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WISH YOU WELL

by David Baldacci ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 24, 2000

Well-meant but not very well-written family saga.

A best-selling thriller author turns to down-home melodrama—with mixed results at best.

Louisa May Cardinal (Lou) is only 12 when she and her brother Oz survive a car crash that kills their beloved father and leaves their mother Amanda mute and partially paralyzed. Kindly Great-grandmother Louisa insists that all three come back to the Appalachian homestead that has sheltered so many generations of their poor but honest clan—and they do, having nowhere else to go. The children, who grew up in New York, are bewildered by the strangeness of it all, while a family friend and lawyer, Cotton Longfellow, helps out whenever he can. He patiently reads aloud to the barely responsive Amanda and explains country customs to Lou and Oz. But soon the venerable Louisa suffers a devastating stroke—just as a local schemer comes up with a plot to sell her land to the powerful coal company that has ravaged the beauty of the mountains and left its supposed beneficiaries with nothing but black lung disease, crippling debt, and the certainty of early death. The saintly Cotton battles in court on Louisa’s behalf, but the jury finds for the coal company since the stricken matriarch can’t speak in order to tell her side of the story. All seems lost with Louisa’s death, but—with a snap of the fingers—the silent Amanda springs back into full consciousness and the villains are foiled. Political thrillers may be his strength, but Baldacci ( Saving Faith , 1999, etc.) here is somewhere between middling and graceless. Drawing on his own rural Virginia heritage, he attempts various styles—backwoods dialect, homespun philosophizing, small-town courtroom theatrics—but his tin ear for dialogue and cloudy eye for metaphor stand in the way of success.

Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2000

ISBN: 0-446-52716-5

Page Count: 368

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2000

HISTORICAL FICTION

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by David Baldacci

THE NIGHTINGALE

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 3, 2015

Still, a respectful and absorbing page-turner.

Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II.

In 1995, an elderly unnamed widow is moving into an Oregon nursing home on the urging of her controlling son, Julien, a surgeon. This trajectory is interrupted when she receives an invitation to return to France to attend a ceremony honoring  passeurs : people who aided the escape of others during the war. Cut to spring, 1940: Viann has said goodbye to husband Antoine, who's off to hold the Maginot line against invading Germans. She returns to tending her small farm, Le Jardin, in the Loire Valley, teaching at the local school and coping with daughter Sophie’s adolescent rebellion. Soon, that world is upended: The Germans march into Paris and refugees flee south, overrunning Viann’s land. Her long-estranged younger sister, Isabelle, who has been kicked out of multiple convent schools, is sent to Le Jardin by Julien, their father in Paris, a drunken, decidedly unpaternal Great War veteran. As the depredations increase in the occupied zone—food rationing, systematic looting, and the billeting of a German officer, Capt. Beck, at Le Jardin—Isabelle’s outspokenness is a liability. She joins the Resistance, volunteering for dangerous duty: shepherding downed Allied airmen across the  Pyrenees to Spain. Code-named the Nightingale, Isabelle will rescue many before she's captured. Meanwhile, Viann’s journey from passive to active resistance is less dramatic but no less wrenching. Hannah vividly demonstrates how the Nazis, through starvation, intimidation and barbarity both casual and calculated, demoralized the French, engineering a community collapse that enabled the deportations and deaths of more than 70,000 Jews. Hannah’s proven storytelling skills are ideally suited to depicting such cataclysmic events, but her tendency to sentimentalize undermines the gravitas of this tale.

Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-312-57722-3

Page Count: 448

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014

HISTORICAL FICTION | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP

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THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ

by Heather Morris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 2018

The writing is merely serviceable, and one can’t help but wish the author had found a way to present her material as...

An unlikely love story set amid the horrors of a Nazi death camp.

Based on real people and events, this debut novel follows Lale Sokolov, a young Slovakian Jew sent to Auschwitz in 1942. There, he assumes the heinous task of tattooing incoming Jewish prisoners with the dehumanizing numbers their SS captors use to identify them. When the Tätowierer, as he is called, meets fellow prisoner Gita Furman, 17, he is immediately smitten. Eventually, the attraction becomes mutual. Lale proves himself an operator, at once cagey and courageous: As the Tätowi erer, he is granted special privileges and manages to smuggle food to starving prisoners. Through female prisoners who catalog the belongings confiscated from fellow inmates, Lale gains access to jewels, which he trades to a pair of local villagers for chocolate, medicine, and other items. Meanwhile, despite overwhelming odds, Lale and Gita are able to meet privately from time to time and become lovers. In 1944, just ahead of the arrival of Russian troops, Lale and Gita separately leave the concentration camp and experience harrowingly close calls. Suffice it to say they both survive. To her credit, the author doesn’t flinch from describing the depravity of the SS in Auschwitz and the unimaginable suffering of their victims—no gauzy evasions here, as in Boy in the Striped Pajamas . She also manages to raise, if not really explore, some trickier issues—the guilt of those Jews, like the tattooist, who survived by doing the Nazis’ bidding, in a sense betraying their fellow Jews; and the complicity of those non-Jews, like the Slovaks in Lale’s hometown, who failed to come to the aid of their beleaguered countrymen.

Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-279715-5

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018

RELIGIOUS FICTION | HISTORICAL FICTION

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Wish You Well

Written by David Baldacci Review by Nan Curnutt

David Baldacci, famous for his thrillers, has written a completely different kind of story. Wish You Well is a heartwarming coming-of-age novel. The lives of Louisa Mae Cardinal (known as Lou) and her 10-year-old brother Oz are completely changed when an accident leaves their father dead and their mother in a coma. Concerned friends send the children and their mother to Virginia to live with their only known relative. She is Lou’s namesake and her father’s grandmother, Louisa Mae Cardinal.

Baldacci writes with love and compassion about his native Virginia as he describes the experiences of these two city kids learning to live off the land. His multidimensional characters are not without flaws; however, most will be remembered fondly by the reader for their redeeming qualities that outweigh all else. Lou learns to look beyond appearances to see the good and understand the bad in everyone around her. Her great grandmother, Louisa, provides her with strength and stability as she learns to cope with her new life. While this novel is peopled with interesting characters, there are plenty of adventures to be experienced as well. The land provides many of it’s own challenges, as do the evil industrialists who seek to destroy it. There are a few places in the novel, especially during the courtroom scene, where the action becomes slightly melodramatic and predictable, but these are insignificant when compared to the depth of the very real characters Baldacci creates.

Baldacci explains in his author’s note that this novel is a labor of love. He has always been interested in writing of the history of his native Virginia. While seeking material for this novel, he was surprised to find “a lumberyard full” when interviewing his own family. The result is in part the story of how his mother grew up. Baldacci says, “…writing this novel was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.” Reading it is a rewarding experience as well. This would be a great novel to share with children and young adults.

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Reading guide for Wish You Well by David Baldacci

Summary  |  Excerpt  |  Reading Guide  |  Reviews  |  Read-Alikes  |  Genres & Themes  |  Author Bio

Wish You Well

by David Baldacci

Critics' Opinion:

Readers' Opinion:

• Literary Fiction
• Tenn. Va. W.Va. Ky.
• 1940s & '50s
• Adult Books From Child's Perspective
• Coming of Age
• Dealing with Loss
• Adult-YA Crossover Fiction

