Review by Booklist Review
Readers who enjoyed Charlie's story in Barbara O'Connor's Wish (2016) will enjoy this return to her small town in North Carolina, narrated by Charlie's classmate Idalee, whose mother hopes for stardom as a country singer. Mama departs with her band for a road trip that might make her famous. Meanwhile, Idalee is staying with neighbors and hoping to stay out of trouble. Like her grandfather, Idalee writes songs. When a radio station sponsors a songwriting contest, her friends urge her to submit some of her songs. Idalee longs to win the cash prize, which will buy her a new guitar, but after she uses a ruse to gain an advantage, her moral compass responds with realistic guilt and makes her dreams seem far beyond her reach. In this stand-alone book that features several returning characters and a familiar setting, the strongest asset is O'Connor's ability to let Idalee tell her story in her own, distinctive voice, while creating secondary characters who are interesting and equally true to life. An involving chapter book, set in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4--6--The strength of unexpected friendship and the hopefulness of a dream is explored in this middle grade novel. Eleven-year-old Idalee Lovett comes from a long line of musicians, and all she wants is to become a country music songwriter. When the local radio station hosts a songwriting contest, she begins to dream about what it might feel like to win; but as she presses forward, the fear of failure creeps in, leading her to make an out-of-character decision regarding the contest. As the award announcement date approaches, Idalee's anxiety increases, resulting in an admission to her mother of what she has done. Although this brings her some relief, she continues to agonize over the possible ramifications of her actions. When the contest results in an unexpected outcome, Idalee learns about the power of friendship and honesty. The ragtag group of characters are endearing, adding to the general warmth of the story. Idalee's anger at her situation is somewhat glossed over, making parts of the story feel a bit inauthentic; however, readers familiar with O'Connor's Wish will enjoy the appearance of some familiar faces. Main characters are cued white. VERDICT A tender story of the strength of friendship and the power of a dream, this page-turner captures the heart.--Misty Schattle
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Review by Horn Book Review
O'Connor takes readers back to Colby, North Carolina, in this standalone companion to Wish (rev. 11/16). Eleven-year-old Idalee Lovett, descended from a long line of musicians, stars here. An aspiring country songwriter, Idalee lives with her mother in their family home, now converted into a boardinghouse whose lodgers include several distinct and well-developed secondary characters. When Joey's All-American BBQ Shack announces a song-writing contest, with the winning song to be performed on the radio by a rising country singer, Idalee is all in. She figures her chances of winning would be better if she could purchase a guitar. Without the funds to do so, Idalee enlists Charlie and Howard (who will be familiar to readers of Wish) as well as temporary boarder Odell to find her grandfather's bounty, rumored to be hidden somewhere in her home. The treasure turns out to be a collection of never-published, and terrific, country songs, which fill Idalee with self-doubt about her own skills and present her with a moral dilemma: perhaps she could just enter one of these gems. But such a move would belie her song, "Dream," in which Idalee eschews gold and riches for life's everyday pleasures. In a leisurely narrative that reflects the small-town atmosphere of Colby, O'Connor gives readers much to ponder. Betty CarterSeptember/October 2025 p.71 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Idalee Lovett's summer is full of friendship and a dream of country music fame. O'Connor revisits the Blue Ridge Mountains town of Colby, North Carolina (the setting of 2016'sWish), where 11-year-old first-person narrator Idalee aspires to become her mother's songwriter. Lovey Lovett and the Junkyard Dogs sing covers of popular songs, but Idalee, who comes from generations of country musicians, believes her original compositions can help her mother rise to stardom. She longs to win an upcoming songwriting contest for young people, but she doesn't believe that any of the many songs she's already written and strummed on her old, broken guitar have what it takes. Sheneeds the blue guitar she saw in an Asheville music store. Idalee enlists friends Odell, Charlie, and Howard to help her find a treasure rumored to be hidden by her grandfather somewhere in her big, dilapidated family home, which has been turned into a rooming house. The pleasures of summertime independence and relaxed parenting and the absence of electronic screens and distractions give this work a timeless feel. Idalee's songs focus on the funny and familiar. The lyrics of her new composition, "Dream," are sweetly evocative: "Some folks dream of castles and dresses made of silk. / I dream of a cabin in the pines, cornbread, and buttermilk." O'Connor's affection for small towns, slightly eccentric people, and low-key humor shines through, her surehanded narrative and appealing characters reliably engaging, as always. Most characters read white. Warm-hearted and wonderfully likable.(Fiction. 9-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
