldacci really is. It contains all types of surprises mixed with a scene that will bring tears to the strongest of readers. Taking place from the 1930's and 1940's it offers the reader an opportunity to take a vacation to another time and place and share in lives rich in family history.
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