Oh poor Grace! I felt soooooooo bad for her! That was my hope! There will be one more in the series…more info as it comes closer. In fact, I love all of your books! Come on over for a big internet hug! I just finished 13 Gifts, and it was really amazing. I love the series, with 11 Birthdays, Finally, and 13 Gifts. Willow Falls has grown on me. Will that be cleared up in the 4th book in the series? Where do you get all your writing ideas for ur books? Thank you! As I do or learn different things story ideas will pop in my head.
Taking time for quiet when I am writing helps the thoughts form into a story. Hope that helps Summer is great as it offers more time for fun and writing! How could I not have realized it before? You cant leave me waiting for that long! Also are the booksgoing to be made into movies? If so would love to be Rory because I am just like her. I have brown hair and glasses,and my favorite color is red. Please respond! I reread it, and I was like….
In 13 gifts Amanda and leo said somrthing about working for Angelina, what does that mean? Hi Bailey, Thank you for your patience. Here is a description of what each of my books are about. It will tell you all about Willow Falls. Have a great start to your new school year!
Just wondering if book 4 will be the last?? I think I am getting a lot ahead of the books… but just wondering cause than I can prepare myself….
Graceful was the last of the Willow Falls series but I have a new Candymakers book out! I hope that helps. Hey Wendy, I am your number one fan i have read all of your Willow Falls books and i absolutely loved them with all my heart! Although, I guess it makes sense because of Grace…. Oh my gosh, the 14 book will be the last? I wanted there to be books until, like This is my favorite one plot-wise, but 11 birthdays is my favorite chracter-wise. Finally is the most relateable, since it deals with preteen issues and not magic overload I mean that in the nicest way possible, promise!
You have inspired me to write stories for my friends and family. I used the names Leo, David, and Amanda. I wanted to use Tara, but I changed to a similar name instead, Cara.
And now, thanks to me, all of my friends want to read your books! Love, Me. When I grow up want to be an author. You have really inspired me.
One of my ideas is about a 6th grade girl and a boy who are best friends. Like Amanda and Leo but not born on the same day. Lots of things happens to the girl Autumn and her brother and their parents.
But during the book the Autumn one day as Autumn and Day are walking home from school but suddenly she falls to ground. Then she wakes in the end. That is awesome you want to write books. Keep working at your ideas. Summer often gives extra time for you to polish your ideas. Share your work with family and friends. OMG wendy!!! How many more are you gonna make, I know that your going to make another one , but how many more are you going to make in this series?
I was wondering, will there be more of the willow falls birthday series? I love a lot of your books, but these ones are my favourite! She is my favourite character since she is so mysterious, and we share the same name. Are you sure that that one will be the last one? Because as such a big fan of your books, I really think you could have a nice big Willow Falls series! I would read it day and night, and I absolutely love your work!!! Oh and when is the next book coming out?
Can you pease make another one? Is the Grace thing related to Angelina some how? What happend to Grace? Are they going to be stuck in the same day again? Angelina often changes the rules.
But not in the same way. Sorry to be so cryptic! Once one person in my class read 11 birthdays, everyone read them! My almost my whole class has read one of your books! I loved the book 11 birthdays, I can totally relate with Amanda! I also read Jeremy fink and the meaning of life… So good I had to get a copy of my own I was borrowing it from the library please respond back!!!!!!!!!!
I love all your books and I hope more are coming out soon! Hi, I am so excited to finally finish all of your books…. So awesome. I especially love 11 birthdays, Amanda- sooo me: I hope 14 will come out… I think my sister is going to freak out, because after she read the first book, she could not stop, like me! Leo is sooo my brother, or is he more like Jeremy? Please respond back, you are my favorite author ever!!!!!!!! So happy I found your blog… I was hoping to get on amazon to get 13 gifts, so her collection of all your books would be complete, but ending up finding something better… Opps, sorry Ashley.
Is there any other way instead of commenting? Your books always inspire me to write. Hi Ayana Hmmmm did you verify the email after you signed up as you should be receiving updates. I am also on Instagram. Always check with your parents first before going on social media. You are awesomesauce to write and tell me how much you enjoy my books! I can kind of feel that Leo likes Amanda.
