This neighborhood story has a marvelous animal and human cast, including a pair of policemen who investigate the tree vandalism and the tree’s owner, Francesca, who wants to cut the oak down. “I could write a book,” Red muses, wryly adding, “In fact, I could be a book.” Red has not only carefully watched the world for over 200 years but is also very funny. Using an oak tree as a narrator is a huge creative risk, but Applegate carries out this feat with literary bravado, elevating her tale to an unforgettable, timeless fable in the process. A car races by whose occupants shout, “Muslims get out!” Finally, the “wishtree,” named Red, can stand silent no longer. A teenager carves the word “LEAVE” into the tree’s trunk. “I wish for a friend,” she whispers, and the tree listens.īut the next-door neighbors aren’t friendly. Samar has wary eyes and a shy smile, with “the look of someone who has seen too much.” Even so, she is quietly hopeful, tying her written wish on a large red oak wishing tree in front of her house, as people have done for decades.

What can be done in the face of racism and hatred? Newbery Medal-winning author Katherine Applegate deftly explores this question in her stellar new novel, Wishtree.Ī 10-year-old Muslim girl named Samar and her parents move into a house in a suburban neighborhood, hoping for a new life. BookPage Children's Top Pick, October 2017

Wishtree book