Like several other readers on this blog, I'm a big Wally Lamb fan. I requested this book from the library ages ago, but it just came in. It's a Christmas book, so the delay was a little annoying, but oh well.Lamb usually tackles pretty heavy material (Columbine, obesity, depression, dsysfunction...), so Wishin' and Hopin' represents a drastic change. Reminiscent of A Christmas Story in tone, this book is a harmless, delightful tribute to family and growing up in the 1960s.
Our narrator is 10 year old Felix Funicello, third cousin to Annette Funicello, a fact of which the entire family is immensely proud. Lamb proves as adept at writing as a child as he does writing as anyone else; Felix often speaks in a kind of tangential, stream of consciousness style, diverting along whatever paths strike him. He is fresh, honest, and innocent.
Wishin' and Hopin' isn't super plot driven - it follows Felix, his family, and his parochial school through one fall and winter. Along the way, we encounter an exotic, "salty" Russian student, Zhenya, Felix's arch enemy, Rosalie, a dramatic French-Canadian substitute teacher, several TV appearances, and various misadventures. It's a light read (2 days for me) - refreshing, nostalgic, and whimsical.
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