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• Reading Guide

Reading Guide Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

• Baldacci's eloquent use of language in Wish You Well transforms readers to another time and place-a time when America 's agrarian existence was beginning to transform into industrialization and a place where the land was the heart and soul of the community. What are Lou and Oz's first impressions of the southwest Virginia mountains?
• Louisa Mae Cardinal believed that one must be willing to listen and learn from the land. How does Louisa Mae help begin this process for Lou and Oz? What does Louisa Mae mean when she states that the mountains have a lot of secrets?
• Lou and Oz, both, make ultimate sacrifices at the wishing well. How does Baldacci use old letters from Jack and Amanda Cardinal to build the characters? What are the underlying meanings attached to the wishing well and the letters?
• Eugene and Diamond shared a unique relationship. Why would Eugene permit Diamond to refer to him as "Hell No" and be so adamantly opposed to others using the name? What similarities did the two share that might have given them a common bond?
• Social and/or economic poverty was prevalent in the southwest Virginia mountains of 1940. What are the complex characteristics of Louisa Mae's "love-hate" relationship with the mountain? How does this affect the assimilation of Lou and Oz to their new environment?
• Injustice prevails in our society, past and present. What are some examples of injustice in the novel and how do they shape the many characters?
• Natural resources have always been valuable assets to any geographic setting. In Wish You Well , what does the mayor of Dickens mean when he hails that, "Coal is King?" What connections can be made to gaining prosperity through despair?
• Several scenes in the novel refer to the characters' actions and reactions that deal with human life and its value. What underlying story or stories do these references create?
• Children have difficulty sometimes learning to trust others when they have lost a loved one. How and why does Lou come to trust Cotton Longfellow?
• Baldacci makes several references to threats to the land. What are the references and how do the characters react to them?
• During the early part of the 20th century, industrialization claimed various American rural landscapes for the sake of "economic gain and modernization. "What affects of industrialization did Baldacci express in this novel and how did the characters react to them?
• In the novel, the mountains seem to be living beings. Why is that important in the overall context of the story? What point is Baldacci attempting to convey?
• The character of George Davis is, on one level, totally evil. Seen in another light what are some of his attributes that might be applauded by society today and what does that say about our priorities and the types of people who are richly rewarded under our economic system?
• What messages about organized religion and faith in God do you find in the novel?
• What does the outcome of the trial say about the legal system in this country?
• Is the courtroom battle at the end of the novel simply a fight for land rights or does it have more to do with competing ways of life?
• The novel makes a distinction between farmers on the mountain and those people making their living in the towns. This geographic grounding permeates the perspectives of the inhabitants in the story and finds them often at odds. Is there any way to reconcile these disparate views?
• Louisa Mae Cardinal believes she would never be as happy anywhere else as on the mountain even though she has never seen any other places. Can such a view be valid and rational, or must one experience other places before one can reach such a conclusion?
• The novel deals with prejudice and hatred at the individual rather than group level. Is that an important distinction?
• Southern Valley officials made the argument that the importance of preserving the mountains should not take precedence over using its resources to ensure economic prosperity for people. At what point, if any, does that argument fail?
• Cotton Longfellow remarks that people often spend much of their lives chasing dreams they know will probably never come true, and also that that tendency may be part of what makes us human. Do you agree with that statement, and if so, why?
• Lou has great trouble believing that her mother will get better, while Oz's faith never wavers. Do you believe that the older we get, the less we believe in the possibility of miracles? Is that solely because of the accumulated failures most suffer in life which chip away at the idealism of youth, or is there another reason?
• Diamond never attended school and yet seems to have a great deal of wisdom about life. From where do you think he principally draws that wisdom?
• Does living off the land make people more practical, or are practical people drawn to making a living from the land? What other lessons can be drawn from your answer to that question? What is Baldacci attempting to convey with those references?
• Jack Cardinal wrote about the mountains though he never returned to them. Do you think his writing would have been enhanced if he had returned, or do you believe it better that his perspective was from his youth rather than as an adult?
• What do you think is symbolized by the recur-rent screams from the woods when there is danger to Lou and Oz, and, finally, by the panther scene?
• Lou and Oz learned much about their family's past in the novel. The conveyance of such familial knowledge is a major theme in the story. Do people today care about the past as a guidepost to the future? Should we place more emphasis on oral histories and lessons learned from our ancestors? Or is the future so different now that the past holds little value for us?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Grand Central Publishing. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

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• Authors & Illustrators

David Baldacci

Wish you well.

From bestselling author and master storyteller David Baldacci, Wish You Well is a dramatic and enthralling tale of family unity in the face of adversity. Tragedy strikes the New York-based Cardinal family when their car is involved in a terrible accident. Twelve-year-old Lou and seven-year-old Oz survive, but the crash leaves their father dead and their mother in a coma. It would seem their world has been shattered forever until their great-grandmother, Louisa Mae, agrees to raise the children on her Virginia mountain farm. But before long their rural idyll is threatened by the discovery of natural gas on the mountain. Determined to protect her home from the ravages of big business, Louisa Mae refuses to sell, but when the neighbours hear of the potential wealth the company could bring, they begin to turn against her. And now the Cardinal family find themselves ensnared in another battle, to be played out in a crowded Virginia courtroom: a battle for justice, for survival, and for the right to stay together in the only place they know as home. Filled with both rich humour and desperate poignancy, Wish You Well is a tale of family, faith, humanity and prejudice, set in the 1940s against the magical backdrop of the Virginia high rock.

Baldacci triumphs with his best novel yet, an utterly captivating drama. This novel has a huge heart Publishers Weekly

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A Gambling Man

Vega Jane and the Rebels' Revolt

The Final Play

Vega Jane and the Maze of Monsters

Vega Jane and the Secrets of Sorcery

The Sixth Man

Total Control

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Simple Genius

First Family

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Last Man Standing

Long Road to Mercy

The Forgotten

The Innocent

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Wish You Well

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By David Baldacci

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This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around October 24, 2000. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

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Description

• "What the novel offers above all is bone-deep emotional truth...Its myriad characters--each as real as readers' own kin--grapple not just with issues of life and death but with the sufferings and joys of daily existence in a setting detailed with finely attuned attention and a warm sense of wonder. This novel has a huge heart." Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
• "Baldacci intertwines heartbreak and wry humor to take readers on a roller-coaster ride that's nearly impossible to abandon for even a moment." Oaklend Press
• "A moving story...the focus is on young people, and the message about love is heartening." Booklist
• "There is wisdom aplenty in this homespun tale with its gritty action and authentic slices of rustic life." Virginian-Pilot
• "A beautifully written tale." Wichita Falls Times Record News (TX)

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David Baldacci

About the author.

David Baldacci is a global #1 bestselling author, and one of the world’s favorite storytellers. His books are published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. His works have been adapted for both feature film and television. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at DavidBaldacci.com and his foundation at WishYouWellFoundation.org .

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Wish You Well

43 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-9

Chapters 10-17

Chapters 18-24

Chapters 25-30

Chapters 31-36

Chapters 37-41

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

Wish You Well (October 2000) is a semi-autobiographical novel by crime writer David Baldacci. The book falls into the categories of Family Saga, Coming of Age Fiction, and Historical Mystery and is a departure from Baldacci’s thrillers, which he is primarily known for. Baldacci is the author of more than 40 novels, most of which became international bestsellers. Several have also been adapted for film. His first book, Absolute Power (1996), was adapted into a film starring Clint Eastwood. Baldacci has also penned multiple young adult novels, including the dystopian Vega Jane fantasy series.

Wish You Well is set in the Virginia mountains where Baldacci’s family originated, and the plot draws heavily on the recollections of the author’s mother and grandmother. The book was made into a movie starring Ellen Burstyn in 2013. Given the story’s emphasis on the power of the written word, it also spurred Baldacci to establish the nonprofit Wish You Well Foundation to promote literacy in America.

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The story takes place in 1940s New York and the mountains of southwestern Virginia. It is told using limited third-person narration that generally follows the experiences of 12-year-old Lou, but occasionally expresses the perspectives of several other characters in her immediate circle.

The plot involves a family tragedy that changes the lives of two children forever. When the Cardinal family goes for a picnic in the country, a car accident kills the father, Jack, and renders the mother, Amanda, catatonic. 12-year-old Lou and her seven-year-old brother, Oz, are sent to live with their great grandmother in rural Virginia. In telling the story of the children’s first year in the mountains, the book explores the themes of defining family , the importance of belief, and the real value of the land.

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Plot Summary

Jack Cardinal is a critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful author who has received a lucrative job offer to become a screenwriter in Hollywood. His wife Amanda tries to persuade him to turn down the job and move back to the mountains of Virginia, where he grew up. While the couple argues distractedly during a car trip, Jack swerves to avoid a pedestrian and dies in the ensuing accident. Amanda lapses into a state of catatonia from the shock, leaving her 12-year-old daughter Lou and seven-year-old son Oz with no immediate family. Lou decides that she and Oz should go to live with their great grandmother Louisa in the mountains. Louisa raised Jack after his own family split apart, and she is the children’s only surviving kin.

The rural backwardness of the mountains, or “high rock,” as the area is called, takes the children by surprise. As transplanted New Yorkers, they have difficulty adapting to the physical hardships of life on a farm and the ways of the local people. Lou despairs that her mother will ever recover and mocks Oz for his continued hope.

A local lawyer named Cotton and an orphaned boy named Diamond befriend the children. Louisa tries to safeguard her descendants as best she can, despite her advanced age and the hardscrabble life of managing a mountain farm. In the process, she imparts a love of the land to Lou and Oz. Diamond shows the newcomers a magic wishing well and says it will grant any wish so long as the wisher gives up his or her most cherished possession.

The peaceful life on the mountain farm is shattered when natural gas is discovered on the property, and a powerful company tries to buy the homestead over Louisa’s objections. Underhanded tactics to coerce the old woman to sell result in Louisa suffering a stroke, and the children are nearly sent to an orphanage. Cotton loses the hearing to declare Louisa incompetent, but Louisa dies before the judgement is placed. Cotton despairs, but at the last moment, Lou and Oz walk into the courtroom with Amanda, who has made a full recovery. Amanda marries Cotton, Lou moves away and becomes a famous author, and Oz plays for the New York Yankees. Lou moves back to the mountains in her old age.

All page number citations are taken from the Kindle edition of this book (October 2000).

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Submitting a book for review, write the editor, you are here:, wish you well.

