A fictional story set in the mountains of Southwest Virginia in 1940, WISH YOU WELL is a story of family, hope, resilience, fortitude, friendship, rural community, and love that overcomes what seems like impossible circumstances.
An unfortunate car accident leaves 12 year old Lou and her 7 year old brother, Oz without anyone locally who can care for them. They leave New York, where their father has been living and writing award winning novels, and take a train to Southwest Virginia to meet their great grandmother for the first time. Grandmother Louisa, advanced in age but mountain tough, takes the children into her home where they experience a completely different life than what they had been experiencing in New York. They learn to live without modern conveniences, attend a one room school, help with everyday chores, and help to farm the land. The children meet a number of interesting characters, some who become dear friends and others who remain enemies. The book contains family drama, community drama, courtroom drama, economic drama, and even some drama from the local wildlife while unveiling the contrasting beauty and difficulty of living in Appalachia. The author leaves the reader wondering until the very end if Oz's childlike faith with receive the miracle for which he seeks, or if he sacrificed in vain to the Wishing Well.
I had not previously read a book written by David Baldacci but I understand this book is typical for him, as he is primarily known as writing legal thrillers. In this book, Baldacci returns to his own roots, working in stories from his own family history and incorporating the descriptions and soul of the land from whence his mother's family originated into the fabric of this novel. With my own familial roots hailing back to Appalachia as well as my deep love for the land in Southwest Virginia, I naturally enjoyed the spirit of this novel. There were a few parts that I questioned as to their importance to the plot of the novel (such as the great suspense of the panther within the story), but I think that was the author's attempt to place some pretty common mountain lore into the novel as even our modern day neighbors here in Southwest Virginia love to recall seeing the great cats and many swear they are around today. The lore of the Panthers seems to be as real as the mountains themselves. In addition, as a dairy farmer, I could not help but pick up on the description supplied by the author for a sick cow as more likely being mastitis than "milk fever" as he labeled it.
I was able to listen to the audiobook version of this delightful book through my library and Libby. I have given it four stars on Goodreads.