The Altered History of Willow Sparks

Willow Sparks is at the bottom of her high school's social food chain. Each day she and her equally unpopular best friend, Georgia, run the gauntlet of mean girl bullies, deal with unsympathetic gym teachers, and nurse crushes on boys who don't know they exist. 

Then something miraculous happens: While working her after school job at the local library, Willow stumbles upon a secret basement storage room. And in this room she finds a blank book bearing her name as the title. Attached to the book is an old fountain-style pen with the inscription "For Emergencies Only". Willow smuggles the book home and soon discovers she can re-write the parts of her life she doesn't like, replacing those parts with how she wishes things were. She starts with small things, like getting rid of her acne and a new designer wardrobe she'd never be able to otherwise afford. But as her wishes get bigger and bolder, other things in her life begin to change as well...and not necessarily for the better. Suddenly Willow's BFF no longer wants anything to do with her and her mom doesn't trust her anymore. And then it gets worse.

Maybe the Book isn't such a miracle after all. But Willow finds that the more she re-writes her life the harder it is to stop. There's only one person who can help her, but will she find the courage to seek him out before it's too late?

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The Altered History of Willow Sparks has been on my "To Read" list for several weeks, and I was not disappointed. Although I pretty much knew what was going to happen from page one (predictable), I nevertheless enjoyed this book. Author Tara O'Connor's minimal but well-placed dialogue moves the story along and the detailed artwork does the rest. Willow is a sympathetic and likable character. Although she doesn't make the best choices for much of the story, she learns from her mistakes. Eventually Willow learns that cool clothes and being liked by popular boys aren't what makes her happy. Rather, it's her true friends and, even more important, self-acceptance that is most important. Pair this one with Lisa Daily novel Beauty and the 80s-era comedy film Teen Witch, all three of which center around the same universal themes. 

--AJB