Chapter One

THE AIR WAS MOIST, THE COMING RAIN telegraphed by plump, gray clouds, and the blue sky fast fading. The 1936 four-door Lincoln Zephyr sedan moved down the winding road at a decent, if unhurried, pace. The car's interior was filled with the inviting aromas of warm sourdough bread, baked chicken, and peach and cinnamon pie from the picnic basket that sat so temptingly between the two children in the backseat.

Louisa Mae Cardinal, twelve years old, tall and rangy, her hair the color of sun-dappled straw and her eyes blue, was known simply as Lou. She was a pretty girl who would almost certainly grow into a beautiful woman. But Lou would fight tea parties, pigtails, and frilly dresses to the death. And somehow win. It was just her nature.

The notebook was open on her lap, and Lou was filling the blank pages with writings of importance to her, as a fisherman does his net. And from the girl's pleased look, she was landing fat cod with every pitch and catch. As always, she was very intent on her writing. Lou came by that trait honestly, as her father had such fever to an even greater degree than his daughter.

On the other side of the picnic basket was Lou's brother, Oz. The name was a contraction of his given one, Oscar. He was seven, small for his age, though there was the promise of height in his long feet. He did not possess the lanky limbs and athletic grace of his sister. Oz also lacked the confidence that so plainly burned in Lou's eyes. And yet he held his worn stuffed bear with the unbreakable clench of a wrestler, and he had a way about him that naturally warmed other's souls. After meeting Oz Cardinal, one came away convinced that he was a little boy with a heart as big and giving as God could bestow on lowly, conflicted mortals.

Jack Cardinal was driving. He seemed unaware of the approaching storm, or even the car's other occupants. His slender fingers drummed on the steering wheel. The tips of his fingers were callused from years of punching the typewriter keys, and there was a permanent groove in the middle finger of his right hand where the pen pressed against it. Badges of honor, he often said.

As a writer, Jack assembled vivid landscapes densely populated with flawed characters who, with each turn of the page, seemed more real than one's family. Readers would often weep as a beloved character perished under the writer's nib, yet the distinct beauty of the language never overshadowed the blunt force of the story, for the themes imbedded in Jack Cardinal's tales were powerful indeed. But then an especially well-tooled line would come along and make one smile and perhaps even laugh aloud, because a bit of humor was often the most effective tool for painlessly driving home a serious point.

Jack Cardinal's talents as a writer had brought him much critical acclaim, and very little money. The Lincoln Zephyr did not belong to him, for luxuries such as automobiles, fancy or plain, seemed forever beyond his reach. The car had been borrowed for this special outing from a friend and admirer of Jack's work. Certainly the woman sitting next to him had not married Jack Cardinal for money.

Amanda Cardinal usually bore well the drift of her husband's nimble mind. Even now her expression signaled good-natured surrender to the workings of the man's imagination, which always allowed him escape from the bothersome details of life. But later, when the blanket was spread and the picnic food was apportioned, and the children wanted to play, she would nudge her husband from his literary alchemy. And yet today Amanda felt a deeper concern as they drove to the park. They needed this outing together, and not simply for the fresh air and special food. This surprisingly warm late winter's day was a godsend in many ways. She looked at the threatening sky.

Go away, storm, please go away now.

To ease her skittish nerves, Amanda turned and looked at Oz and smiled. It was hard not to feel good when looking at the little boy, though he was a child easily frightened as well. Amanda had often cradled her son when Oz had been seized by a nightmare. Fortunately, his fearful cries would be replaced by a smile when Oz would at last focus on her, and she would want to hold her son always, keep him safe always.

Oz's looks came directly from his mother, while Lou had a pleasing variation of Amanda's long forehead and her father's lean nose and compact angle of jaw. And yet if Lou were asked, she would say she took after her father only. This did not reflect disrespect for her mother, but signaled that, foremost, Lou would always see herself as Jack Cardinal's daughter.

Amanda turned back to her husband. "Another story?" she asked as her fingers skimmed Jack's forearm.

The man's mind slowly rocked free from his latest concocting and Jack looked at her, a grin riding on full lips that, aside from the memorable flicker of his gray eyes, were her husband's most attractive physical feature, Amanda thought.

"Take a breath, work on a story," said Jack.

"A prisoner of your own devices," replied Amanda softly, and she stopped rubbing his arm.

As her husband drifted back to work, Amanda watched as Lou labored with her own story. Mother saw the potential for much happiness and some inevitable pain in her daughter. She could not live Lou's life for her, and Amanda knew she would have to watch her little girl fall at times. Still, Amanda would never hold out her hand, for Lou being Lou would certainly refuse it. But if her daughter's fingers sought out her mother's, she would be there. It was a situation burdened with pitfalls, yet it seemed the one destined for mother and daughter.

