Review: A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow

A Comb of Wishes combines Caribbean mythology with a story about wishes and loss. This middle grade is emotional as Kela navigates the loss of her mother, while also being presented with a chance to get her back. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.

Summary

Ever since her mother’s death, Kela feels every bit as broken as the shards of glass, known as “mermaid’s tears,” that sparkle on the beaches of St. Rita. But when she discovers a different kind of treasure, she accidentally summons an actual mermaid—the wrathful Ophidia.

Ophidia makes Kela a bargain: her ancient comb, in exchange for a wish. And though Kela knows that what she wants most is her mother back, a wish that big will exact a dangerous price…

Review

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

It’s easy to instantly feel for Kela and her grief. Not only how much she misses her mother, but also the ways in which everything has changed. The way your world feels like it’s been tilted off its axis. Told with chapters from the mermaid – which were my favorite chapters – A Comb of Wishes is about sacrifice. What will we do to make our wish come true? A mess of lies is created and A Comb of Wishes explores forgiveness and letting go. All the times when we only think about our wishes, our pain, we can end up hurting the ones we love.

A Comb of Wishes is about acceptance, grief, and loss. It’s a perfect read for younger middle grade readers. I ended up reading this one in a few days because I wanted to see what would happen. The entire time while reading I felt badly for Kela and her pain, while also seeing her mistakes and how she has to process her grief. I’ve been wanting to read a book with mermaids forever so this one definitely made me happy. Find A Comb of Wishes on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.

Discussion

Do you have a favorite mermaid?

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