The Last Present: A Wish Novel (Willow Falls)

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
Overall this was a very good book. It was a tad bit confusing but I liked how it ended up. I disliked the confusion about Grace, like what was happening with her and I still don't ship Dara (David and Tara) but those are really my only complaints. I liked how Bucky tied into the story and all of the background on Angelina. I think that passing on the powers to Grace was a great idea. And can I just say, STILL FREAKING OUT OVER AMANDA AND LEO! I have been shipping Lemanda so hard since the first book and I'm so glad that they finally got together. I would definitely recommend this book to anybody!

I absolutely loved this book! It was amazing (especially if you're like me and like fantasy). But before you read this book you must read the others before it. (11 Birthdays, Finally, 13 Gifts, and then this one.) It would make it so much more understandable and funny! I think everyone will love this book.

Please please PLEASE WRITE MORE STORIES LIKE THIS!! Hopefully about an awesome girl called Makayla... even though it will probably say that my review is by Melanie, who is my mom... ANYWAYS, THIS IS MY FAVORITE SERIES EVER!!! You are an amazing author, Wendy Mass!!

Now, this is how the story starts:
Angelina, Amanda, Leo, Rory and Tara are back! And you will find that when any child is born in the small but mysterious town of Willow Falls, it is Angelina's job to protect him/her by putting a spell on them when they are first born that will last until the child is 18. But when it gets to young Grace, Angelina fails her job leaving Grace in serious danger. Then on Grace's 10th birthday, something happens to her, leaving her in a coma-like state. No one knows exactly what happened to her, but it is up to Amanda and Leo to fix it. If you have read the other books in the series, you would have found that Amanda and Leo had been using blackboards to communicate. So, after a year of using blackboards and no talking, they can do something. No, they don't repeat their days over and over again like they did in the first book. Instead, they can go back in time to each one of Grace's birthday parties to help fix whatever went wrong and finish the spell that Angelina never could complete herself.

Does Grace ever recover, or is she frozen for ever?

Do things get interesting between Amanda and Leo?

Do Amanda and Leo ever finish the job?

Why is Angelina the way she is?

Are Amanda and Leo doing the right thing?

For the answers, read the book!!

Like all of Wendy Mass's stories, the end holds the biggest surprises... the most unexpected...

From beginning to end this was just a magical book. With Grace falling into the frozen state, I thought Angelina had something to do with it. But when Leo and Amanda had to go back in time to save Grace, things got a whole lot more interesting. At first I thought that Leo and Amanda couldn't do it. But they proved me wrong. In this book I also saw the meaning of true friendship. Rory, Ray, And Tara were by Leo and Amanda's side the whole time. Also, all five friends were by conner's side when his little sister, Grace, fell into the the frozen state. All of that is true Friendship. The end of the book was also amazing because Bucky told Leo and Amanda about him and Angelina. And it got even better when they went back in time to see that day when Angelina ran out on Bucky. By the end of the book I was so happy for Grace, Conner, Tara, David, Leo, Amanda, Ray, Rory, and Bucky. Grace fell out of the frozen state and realized her powers which made me extremely excited. Also, when David's dad came home from the hospital it was a perfect ending. I can't wait to see what Grace will do with her powers and how Angelina will help her in the next book, "Graceful".

At First Sight: The cover is quite cute and complements the covers of the previous 3 books in the series. It isn't exciting enough that it makes me want to jump right into the novel. But it does add some suspense of what is the "Last Present."

Storyline: Many of the Willow Falls characters have come together one last time, and have a mystery to solve. Grace a supporting character is frozen, unable to wake up. Amanda and Leo work aimlessly to find out why.

Something I Loved: Angelina's character was very interesting and truly added to the pace of the novel.

Something I Disliked: Sometimes as reviewers we receive books that we may not have received previous titles in the series. This is such a book. I really depended on Goodread summaries of the first 3 books to understand what was going on in book 4. It was very hard to follow because of that lack of story background.

Would I Recommend It: Yes, I would recommend this book to younger readers. However, it is an absolute must to start with the first 3 books! - Deitre

Grace, Connor's sister has gone into a catatonic state and nobody knows why. Connor has no idea about Angelina D'Angelo's interaction with some of his friends in Willow Falls. Angelina has given every child born in Willow Falls words to keep them safe throughout their life. When Grace was born though she was unable to speak the entire set of words because she was interrupted. Angelina has tried for 10 years to make the situation right and has failed. Now Angelina has called on Amanda and Leo to go back in time to each of Grace's birthday parties to find out why Angelina's attempts have failed.

Amanda and Leo find out more about Angelina's past and begin to understand all of the secrets that she keeps from them. In THE LAST PRESENT Amanda, Leo and their friends are now 13 and relationships are starting to change. Amanda and Leo are moving from being best friends into exploring a new relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend.

I've enjoyed all of Wendy Mass's books that I have read, but I did miss the book before THE LAST PRESENT which was 13 GIFTS. I'm afraid I was a bit lost in this book, but I did go buy 13 GIFTS and am looking forward to reading it. THE LAST PRESENT reveals Angelina and Willow Falls history and answers many questions for the reader as well as for Amanda and Leo. I've loved reading this series and reading about the friendships that have developed. Add in a bit of time travel and you have a fun/sweet series that made me smile.

The book I read was ‘The Last Present’ by Wendy Mass. The main character in this story was Grace. She is in a coma like sleep and the only way to save her is for her friends Amanda and Leo to go to the past and stop her brother from ruining her birthday parties. What I liked about this book is how Amanda and Leo work together to help save Grace. There was not anything I did not like about this book. I think kids from the grades 5-8 would like this book.