I love these books so much! I want to be an author and Wendy Mass and Lois Lowry are basically my idols!! Dear Wendy, My Mom and I just finished reading 13 gifts! We are left hanging with so many questions about what happens next. Are you planning on writing a next book about the age of 14? We really love 11 birthdays, 12 Finally, and 13 gifts and are really hoping that there will be another book coming out to join the fantastic series!
I LOVE your books!! Some authors, like yourself, have inspired me to write a book! Autumn faints dramatically and is in a coma for 8 years.
I love all of your books and will always love them. I truly do believe that they have changed my life in many ways and have opened my eyes. I love the morals of each story and have helped me in more ways then one could possibly ever imagine.
I had just finished every soul a star and would re-read it if I could because I loved it. On my list it has lessons from various authors from John green to Lucy maud Montgomery. I loved them I read 13 gifts the first time a few days before my 13 birthday and finished it around midnight.
I guess you could say It helped my soul become one. Thank you so much I will love and cherish them forever and will have a special place in my heart.
Every single day I try to see instead of look because looking is seeing with your eyes closed. So thank you I have read 11 birthdays, finally, 13 gifts, Jeremy fink and the meaning of life, every soul a star, and a mango shaped space. Thanks for helping me, when ever I feel anxious or sad or mad at someone I read 13 gifts and I feel better. I love reading and these are beautiful. I hope you enjoyed 13 Gifts and discovered Graceful too! Also the new Candymakers is now out!
Have a great new school year! Hi again. I wish you could reply back to me. They are really good! Thanks Ayana! I am sorry if my first reply was lost. I hope you get this one and that you had a great summer! OMG I love this book! I thought it was really good along with all the other books. I think tere will be s fourth book! I hope so!! I have read ALL of your books and have loved every single one of them! My awesome teacher let our class pick any subject to become experts on and YOU were my subject!!!
I love all of your books and I am waiting for more if you have any suggestions on different websites that could help me with my project on you than please reply back or email me.
I just noticed something!! All these books are connected!!!! I noticed it while I was reading 13 gifts and Rory said her and Jake Harrison were just friends! Then it all came back to me!!! How did I not notice! I feel so stupid! This is Amazing!!!!! I love these books! Mass or Ms. Wendy or Ms. WEndy Mass or whatever you prefer! Lurv the books!! Its all so awsome! I mean, magic trees, magic in general, its all so exciting! I read 11 birthdays, finally, and 13 gifts a few years ago.
I was sad because 13 gifts left you with questions at the end. I hope you make a book with 14 on it. Also make a movie about the books, i would watch it. I loved the Jeremy Fink movie and the book.
I just read all of the comments!! I am a HUGE friend of ur work! I am a total bookworm no lie! So, in one of the comments, somebody said you should make a book that goes to 16, which in my opinion is the BEST idea ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It would be really cool if you made an asian character so if you made a movie, could totally volunteer to be her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for being the coolest author in the universe Caitlyn. Dear Wendy, I absolutely love your books! I get in trouble all the time at school, because I would rather read your books than a silly American history book! I have recently reread all of my books by you! I love the Willow Falls series. The 11 Birthdays was so good about how they stopped the repeating day, and Rory was laugh out loud funny in Finally!
She had so many things happen to her that I could never have thought of and then adding Tara in 13 Gifts! She was a new character, but also brought back all of the old ones! I know I have already told you this, but I really really love your books!
I get so happy when you release a new one! I make my mom rush over to Barnes and Noble! I remember getting my first book by you when I was in 3rd grade I think. After that I read a lot of other books by you, an always recommend your books to my friends! Your books always make me feel right at home and I love that!!! Please continue writing, for the fact thy you are simply A-Mazing! You have such talent and add great suspense in your stories! Never Give Up!
