Return to Sender

Starred review from February 10, 2025
Life has been rough for fourth grader Oliver and his mother since his father died. After a short period spent unhoused, their luck seems to be changing for the better: Oliver’s idiosyncratic, recently deceased aunt Barbara bequeaths the duo an apartment in her will. Now Oliver attends exclusive Whittle Academy, where his mother works as a custodian and student concierge. Surrounded by classmates from wealthy and influential families, Oliver keenly notes differences in their circumstances. When Oliver discovers a wish-granting mail slot in the apartment, he and his new—and only—friend, troublemaker Colette, make increasingly grand wishes, written on slips of paper they push through the opening. Upon realizing how the wishes adversely affect others, Oliver and Colette scramble to undo the damage and shutter the mail slot. But others, including neighbor Eliza, want the wishes to continue at any cost. In her prose debut, Brosgol (Plain Jane and the Mermaid) employs a whimsical conceit to spin an unforgettable tale. Readers will resonate with sensitive and empathetic Oliver, whose pie-in-the-sky desires and earnest, grief-fueled yearning for his father are achingly heartfelt. Ages 8–12.