Khoo, Rachel Chivers. Wishkeeper’s Apprentice, The. Rachel Sanson, Illus. Candlewick, 04/2024. 227pp. Fiction. Trade $16.99. 978-1-5362-3120-5. GRADES 3–6. ADDITIONAL.
Ten-year-old Felix Jones feels alone and unwanted; his best and only friend has moved away, and his seventeen-year-old sister never wants to spend time with him anymore. After making a wish at a wishing well, Felix realizes that he is the only one who can see the wishkeeper retrieving the wish. The wishkeeper, Rupus Beewinkle, takes on Felix as his apprentice and they work together to fix wish snags and stop a wishsnatcher. At the end of this quick-paced fantasy action, Felix believes in himself, his sister is nicer to him, and Felix knows that there is an entire magical network of long-lived people granting wishes for those with hope and a positive attitude. Sanson’s scattered b&w sketched illustrations help readers imagine some of the action, characters, and situations. Characters read as white.
Joshua Rees—Daly City Public Library