Wish

Middle grade novels often focus on a child’s burgeoning desire to find their identity outside their family of origin. However, for Charlie, being separated from her immediate family has left her struggling to understand where she belongs. Once the social worker deems her home an unhealthy place for Charlie to remain, she feels adrift, and feels that “what [the social worker] really meant was, ‘You need a family that’s not all broken like yours is’” (6). The brokenness in her family causes Charlie to feel shame and lowers her self-esteem, leaving her at a loss for how to redefine her identity in the new context of Colby. Bertha and Gus’s home is safe and welcoming, but it doesn’t feel like Charlie’s home. Charlie doesn’t fit in anywhere in Colby, especially at school and at church, two places she’s never felt comfortable. When the Sunday school teacher asks the children to identify their blessings, Charlie feels so lost and alone that she runs from the room in anguish, thinking, “That yellow daisy laid there on the table in front of me reminding me that I did not belong here. Letting me know that even though I was here in church in my new dress, I did not have a blessing” (65).