The premise is intriguing: a small island community in Maine needs more kids in order to keep their school open, so several families take on foster children. The story is told by 11-year-old Tess, an island girl who's positively bursting to make her new big brother, Aaron, feel at home. Aaron, on the other hand, is less than thrilled to be shipped off to another foster family.

Tess, like many a seafaring-type, is a big believer in luck. Each chapter begins with one of her superstitions (the title refers to one in particular, "Touch blue and your wish will come true"). It felt to me like the author trying to give her narrator a lovable quirk.

This being a story about a foster child, obviously we're looking at themes of belonging and acceptance. I don't think Cynthia Lord breaks any new ground, but the writing is nice and brisk. However, the story employed a one-dimensional bully-villain to add drama, which always bugs me.

Themes of luck and belonging come together in the end when Tess and Aaron both have to learn (I'm paraphrasing the words of the father character here) not to try and control everything, but let life happen like it's supposed to. Not a bad lesson.

This is a relatively short book (190 pages) and it feels a little shallow for its brevity, but I think it's still a good read. I would've especially liked to have listened to it being read by a real Mainer with a cool Maine accent. ( )

A quick read but a great glimpse at the difficulties that both the foster child and the foster family face. I would have liked to know more about what happened to Aaron after the story closes. It feel unfinished. But I read through this in one day. ( )

A very endearing story about an orphaned boy, the family that accepts him, and a close knit island community. Very touching. ( )

I loved Rules by Cynthia Lord and am trying to compare the two books but really can't. They are both sweet, sweet stories.
This one is about a 13 year old foster boy named Aaron who moves to an island to live with a family. Tess the older daughter in the family takes him "under her wing" but in doing so gets really hurt by him but then as they spend time and secrets together, they begin to become close kind of like a brother and sister. The book is bitter sweet as all Aaron wants is his mama and that is the one thing he cannot have. ( )

I was impressed with this book. An issue that's often left unheard in children's literature: both sides of the story. I love how the author brings about to the conclusion of the story by allowing people to be human. The characters were allowed to be a little bit selfish, allowed to be fragile, and allowed to be giving. Her ending was actually a new beginning. It was a great story of adoption fostering the whole welfare system from a different point of view. In most young adult literature today the welfare system is portrayed as evil or just plain inept and uncaring. The author was able to bring about closure for some subjects and left an opening for others that's the way life truly is and that's the way children see things as never finished. ( )