Sincerely, Your Biggest Fan…Grace!!! You Rock! Wendy, What happned to grace? It would be amazing if you made a movie for the books! You are my favorite author ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello Wendy Mass! I guess they found why they are there? But, to me I wish I knew what was wrong? Or what else happened… Do you think you could make a fourth book? Answering my questions? Perhaps about what happened with Tara and David and what happened to Grace? Well obviously up to you! If you want… make it a cliff hanger! Hello Wendy, I am very fond of your Willow Falls series. I am glad to hear there will be another book. It was fun getting to read 13 Gifts once a month from June to March and then having a team place first in my school.
Please keep writing awesome books, Annika. You are by far my favorite author. I have read The Candy Makers and loved it. I would be happy if it went to !! I think that you should keep going after 14!! I might have figured out the whole chalkboard and Grace thing…… maybe!
Hi Corinne! Hi Wendy mass. The book was like a puzzle. I would be collecting the pieces and when I put together the big pieces, I would see i left out some small ones. But then you would lead us back to the beginning to show us the small pieces we missed which puts together the big picture. Your writing in this book is amazing.
Everything was interconnected and everything happened for a reason. I have read they series in a messed up order,and read it in the right order twice! I really like these books and I even think they should make a movie on the willow falls series. I would be VERY happy! Cool that you have a twin! My sisters are twins. I would love movies of the series or better yet actually, a TV series!
Fingers crossed that one will, someday! Must have made a big difference. They should make a movie for these books! I read all 3 of them on my kindle in about a week … Which is surprisingly fast for me! Pls respond Wendy Mass!!! Where is willow falls at?
Like,is there an actual twin called willow falls or is it just a randomly made up name? I have read 13 gifts 2 this is my 3 time reading it. Hi Wendy Mass! My name is Diya and I am your 1 fan. This book is about a girl named Tara who moves away from her home to her cousins house is Willow falls.
Willow falls is an average town with unaverage people. The oldest woman there, Angelina DeAngelo, is the most strange of all. Something odd happens to a couple other kids on their birthday, and they know it has to do with Angelina. When Tara arrives, she meets Amanda, Leo, and Rory.
She immediately becomes there f 13 gifts, by Wendy mass, is a wonderful fiction novel in the 11 birthday series. She immediately becomes there friends. Then One day Tara is broke and tries to sell one of her uncles comic book collections.
But, Angelina stops her. Tara begs for her not to tell her uncle. Angelina says yes, on one condition.
She gives Tara a list. I really enjoyed this book because of the details. Mass didn't put too much so it was boring, but enough that would keep me interested. An example is "The duck shaped birthmark wiggled as she talked, as if it was trying to say something.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read series because to have this book make sense, you will need to read the two books before it.
Jan 04, Jordyn rated it really liked it. This exciting realistic fiction tale Thirteen Gifts by Wendy Mass will make you feel as if you are Tara yourself. Tara and her friends strike a deal with Angelina, just so she can get a new iPod.
One thing that I really liked about this book was the way the author made you feel as if you were Tara yourself. Tara is much like the average twelve and a half year old girl, but anyone in middle school would enjoy this book. I also enjoyed the setting in this book. Willow falls is a very strange place that has many strange things going on. What about the people here? Has anyone, surprised you? I bet you will to when you pick up a copy and read Thirteen Gifts. May 15, Caitlyn Scott rated it it was amazing.
I really liked this book because it was full of mystery. At the end of the book everything really came together and made sense of why certain things happened. Can't wait to read the next book in the series! View all 12 comments. Dec 09, Keida Avdo rated it it was amazing.
This book was a very interesting book, and I could read it over and over again. You could say you will read it for only twenty minutes and end up reading it for over two hours.
It really is a hand down great book, and I hope you go and check this book out. Jan 04, Josiah rated it liked it. They ripple far out into the universe.
The point is to do it anyway. Though 11 Birthdays stands out to me as the best of the first three boo "Our actions have long-lasting consequences, of which we often have no knowledge. Though 11 Birthdays stands out to me as the best of the first three books, all of them have a deep, rare sense of genuine community about them, the feel that just by reading the stories we have been a part of something important, the beginning and progression of new friendships and the completion of dramas that may have started decades ago, but are only now finding their natural conclusions.
