The 11:11 Wish

Gr 4–7—Seventh grader Megan Meyers doesn't know what to think when, on her first day at a new school in Arizona, a girl writes the word "ZAP" across her knuckles, and tells her "Rhena will finish that." She is even more confused when a girl named Ally writes "Do something exciting by 3 p.m. today" on the palm of her hand. Now, not only is the whole school expecting her to fulfill the "Zap dare," but she is also caught in the middle of a rivalry between Ally and Rhena, who are competing to be elected school Spirit Captain. While trying to figure out how to do something exciting, Megan notices a cat clock in her history classroom that resembles the one she once caught her grandmother wishing on at 11:11 a.m. On a whim, Megan repeats her grandmother's rhyme at 11:11, wishing that it would snow and that she would get "some magic." After class, a delivery girl gives her a mysterious box containing a magazine that promises magical makeovers, new outfits, and solutions for dealing with mean girls. And when the school day ends, the whole school is thrilled to find snow machines set up outside. Megan finds herself promising to put on a big event to help Ally win the Spirit Week election. Megan struggles to come up with a plan, all while trying to cope with Rhena's attempts to sabotage her, her crush on Rhena's friend Jackson, and her father's refusal to talk about her mother, who died in a car accident 18 months before. Megan is an appealing character who struggles to navigate a wide range of common middle grade problems, along with trying to figure out the rules of the mischievous magical clock, and coping with her underlying grief. The novel's most compelling moments are the conversations Megan has about her mom with her father and younger sister, as they slowly learn to share their loss. Although the story line is somewhat complicated, the central problem is rather quickly resolved in the end.