A solidly southern, folksy tale follows 12 year old Genuine Sweet in her tiny town of Sass, Georgia. Going in to this story, you need to know three things: Genuine is twelve, she has a gift for granting wishes, and her life is not perfect. With an alcoholic and unemployed father, a dead mother and an ailing Grandmother that told her of her gift, money is tight in thehousehold, and Genuine has more to worry about than just who needs a wish. Until she shares her story with her new friend Jura, and they decide to barter Genuine’s wish granting for staples and basics that they need. When that goes well, the girls start to grant wishes online, and things are moving along well until the demand starts to explode. With the boy she likes not giving her a second look while the weird boy is seemingly unshakable and her Grandmother starting to recover, Genuine thinks things are looking up. But then, a woman who’s wish from Genuine’s mother did not work reappears, and things start to get more complicated. With her Grandmother’s death, Genuine takes a chance and makes one last wish, and uses it for herself. A lovely story narrated in Genuine’s voice brings magical realism to a story that is laden with difficult moments, but never crosses the line to become maudlin or overwhelming. Genuine is kind and good-hearted, with a steely determination to protect those she loves and use her abilities to improve many lives. Her one misstep, using her own gift for herself brought a new series of complications to her life. Throughout the story, Genuine learns lessons about love, life, responsibility and her own ability to encourage personal empowerment in others. A lovely narrative that is easily read while presenting issues and a story that are complex and multi-layered. Suitable for readers ten and older, despite the rather juvenile cover. Magical realism is particularly strong and the wish giving is unexplained until the end, a particularly clever device that brings home the lessons that Genuine learns in a new way. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: al conclusions are my own responsibility.
Genuine (Gen-u-wine) Sweet is a fourth generation wish fetcher, which essentially gives her the ability to grant everyone’s wishes but her own. Seeing as how she’s in a pretty desperate need of some wish fulfillment herself, she orchestrates a barter system exchanging wishes for basics like food and home repairs. At the urging of her new friend Jura, Genuine looks beyond the borders of her small town Sass, Georgia, to see what her talent can do for the larger problems of the world. Before they know it, “Wish to End Hunger” has gone viral, and Genuine discovers that everything has a cost, even wishes. Harkey’s first novel is a folksy exploration of both giving and receiving help. Though the down home narrative voice threatens to overwhelm the story at times, it’s hard not to fall in love with the main character. Like her name, Genuine is the real thing—honest and big hearted, with the weight of her family, community—and world hunger—on her shoulders. There’s no real villain here, though many get caught up in greed and self-centered thinking. Fans of Ingrid Law’s Savvy series or A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff will enjoy this heartfelt story.
Do You like book Genuine Sweet (2015)?
I rarely, and I mean *rarely*, punk out on books. But after 160 pages of lines like "Don't send me to the cotillion without eyeshadow!", I concluded life was just too short for this. The concept (a girl who can grant wishes) isn't bad, but the insultingly fake setting -- think Leave It To Beaver as done by Paula Deen -- grates on every nerve from the first page. Perfect small town where everyone knows each other; no cell service; only computer at the tiny library; outside Big City girl (who comes from a violent school) sets up a money-making scheme; kitschy, kitschy, KITSCHY language. Also, while this girl (not Gen-you-WYNN, it's Gen-yew-WINE) is literally starving with her family, there's no discussion of welfare, of food banks, of assistance, even of moving. Nosiree, apparently this book don't cotton to that Big City handout nonsense; better to let children and old ladies die in the dark, thank you kindly. Bailing halfway through; the last half could be Shakespeare and it still wouldn't make up for the first. Not recommended.
—C. L.
Genuine Sweet's gran is a wish-catcher, and on her twelfth birthday, she lets Genuine in on a secret: all the women in her family are, too. Can Genuine make her own way in wish-catching and change the world - without letting things get out of hand?This one follows a premise that I am so thoroughly sick of seeing in middle-grade (plucky girl with dead/absent parents and a ridiculously hipster name trying to make life better in a well-gosh-golly-darnit-ain't-this-place-so-tiny Southern town) that I was biased against it from the start, so maybe it's not entirely fair to be giving it such a low score. But I just didn't find anything different enough about Genuine Sweet to justify reading past the halfway mark, and I could see where the story was going. Good to suggest as a read-alike to girls who enjoyed The Truth About Twinkie Pie, A Snicker of Magic (by far the best of this type of book I've read), and Three Times Lucky.
—Kate
Genuine Sweet is a genuine treat! Genuine is a lovable girl whose positive, upbeat outlook on life is infectious. Gifted with magic, she has the same wish-fetching ability as her family, and bakes starlight straight into homemade biscuits for people to eat (while making a wish)! I loved how she helps not only the people in town, but across the globe with a new 'wishing' website for communities in need. Genuine faces many hardships, and is quite a funny, strong and spunky character. I loved this charming book and highly recommend for kids and adults alike!
—Marcia Wells
