A WHISPER AND A WISH
Christy Miller Collection: Volume One, Book Two
Robin Jones Gunn
Multnomah
Fiction
ISBN-10: 1590525841
ISBN-13: 9781590525845
157 pages

When Christy Miller was abruptly sent home from her summer vacation in Newport Beach, she thought she would never see the ocean again. However, in A WHISPER AND A WISH, the second book in Robin Jones Gunn's Christy Miller series, we learn that Christy will be moving to California permanently! She is thrilled to be leaving behind rural farm life in Wisconsin, but those around her aren't so pleased. Her parents are only moving because of a horrible financial situation and are certainly wary of life on the west coast. Meanwhile, Christy finds that best friend Paula is also upset by the move and may have already started to forget her. More unsettling is that her family and friends cannot seem to understand why she has gotten so serious about her faith in God. Christy assumes that all will be well when she returns to her "beach friends" back in California. She looks forward to going to school and building a life with all of the great people she spent her summer with.

However, her dreams are shattered when her parents inform her that they will not be living in Newport Beach, but well over an hour away in Escondido. She misses her chance to see summer-fling Todd, who is returning to his mother's house in Florida, and is not able to spend time with her friends due to the unflinching rules of her parents. Her new house is less than impressive, and her family constantly mopes around, not knowing a soul. To make matters worse, Todd has not returned any of Christy's letters or even called.

Things seem to pick up, however, as Christy begins school and befriends Brittany, Janelle and Katie, who unceasingly encourage her to pursue local heartthrob Rick. Not quite ready to forget Todd, Christy struggles to define her relationships, especially now that she is under the constant supervision of her strict parents, who have forbidden her to date. Her new friends may not be so perfect, either --- a late-night trip lands the girls in the police station and reveals some troubling problems. Will Christy be able to make a new life for herself in Escondido? And will she be able to forget about Todd and attract the attention of popular Rick?

A WHISPER AND A WISH picks up right where its predecessor, SUMMER PROMISE, left off. Readers may be surprised to find Christy making a permanent move to California, conveniently putting her back with her friends from the previous title. The book does add in several new characters; most notably, we get to meet Christy's mother, father and brother, who were absent in SUMMER PROMISE. While Christy is living with her parents, we get to see a different side of the protagonist, and her new friends certainly add quite a bit of drama into the mix. A WHISPER AND A WISH is a highly enjoyable book that will not disappoint fans and leaves many questions waiting to be answered in the next installment.

   --- Reviewed by Jennifer Crosby

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