"How's the story coming, Lou?"

Head down, hand moving with the flourishing thrust of youthful penmanship, Lou said, "Fine." Amanda could easily sense her daughter's underlying message: that writing was a task not to be discussed with nonwriters. Amanda took it as good-naturedly as she did most things having to do with her volatile daughter. But even a mother sometimes needed a comforting pillow on which to lay her head, so Amanda reached out and tousled her son's blondish hair. Sons were not nearly so complex, and as much as Lou wore her out, Oz rejuvenated his mother.

"How're you doing, Oz?" asked Amanda.

The little boy answered by letting out a crowing sound that banged off all sides of the car's interior, startling even the inattentive Jack.

"Miss English said I'm the best rooster she's ever heard," said Oz, and crowed again, flapping his arms. Amanda laughed and even Jack turned and smiled at his son.

Lou smirked at her brother, but then reached over and tenderly patted Oz on the hand. "And you are too, Oz. A lot better than me when I was your age," said Lou.

Amanda smiled at Lou's remark and then said, "Jack, you're coming to Oz's school play, aren't you?"

Lou said, "Mom, you know he's working on a story. He doesn't have time to watch Oz playing a rooster."

"I'll try, Amanda. I really will this time," Jack said. However, Amanda knew that the level of doubt in his tone heralded another disappointment for Oz. For her.

Amanda turned back and stared out the windshield. Her thoughts showed through so clearly on her features.

Life married to Jack Cardinal: I'll try.

Oz's enthusiasm, however, was undiminished. "And next I'm going to be the Easter Bunny. You'll be there, won't you, Mom?"

Amanda looked at him, her smile wide and easing her eyes to pleasing angles.

"You know Mom wouldn't miss it," she said, giving his head another gentle rub.

But Mom did miss it. They all missed it.

Excerpted from WISH YOU WELL (c) Copyright 2000 by David Baldacci. Reprinted with permission from Warner Books. All rights reserved.

Wish You Well by by David Baldacci

• Genres: Literary Fiction
• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books
• ISBN-10: 0446610100
• ISBN-13: 9780446610100
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• Reading Guide (PDF)

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Wish you well, common sense media reviewers.

Well-shot, moving drama uplifting but has lots of tragedy.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Integrity, loyalty, family, community, tolerance,

Great-grandmother Louisa is strong, fiercely loyal

Flashbacks of a car accident that left a father de

"Hell"; an African-American character is

Man smokes a cigar.

Parents need to know that Wish You Well is a slow-paced, character-driven drama based on the David Baldacci novel of the same name with lots of heavy themes concerning loss, grief, tragedy, racism, and small-town politics. Tense scenes include guns being pulled on others or shot as warnings, some kids…

Positive Messages

Integrity, loyalty, family, community, tolerance, forgiveness, second chances, moving on from grief.

Positive Role Models

Great-grandmother Louisa is strong, fiercely loyal, and incredibly accepting and fights for what is right. Some adults are portrayed as mean-spirited, selfish, greedy, and abusive. Most kids are portrayed as complex but well-intentioned and ultimately sweet; wayward kids are shown with complexity and compassion.

Violence & Scariness

Flashbacks of a car accident that left a father dead show broken glass, a bloody body hitting the ground; a boy dies in an explosion (death not shown); a woman has a stroke, falling to the ground, then dies in bed later; a woman spends a large part of the film in a haunted, catatonic state; a few scenes of children fighting or bullying, including punching and kicking each other, later shown with black eyes or busted lips; a group of men punch and kick another man; several guns are pulled on others to intimidate or shot as warnings.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

"Hell"; an African-American character is called "hell no" by the townspeople; some era-specific language, such as referring to adult African-American men as "boys."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Wish You Well is a slow-paced, character-driven drama based on the David Baldacci novel of the same name with lots of heavy themes concerning loss, grief, tragedy, racism, and small-town politics. Tense scenes include guns being pulled on others or shot as warnings, some kids fighting, a few scenes of death (one in a car accident, another peaceful) that leave two kids potentially orphaned, an abusive father, and racist attitudes, all of which create a more menacing or somber tone than an explicit show of violence. An African-American character is called "hell no" by the townspeople, and there's some era-specific language, such as referring to adult African-American men as "boys." It's beautifully shot with provocative storytelling but best for older kids who can handle the heaviness. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (1)

Based on 1 parent review

Best film this year

What's the story.

