Wishing well magic; a spirited, temperamental girl; and a production of The Snow Queen all feature prominently in this fantasy novel from a newly published author. The Avy, Nuria's grandfather, has forbidden her ever to cast a wish on the well in Bishop's Mayne. The power of the well is tricky and wishes not carefully stated can easily go wrong. That is how all the village children disappeared before the orphaned Nuria came to live with the Avy. But the only other child in town, paralyzed Catty Winter, wheedles Nuria into making a wish on her behalf. "I wish Catty had a body like mine,"Nuria reluctantly declares, but even so she could not have predicted the result. She and Catty are unexpectedly transformed--transported into one another's bodies, and into each other's lives. Nuria's plan to recall the wish and return to her beloved Avy involves outwitting the self-centered Catty during a production of The Snow Queen. Warm interiors and frosty winter landscapes set the scene and tone in this novel in which language and feeling both play significant roles. (Ages 9-12)

"A coin for passage to your heart's desire," says Agnes, Guardian of the Wishing Well in the village of Bishop Mayne. "That is the first rule." But Nuria doesn't think she needs a wish. Wishing on the Well is dangerous. Wishes often go wrong. That's why there are no other children around. A wish-gone-wrong took them all away. But now, because her grandfather, the Avy, has wished for them to come back, Nuria is sure that the one thing she wants -- a friend her own age -- will soon be there.
"One wish each lifetime," says Agnes. "One cycle of the moon to repent and call it back. That is the second rule." Only a fool would make a wish that needs to be called back, Nuria thinks. But that's before she meets Catty Winter, who cannot walk, whose legs are mysteriously crippled. "Make a wish for me," Catty pleads. And Nuria is tempted. But what if the wish goes wrong?
"And for that cycle of the moon your lips are locked in this: To no one may you speak of your wish. To no one but to me, for your wish is my wish too. That is the third rule." Nuria has given little thought to the third rule. But there come moments when she wishes it did not exist. The Wishing Well, she is trickier than anyone has known.
The Wishing Well in Bishop Mayne has a mind of its own and creates problems for all who try to use its power. Few have gotten anything but misery from it. Knowing this, however, does not keep Nuria, in a time of dire need, from trying to accomplish what few others have managed.
Beauty and greed, warmth and cold, walk hand in hand in this unusual fantasy to create an adventure filled with friendship, challenge, and the magic of love.