GENUINE SWEET, by Faith Harkey

The story: Genuine Sweet is a wish-fetcher, although she can only grant OTHER peoples' wishes--which is a problem, since her life so frequently kind of stinks: her mom is dead and her dad's an alcoholic, her grandma is going downhill, and the boy she likes doesn't notice her while a semi-weird one does. Things seem to take a turn for the better when Jura--new girl and possible best friend--moves into her small town, but when Genuine breaks the #1 rule of wish fetching (i.e., you can't get wishes for yourself) her magic deserts her just when she needs it most.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence G; Sexual content G; Nudity G; substance abuse PG; magic and the occult PG; GLBT content G; adult themes (parental alcoholism, death) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: I thought this one was charming! Genuine's observations about life in a small town in the south are just right, as is her wish to join in doing good on a broader scale--and her discovery that using your powers to benefit yourself rather than others will always have unexpected consequences is something we all have to learn at some point. Too bad the cover art makes it look like a book for 4th graders--even 7th grade girls would probably like this one if it had a slightly more mature look to it.