The loss of their father in a car accident and their mother's resulting mental trauma leave Lou and Oz in the care of their great-grandmother, Louisa ( Ellen Burstyn ) in Virginia. There they learn to fit in, navigate school bullies, grieve their father's loss and mother's illness, and help to fight against the local coal mine's efforts to take their family's land.

Is It Any Good?

This is a bleak drama about a family enduring a number of tragedies -- the death of a father and a mother's illness -- and a great-grandmother's fierce determination to defend her land and legacy. In the midst are a number of dramatic encounters, from bullying and abusive parents to racist hatred and power grabs that favor the rich and well-connected over the honest and hard-working.

There's a lot to enjoy here, from the beautiful Virginia landscape to the lush cinematography, and the characters are tough, enduring types who don't seem to let much get them down. But you're still watching kids grieve the loss of their parents and find their way to a truth they can grab hold of, and the persistent heaviness that hangs over the film and its slow, unfolding pace will make it tough for most kids to sit through.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Wish You Well' 's belief in miracles. Do you believe in miracles? Do you think what happened in this movie could really happen? Why, or why not?

How are race relations different now than they are in the time period of the movie? How are they the same?

Do you think Wish You Well accurately portrays the South during this time? Why, or why not?

Movie Details

• On DVD or streaming : June 2, 2015
• Cast : Ellen Burstyn , Mackenzie Foy
• Director : Darnell Martin
• Inclusion Information : Black directors, Female actors
• Studio : Entertainment One
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Adventures , Book Characters , Brothers and Sisters , Horses and Farm Animals
• Run time : 100 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : September 9, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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It is difficult for an author to get out of a genre once he has firmly ensconced himself in it. Readers at first looked askance at Stephen King when DIFFERENT SEASONS was published. What?! Where are the vampires? No school gyms set on fire?!! Not even a good plague? DIFFERENT SEASONS ultimately gained wide acceptance, of course, thanks to a couple of movies based on tales within that volume. But it was a rough road for a minute or two. It's even worse for other authors. Ask Robert Parker, who will immediately tell you that of all the novels he has written, his favorite is...ALL OUR YESTERDAYS, which has no one named Spenser in it and which, according to Parker, sold abysmally.

Readers like some familiarity, if not predictability. You're not going to buy a children's book by Anne Rice for your five-year-old (not without reading it very carefully beforehand, anyhow). A book by Tom Clancy titled PEACE BE TO YOU: How America Can Love Its Enemies would, I think, stiff almost immediately. It's a truism: certain authors become associated with certain types of books.

Which brings us to WISH YOU WELL by David Baldacci. We're used to tales of suspense and intrigue from Baldacci, double-crosses and intrigue and lawyers and government agents and the like. And in WISH YOU WELL, we get...well, there is a lawyer in it, and some angry farmers set a neighbor's barn on fire, which I guess is either intrigue or a double-cross; but that notwithstanding, you're not going to get your standard Baldacci fare here.

WISH YOU WELL primarily concerns Louisa Mae ("Lou") and Oz Cardinal, the children of a well-known but financially struggling author. An automobile accident kills their father, leaves their mother catatonic, and yanks the children from their familiar big city life into the comparatively primitive environment of 1940 rural Virginia. The children and their vegetative mother are sent to live with Louisa Cardinal, Lou and Oz's great-grandmother. Louisa raised their father on her small, barely self-sustaining farm; now she is raising his children. Baldacci's plain, straightforward prose paints a stark but optimistic picture of a simple, difficult, but ultimately happy existence, as the children slowly adjust to life away from the comforts of their previous lives.

While WISH YOU WELL is most definitely a novel, it reads like a series of progressive vignettes, each chapter telling a small story of gains and losses, happiness and regret, strength and fragility, while maintaining a cohesiveness within the greater whole of the novel. The pacing is in keeping with the subject matter; things move along in their own time. Baldacci weaves crises throughout the book --- crop failures, land losses, unexpected death --- but the drama here is on a smaller, more personal scale than his readers are accustomed to. The climax to these events, while inspiring, is not particularly unexpected, either. This type of book has been done before; the only surprise here is that it has never been done by Baldacci, who, interestingly enough, does it quite well.

