When You Wish Upon a Star (Twisted Tales #14) by Elizabeth Lim

Title: When You Wish Upon a Star (Twisted Tales #14)

Author: Elizabeth Lim

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Scholastic Australia

Published: 1^st June 2023

Format: Paperback

Pages: 480

Price: $17.99

Synopsis: What if the Blue Fairy wasn’t supposed to help Pinocchio?

‘Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight …’

So begins the wish that changes everything—for Geppetto, the Blue Fairy and a little puppet named Pinocchio. The Blue Fairy isn’t supposed to grant wishes in the village of Pariva, but something about this one awakens some long-buried flicker within. Perhaps it’s the hope she senses beneath the old man’s loneliness. Or maybe it’s the fact that long ago, before she was the Blue Fairy, she was a young woman named Chiara with a simple wish: to help others find happiness. Her sister, Ilaria, always teased her for this, for Ilaria had big dreams to leave their sleepy village and become a world-renowned opera singer. While Ilaria would have given anything to have a fairy grant her wish, Chiara didn’t believe in the lore for which their village was famous. Forty years later, Chiara, now the Blue Fairy, defies the rules of magic to help an old friend. But she’s discovered by the Scarlet Fairy, formerly Ilaria, who, amid a decades-long grudge, holds the transgression against her sister. They decide to settle things through a good old-fashioned bet, with Pinocchio and Geppetto’s fate hanging in the balance. Will the sisters find a way back to one another? Or is this, like many matters of the heart, a gamble that comes with strings?

~*~

Before she granted Geppetto’s wish for Pinocchio to become a real boy, the Blue Fairy had a name – Chiara Belmagio, and a family – her Mamma, Papa, brother Niccolo, and sister Ilaria. Chiara always had a good heart, and her one wish was to help people in the sleepy village they live in, Pariva, part of the larger nation of Esperia. Ilaria has dream of becoming a famous opera singer, far from Pariva. When Chiara risks her life to save Geppetto from Monstro, a whale that has been wreaking havoc on Pariva for years, the fairies on the Wishing Star notice – and Chiara becomes the Blue Fairy. After forty years as a fairy, she breaks the rules and grants a wish for someone in Pariva – Geppetto. She grants the puppet he makes, Pinocchio, life. Chiara hopes her secret is safe – but the Scarlet Fairy finds out, and Chiara is thrust into a deal that will seal the fate of a decades-long rivalry.

The fourteenth book in the Twisted Tales series takes on Pinocchio, but with a focus on the fairy who gave the little wooden puppet life. The story opens as Pinocchio does – however, the twist is that Chiara, the Blue Fairy, is not meant to be there, and the Scarlet Fairy knows it. The story then moves forty years into the past, when Chiara was human and living in Pariva with her family, and then into her story and journey as she becomes the Blue Fairy, and her story runs parallel to her sister, Ilaria’s story, and the Scarlet Fairy’s story, until we reach the crux of the original movie – Pleasure Island, Stromboli, and everyone linked to what happens to Pinocchio in his movie. Chiara’s story centres her experience – and her identity, as most of the Twisted Tales bring the stories of the women forward or give them more complexity than the movies did, and also give the stories some additional layers and complications. And some of them are a lot darker than the original movie as well. When You Wish Upon A Star adds layers and complexities and gives the Blue Fairy a name and identity beyond ‘the Blue Fairy’, showing that she is much more than what we have always thought, and I enjoyed this. I think it is powerful to allow these characters who are not given much in the story, or who are background characters, or whose story was entirely different in the original animated movies something new. The movies still exist, and I like that the books keep the essence of those narratives whilst giving them something extra.

What I have enjoyed about the stories like When You Wish Upon A Star, is that they fill in the gaps. I liked this one because it gave the Blue Fairy substance and a family – it explained what made her want to help Geppetto, about how the fairies and Wishing Star worked, and I really enjoyed learning that she had a family and what led the fairies to her, instead of her character just being there. And I liked that it upped the stakes when it came to showing how Pinocchio became a real boy – no spoilers there as the movie has been out for around eighty years now, and in these books, I have found that it is likely that they will end in a similar way to the movies, or at least in a way that makes the best of both worlds for the characters. The importance of Chiara’s journey in this novel gives a breadth to the story that we never had before, and a voice to the characters who did not have one. I also liked that it gave a bigger impetus for Chiara to want to ensure Pinocchio succeeded – because there was something at stake for everyone involved, and I could see that there had to be a way for everyone to get their happily ever after, and for everyone to face the consequences of their actions. I think it also showed that magic often has a price, and there will always be circumstances we cannot control. We won’t always achieve our dreams; we will feel a deep range of emotions and we might even be driven to do things that we never thought we would do. But it also shows love – the love of family and how family is an essential part of who we are. Chiara and her sister are stark opposites which was represented throughout the novel and the ways they acted towards each other and everyone else.

This was an interesting take on a very familiar story, and it worked very well, as I could see how this tale could be twisted. Looking forward to reading more, and I hope people enjoy this addition to the series.