Such real feelings aren't brought to life by every book one reads, of course; the author capable of engendering such reactions has a rare gift, indeed, and Wendy Mass is one of the best among her contemporaries in this respect.
As with A Mango-Shaped Space , Every Soul a Star , Finally and other novels she has written, 13 Gifts takes us into the heart of a small community of people who slowly grow close-knit over time, surprising us by just how attached we've become to them by the end of the story, and delivers an energetic, contemplative piece of literature in the process.
It's no wonder I've become such a fan of Wendy Mass's writing. Of course, she's never really had time to establish herself, as she and her parents have moved repeatedly over the course of her life.
Tara hasn't had much luck gaining friends wherever they've lived, but when a stunt she pulls to ingratiate herself to some other girls in school backfires, she finds herself banished to the small town of Willow Falls while her parents travel to Africa for the summer.
Willow Falls is where Tara's Aunt Bethany lives with her own family, so Tara won't be on her own, but having never before visited Willow Falls or her relatives there makes the coming summer one that's sure to be awkward.
There's nowhere else on Earth like Willow Falls, that's for sure, and strange occurrences seem to beset Tara as soon as she boards the train for her destination. The people of Willow Falls, however, are as immediately welcoming and accommodating as Tara possibly could have expected. Even the kids her age, who everywhere she's lived until now would have ignored her and treated her like an outsider, accept Tara as part of their group immediately, as if she had been integral to their circle of friends for years.
Though some of them do exhibit traits of unusual behavior which we learn the full explanations for in 11 Birthdays and Finally , but which are also explained adequately in this book for anyone reading 13 Gifts first , Leo, Amanda, David and Rory quickly form an uncommonly strong friendship with Tara, who finds it difficult to hold them at arm's length as she's always done with the kids she's met throughout her life.
There never seemed much point to her in making close friends, as there was sure to be another move for her and her parents coming around the corner; Tara would then find herself again uprooted, just as she knows even now that she'll be leaving Willow Falls at the end of the summer.
But these new friends of hers seem so genuine, even springing into action to help Tara when a little mixup in her travel funds leads her to haplessly incur a curious sort of debt that can't exactly be paid with cash.
Finding herself working for the esoteric Angelina D'Angelo in exchange for the old woman's discretion in regard to a minor pilfering incident, Tara has to zip all around town looking for a set of thirteen specific objects to bring to Angelina. Moreover, she has to complete her task within a month, and isn't given any clues as to where the objects might be located, only that they are somewhere within the confines of Willow Falls.
Truly, this task would be a virtually impossible one were it not for Tara's surprising gang of new friends, who willingly and enthusiastically sacrifice their hours of summer freedom to join in Tara's strange scavenger hunt, scouring the town for any sign of the objects needed to complete her quest. As the search commences, Tara learns there's a lot more to Willow Falls than meets the eye. Her new friends have their own secret histories with Angelina D'Angelo, part of the reason for the particular odd personal traits they exhibit, and there just may be a connection between their shared past with Angelina and what she has asked them each to do.
Yet behind it all, Tara recognizes a certain trust in her friends toward Angelina, the surety that whatever her overarching plan happens to be will be good for everyone involved, and so Tara, too, comes to trust that there is a higher purpose to the madness of her being told to run all over town looking for thirteen ostensibly unrelated objects.
Only when she's through with the job will Tara have all the pieces she needs to figure out the real reason behind Angelina's strange mandate, and it might lead her far from where she thought she was being led. And sometimes you'll be the one to give the second chance to someone else. This group of friends that have known each other so long, with every reason to tighten their circle against the world and not present any more entry points where a new friend or two might slip in and truly become part of the group, are instead as welcoming of Tara as if they knew all along that she belonged there, even before they'd ever heard her name or found out she was coming to Willow Falls.
To be met with this sort of sincere personal openness is exactly what Tara needed to have a chance of finding an emotional home in Willow Falls, because all her past experience had taught her not to reach out in any way, and only an extraordinary dose of friendship without reason or reservation could have broken through her defenses to make her think that returning the affection was the right response.