The genesis of WISH YOU WELL is Baldacci's heritage. His people came from rural Virginia, and WISH YOU WELL is a synthesis of imagination and stories of hard scrabble farm life that he heard from relatives while growing up. Baldacci describes the writing of this novel as one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. It is doubtful, however, that his regular readers will find it so, though it will certainly attract a new audience to him.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub on September 1, 2001

Wish You Well by David Baldacci

• Publication Date: September 1, 2001
• Genres: Literary Fiction
• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books
• ISBN-10: 0446610100
• ISBN-13: 9780446610100

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Wish You Well

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Frisco Athletic Center

Services Offered

Verified by Business

Cardio Classes in 2 reviews

Group Fitness Training in 1 review

Circuit Training Classes

Interval Training/HIIT Classes

Cycling Classes in 1 review

Yoga Classes in 1 review

Daily gym memberships

Personal Training

Review Highlights

“ Nothing wrong with Hawaiian Falls but you can come here for half the price and have just as much fun. ” in 2 reviews

“ Inside the FAC they have a cafe, child care areas, locker rooms, basketball and racquetball courts. ” in 7 reviews

“ However, the group exercise classes are some of the best I've been to and the fun club is great for kids. ” in 4 reviews

Location & Hours

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5828 Nancy Jane Ln

Frisco, TX 75035

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About the Business

The Recreation Division services Frisco citizens from toddlers through senior adults by improving the quality of life for our community through exceptional and innovative special events, trips, athletics, fitness, aquatics, recreation and outdoor programs. The Frisco Athletic Center was built to provide the community with an excellent family-focused fitness and aquatic facility that is clean and well-maintained, offering a wide array of the best equipment and programs, with excellent customer service, that is operated in a fiscal manner that does not impact the Frisco tax-paying citizen. …

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Joined a few months ago when I moved to the area. I use the gym mostly and it's a pretty cool environment; plenty of equipment and good vibes. Noticed that a machine has been broken for over a month...unsure about the maintenance. But it's the best facility I have seen in a while.

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Has everything you need to stay active, including indoor pools, indoor basketball courts, large weight room, outdoor pool with water park.

I absolutely love this gym. I've been a member for the last 3 years, and the facility and equipment continue to get better every year. First off, the gym is HUGE, and it offers two levels of everything you need to get the kind of workout you're looking for. They offer a variety of classes such as yoga, spinning, aerobics and more. I have not taken a class yet, but I'm planning on it soon. I'll post an update once I do. The entire facility is very clean, and the staff is helpful when you need them. I take my son to the child care facility frequently, and he always has a great time meeting new kids and playing games. Lastly, if you're looking to get some laps in, or just relax in the water, they have several indoor swimming pools, as well as a seasonal outdoor waterpark.   The facility offers so much more to see and do. I highly recommend this facility for all of your fitness and recreational needs.

See all photos from Monica H. for Frisco Athletic Center

Went to celebrate my daughter's birthday at the waterpark, Although she had a fantastic time. The staffing is primarily kids or teenagers that are extremely rude, not welcoming, and lacks customer service skills. One young lady that seemed to be mixed with black and Asian was extremely rude and another who wore black and orange shades was also rude. If you don't like your job or love what you're doing, simply find someplace else to work or don't work at all. On to parking, the parking is horrible and for this place to have soo many parts to it should do a better jon accommodating visitors. Horrible but not a deal breaker. just get there early. Safety, none of our bags or coolers were checked at the gate leading into the waterpark erea. This is a huge safety concern, as the day went on and a we sat next to a rowdy group who IMO should have been asked to leave changed the atmosphere with their yelling and lack of home training.

The Frisco Athletic center is very large and spacious. The center offers day passes and memberships for reasonable prices. The center offers a number of activities such as indoor basketball, workout gyms, & an indoor and outdoor waterpark and swimming pool. The center is clean and wasn't crowded.

Average place to workout or play at the outdoor water park. Staff doesn't monitor weight areas and equipment is often left lying around. Children starting at 12 allowed upstairs and sometimes are up there unattended. It is allowed for kids over 13 to be here without adults. This, on the exercise floor leads to chaos and large groups of teens "hanging out" in the middle of workout areas and equipment. It isn't rare to see people doing things that harm themselves or the equipment. The outdoor water park is fun, but small. Sometimes they check the kids heights well and other times they don't. Sometimes they check bags and sometimes (today was the first time in five years!) they don't. There are often small children left unattended in the lazy river and on large slides, etc.

See all photos from Ruth D. for Frisco Athletic Center

Staff are consistently closing the lap pool early for "maintenance issues." Funny how it seems to be mostly Friday and Saturday night. Just close it earlier and post accurate hours if you don't have adequate staffing to stay open to 530.

One of the best Rec centers I've been to, it's huge - 2 levels, has assortment of classes, best pool area...wish I still lived closer to it.

Great gym area, love the option to have indoor and outdoor pools and slides, overall well kept.

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