Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank

No matter what happens, our heroine’s fall-back response is always tears, which after a while can be irritating. Discover the English Audiobook at Audible. The tension is real here, but is too often damaged by Rose’s tendency to cry-and cry. Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes as its meant to be heard, narrated by Shannon McManus.

Everything changes, though, when Rose’s mother is found murdered and Rose become a suspect. Watching the possibly doomed young woman emerge from her shell is both humorous and heart-warming. Right on time, new neighbor Joe McAllister offers his lip service, and the naive Rose promptly falls in love. Included on the list are such everyday luxuries as owning a cellphone, getting cable TV, dancing, wearing makeup, and being kissed. While at work, Rose gets a vision of herself lying dead on her sofa and faints. Despite the uncertainty in the first few pages, Grover Swank didn't waste any time allowing Rose to bloom (pun fun). Certain she has only days left to live, 24-year-old Rose-who has been raised amidst all that fundamentalism-makes a bucket list of everything she wants to do before that fatal day. If the story continued that way for too long, I wouldn't be saying this: I really liked Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes. Her “gift” has made her a pariah in the religiously fundamentalist Arkansas town where she lives, especially at the local DMV, where she works as a clerk. Rose has been gifted-or cursed-with second sight, and at odd times sees visions of a future that always comes true. In Denise Grover Swank’s Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes, protagonist Rose Gardner has memories of being abused by her awful mother.

Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank