Be Careful What You Wish For

Plot Summary: Samantha Byrd is a tall, clumsy girl who gets relentlessly bullied by a girl called Judith. One day Samantha is forced into helping a woman who then repays her for her kindness by promising her three wishes. All three of these wishes proceed to bite Samantha in the butt until eventually, she gets a final wish and stupidly wish that Judith gets the wishes instead. She then gets turned into a literal bird because helping people is wrong?

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I'll give this one some credit, it has a more original feel than most Goosebumps books. Not in terms of plot perhaps but Samantha is pretty well-developed, as is Judith. What's with these covers and spoiling the endings though?

She may be slightly more dimensional than some protagonists but Samantha is still a massive idiot. The wish woman screws her over massively though and the whole thing seems a bit...weird? Like what is meant to be the moral? I guess Goosebumps books don't have those and I'm probably trying too hard but Samantha suffers for no good reason really. The wishes themselves are pretty weak but I do like the twist of the first one (making the others worse instead of herself better). Again though, why does the woman undo each wish when granting a new one besides plot convenience? This plot runs on convenience and I don't like that aspect of it either.

Idiot of the year award: Damn it Samantha, can't you work out by your third wish not to try and add anything besides 'wipe this whole event'?

Future supermodel: Samantha again, stealing a side pony from a magazine model.

Serial killer in the making: Judith is waaaaay too happy about turning Samantha into a bird at the end.

Mrs. Blase: Judith seems awfully okay with the idea of magic being real and Samantha being a witch. Samantha is also not that weirded out by Judith guessing magic was involved.

Rating:

.5