Every day after school Mags has to take care of her little sister, Hannie, who has special needs, and her brother, Mooch, who everyone is saying is a thief. Her mom has to get ready to go to work at her second job in the factory and someone needs to make dinner, do the dishes, clean up the trailer, and get the little ones to bed. Sometimes Mags just wishes it didn't have to be her. When does she get to be a kid? When does someone take care of her? Life isn’t easy when everyone at school thinks you're trash, and the school bully is trying to cause problems for you. When Mags and Hannie stumble upon an old, dirty discarded unicorn in the field coming home from school, Hannie must have it. Mags tries to explain to her that there's nowhere to put it in their trailer. But, Hannie believes the unicorn is magic, and she won't leave it behind. Finally, they take it home, deciding to hide it in a garbage bag. Mooch makes the first wish on the unicorn. Next, Mags wishes on the unicorn because she really needs some new clothes. Hannie doesn't wish because she isn’t sure what she wants to wish for. Mags thinks the wishes are silly, but then there are clothes waiting for her when she gets home. Secondhand clothes appear from her aunt, and they make Mags feel pretty good. The next day more magic seems to be happening. Is it the unicorn? Things seem to be getting better, but when faced with a big decision will Mags make the right choice? Will Hannie ever use her wish? Can wishes really come true if wished on a stuffed unicorn? You will have to decide for yourself.

I really enjoyed Wish on a Unicorn by Karen Hesse. My heart went out to Mags, and I wish I could meet her and be friends with her because it's clear she needs a friend. I felt bad for her that she wants to be friends with some girls in class who may not be so nice. Sometimes we want things because we're looking at them through a distorted lens. Mags feels bad about herself and her home life, and I think this makes the popular girls seem more glamorous. My heart also went out to Mags because she has a lot of responsibility for someone her age. Kids are mean to her sister and brother, but her family is simply trying to just get along day by day. I think kids in fifth grade and up would enjoy this book and would want to be friends with Mags too. It made me realize that we often spend so much time wishing about things we don't have- that we don't see what's right in front of us. When push comes to shove we want our family and those we love to be safe and happy. I have to tell you this book made me cry. I listened to it on audio, and I definitely recommend it to others. The narrator did a wonderful job, and I felt my heart being pulled towards the characters. I look forward to reading more books by this author. ( )

Written with clear insights into the world of poverty and its impact, Hesse once again wrote a stellar tale of a young woman who is weary of clothes that don't fit, a fatherless household, a mother who works menial jobs that don't net enough for food, housing, clothes and simple necessary items, a brother who reminds her how hungry they are and a sister who is developmentally challenged.

Hesse accurately portrays the feelings and thoughts of Mags who simply wants to fit in with her sixth grade classmates and to have a respite from the heavy load that a young child should not have to bear.

When her sister Hannie finds a dirty unicorn stuffed animal, she becomes inordinately attached to the object and believes that wishes can come true if only they hold the unicorn when requesting.

Desperately wanting to fit in, Mags make choices that don't include her family. Paying a high price, she realizes the importance of family.

Recommended.

Four Stars ( )

Mags desperately wants to fit in with the other children in her school. The only thing that stands in here way is family: a father who died when she was 2, a mother who works the night shift, a younger brother (Mooch) who has has a history of stealing, and a mentally challenged sister (Hannie) who clings to Mags. It doesn't help that the boy down the street despises the family and takes great joy in pointing out all of their flaws. When Hannie comes across a 'magic' unicorn and insists on keeping it, Mags can help but believe there is a little magic in that ratty toy. Wishes don't always turn out the way you expect. ( )

I really, really liked this book! It's short but full of meaning and life-lessons, if you chose to see them that way. Mags is in sixth grade and is very self-consious about her trailer-living family, her brother who steals, and her sister Hannie, who is "slow". She doesn't believe that the dirty old stuffed unicorn Hannie found is actually magic... Why should she? But Hannie does, and by the end of the book it's apparent that, whether the unicorn was magical or not, it served to bring a family together in ways that they really needed. ( )