And so, drawn into a small town among other kids who immediately become her friends and include her in on the continuity of their past and present together, Tara becomes part of the magic of Willow Falls, the magic of understanding who she really is, who her friends are and how they can go about getting out there and actually changing the world for the better, taking the opportunities to do good when they come around despite the discomfort and loneliness of a past that hasn't always left her feeling as if she could be an important member of this world.
As David puts it, " It's about recognizing the spark of life in everyone and everything, and gluing those shards back together. The rewards of a life tangled up inextricably in the lives of others is where one finds real meaning, and as Tara steps definitely onto the field of play, she learns more about herself than ever before.
I suppose there are just some lessons one can't grasp without the help of others. It seems that every time I read one of Wendy Mass's books I experience a story that will always hold a special place in my heart, filled with characters, ideas and events that help me understand myself better and really want to become more a part of the world around me.
In Tara's own words, "I've learned that the sidelines may be safer, but life is played on the field. Mar 03, Emma Chaussee rated it it was amazing. The realistic fiction book called 13 Gifts by Wendy Mass, is one of many great books in this series. In this book, the main character Tera goes for the summer to a little town called Willow Falls. Her thoughts about this change are very negative, she thinks it will be horrible, until she meets some very important people along the way.
Tera is staying with her aunt, uncle, and cousin. Sooner then she thinks, she meet some new friends that she becomes very close to. Tera's bad decision takes her o The realistic fiction book called 13 Gifts by Wendy Mass, is one of many great books in this series. Tera's bad decision takes her on a "goose chase" that involves trying to find 13 items on a list to repay her dues before her 13th birthday that is in a week.
Her new friends Rory, David, Lio, and Amanda are willing to help her in any way possible. But, my favorite character David, starts to have very strong feelings for Tera, which changes everything! I could never relate to Tera's experience because I have never left my parents for a whole summer before. But I am very close to my cousins. I also have great friends who would do anything to help me.
I really liked this book, my favorite part was when they searched the whole town to find every thing on the list, but result in a Huge change of events. I don't have a least favorite part of this book. If I could change a part, I would have Tera's parents be more a part of the story because almost the whole time they were in Madagascar for their job. If I could change the ending, I would like to know what really happens to the children now that they have grown up.
I would recommend this book to you if you like realistic fiction books that also have a little bit of a mystery within them. If you read this? I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Aug 10, Madilyn rated it really liked it Shelves: read , read-books. Star Rating: 4. Claire in Willow Fal Star Rating: 4. I liked this one WAY better than the first 2. It was really good, and I enjoyed all the reference from the past books.
What I Didn't: Umm I can't really think of anything off the top of my head I guess I didn't like that Tara was trying to steal a goat in order to make friends. Or that she stole from her uncle even though she brought it back. Overall Opinion: It was great! A super quick read, took me hours.
Very enjoyable, and like I said before, I liked it better than the first 2. Maybe cuz the characters were older? I'm not really sure why I liked it more. Recommendation: 10 and up. Sep 03, Madison rated it it was amazing Shelves: favorits. I loved this book because it all comes together in a very suprising way.
Wendy Mass writes in a way that you can really feel for every caracter. You can not not read this book!!!!! View 1 comment. May 19, Annalise Bowman rated it it was amazing. Her parents are sending her to her aunt's after she made a peer pressure decision. Her parents went to Madagascar while she was with her family. On the train someone steals all of her belongings except for her clothes. She has no money, no phone, and worst of all no one to get her.
Eventually she is able to get in contact with her relatives that pick her up. While Tara is out on a walk a day later she meets an old lady that tells her she has to pay her debt. What is she in dept for? Does it half to do with her mom?
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were realistic. I also enjoyed the plot line it showed how seems thing normal then they end up in a musical. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account.
Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Skip to content Open Menu Hi There! Search for: Close.
Yay : Pros: Strong characters, and a plot that makes the reader think. Heads Up: Romance, but all middle school friendly. Should be interesting… Bella :. Spread the Love! Like this: Like Loading Previous Post For the Doll Fans :. By comments, it would be my top ten list of shout-out […] Like Like. Say Hello! Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:.
Email required Address never made public. Name required. Follow Following.
0コメント