Author: Rachael Johns
ISBN: 9781489261519
Copy courtesy of Harper Collins Australia
Just One Wish is a fabulous novel of family love, sorrow, secrets, betrayal and heartbreak.
This story is set in Melbourne Victoria and brought to life by 3 generations. This book is through the eyes of granddaughter Geraldine (Ged) and also involves her grandmother Alice, whom she calls Gralice and her mother Sappho (Marie). A secret kept for over 50 years changes the dynamic of this close loving and family.
Alice was turning eighty and during her celebration she surprised Ged and Marie with tickets for a girls cruise to reconnect as a family. Gralice and Sappho didn’t always see eye to eye and Sappho was resentful of her upbringing. Ged on many occasions found herself stuck in the middle of her mother and grandmothers. On the cruise that was meant to bring them all closer together a hidden fifty year secret and betrayal tear them apart.
The book shows the complexity in all families and the ups and downs of life and how we overcome them. The book is filled with sadness, laughter, joy and warmth. You will be caught up in pregnancy and paternity tests, lesbian tendencies, secret lovers, scandal, illness, adultery, estrangement and regret.
Racheal Johns has written another brilliant novel which I highly recommend.
Thank you HarperCollins Publishers Australia and B&L for the opportunity to read and review.
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading Just One Wish. You can read their comments below, or contribute to the discussion by leaving your own feedback.
My love of books started at a very young age. My mum has always been a reader and encouraged me to read, buying me endless book from classic fairy tales advancing to the world of Enid Blyton, CS Lewis, Louisa May Alcott, Kathryn Kenny, Carolyn Keene, Francine Pascal. In my adult years the list of authors is endless and every room in my house is filled with books.
One of my favourite novels is Narnia which has always has a special place in my heart. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 1978 and when I was given this book to read it let me escape to another world where I felt like I was in the book with all the characters, it wasfun and exciting to escape from reality and eased the ups and downs of the disease at such a young age.
In books nothing is impossible and there is endless potential and hundreds of places to explore or being taken to places that are only made up from the authors’ great minds, the past and future to navigate, characters lives you step into taking you on an emotional rollercoaster ride or being scared out of your wits. I can experience things that I can’t in real life because they’re not possible or real. It challenges my perspective and mindset expanding my worldview.
I find joy, comfort and peace with books, many people may not get it, but I know bookworms like me truly understand. Reading makes my heart happy.
Just one Wish is another great novel by Rachel Johns. The storyline encapsulates all the questions facing women – career versus domestic goddess, forbidden love, looking after elderly family members, pregnancy out of wedlock and family secrets. It uses three generations of women to give all points of view which makes it a great book club read or movie as has been suggested by other reviewers,
I love Rachel John’s novels and this is another winner.
I absolutely loved this book, but make sure you have a box of tissues handy because the latter part of this story will pull at your heartstrings.
The book explores three generations of women, Alice who turns her back on love because she doesn’t want to embrace the patriarchal concept of marriage and goes on to become a well known feminist, while raising a child as a single parent with the help of a gay couple, the grandfathers. Her daughter Sapho, who prefers to be known as Marie, the antithesis of Alice, who having been bullied as a child for her unusual and different parentage, goes on to seek domestic harmony as a stay at home housewife while becoming an Instagram sensation blogging as the Happy Happy Housewife and her granddaughter Geraldine, Ged to her family and close friends.
Ged is a journalist, vying for a big promotion when her boss Darren retires later that year, she’s been in a relationship with Christos , a divorced father of three who nest parents with his ex-wife Carly and works at the same organisation as she does, for around a year. When Christos announces that he and Carly are getting back together in a sham marriage “for the sake of the children” Ged’s world collapses.
Then Alice announces out of the blue that she is taking Sapho and Ged on an all expenses paid short cruise and at the last minute Sapho’s new assistant Rosa joins them.
Life after the cruise will never be the same, family secrets long hidden will come to the fore, relationships will be tested and people will need to work out who they really are and what really matters to them in life.
A beautifully written book about families, communication, expectation and the importance of being true to yourself. You know a book is good when you don’t want to put it down to go to bed, you continue reading it at the first available opportunity the next day and you finish it in two sittings. Highly recommended not only to Rachael Johns fans who will love it, but also to anyone who enjoys reading a book with a well crafted and relatable storyline, and believable characters.
Can I just say at the very beginning of this review – I love Rachael Johns writing style and narratives. Just One Wish is an interesting and engrossing story with many twists and turns that I really didn’t expect but made the story even more entertaining. Thanks also to Beauty and Lace and Thank you HarperCollins Publishers Australia for the opportunity to read this great book.
This story is set in Melbourne Victoria and brings together the stories of 3 generations. Seen through the eyes of Geraldine who is known as Ged, her grandmother Alice, whom she calls Gralice and her mother Sappho (Marie). Family secrets – some from more than 50 years ago – bring this family a lot of challenges and to the reader a lot of unexpected twists.
The story is entertaining and to be quite honest hard to put down. I wish I could have known more about Alice’s life and career and I had a laugh at Maries late life career (SO right now). These are characters that you want to know more about and want as friends.
Once again – Rachael Johns I salute you! Great book wonderful characters, engrossing and entertaining storyline. Love this book! High recomended.
Thanks once again for the opportunity to read.
I loved this book and getting to know the three main characters. The story was woven through the stories of these three intriguing women, all strong in their own right, all with their own stories to share – love, heartbreak, hopes and dreams. I love Rachael’s books and this one didn’t disappoint!
However… I don’t want to say too much, for fear of giving too much away. All I can say is – read this one!
Rachael Johns never fails to write a fantastic and immersing story, I have loved all her books I have read so far.
Thankyou!