NOTE: This post is sponsored by Macmillan.
With the holidays right around the corner, we’re nearing the season of wishes, dreams, gratitude, friends, and family – all things found within the pages of author Barbara O’Connor’s beloved stories. In Wish and Dream, Charlie and Idalee make their wishes and dreams come true in their small North Carolina town.
✨WHICH DREAM SHOULD YOU CHASE?: Take our Dream-inspired quiz to find out – CLICK HERE!
Wish has been a reader favorite since its release in 2017, and there’s a reason it continues to resonate after all this time. It’s a story overflowing with hope, heart, humor, and the reminder that sometimes wishes come true in the most unexpected ways. After years of making secret wishes to fix her broken family, Charlie is sent by a social worker to live with her aunt and uncle in North Carolina. She arrives frustrated, feeling like the loser no one wanted, and certain that her wish will never come true. But with the help of an unexpected friend, a stray dog named Wishbone, and small-town charm, Colby discovers the true meaning of home, and that the things she wanted most might just be different than the things she truly needs.
In Dream, the newly released companion novel, we follow Idalee, one of Charlie’s classmates, as she chases her biggest dreams. Idalee wants nothing more than to hear her country songs on the radio someday, so when she finds out about a songwriting competition, she’s determined to win – but she’ll need the pretty blue guitar from the music shop to do it. To get the money for her new guitar, Idalee recruits a few friends (including Charlie and Howard from Wish!) to search for a treasure hidden somewhere in her house by her late grandfather. This empowering story shines just as bright as Wish and will inspire you to follow your heart and chase your dreams, just like Idalee.
We’re giving THREE (3) lucky winners a chance to make their wishes come true! We teamed up with our friends at Macmillan for a Wishes and Dreams giveaway. Find out more about these inspiring reads below and then grab your favorite adult and have them enter below for your chance to WIN!
Wish
SYNOPSIS:
The #1 New York Times–bestselling middle-grade novel about a girl who, with the help of a true-blue friend, a big-hearted aunt and uncle, and the dog of her dreams, unexpectedly learns the true meaning of family in the least likely of places. Perfect for fans of Katherine Applegate and Kate DiCamillo.
Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite. But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all.
Dream
SYNOPSIS:
The highly anticipated follow up to Wish, which has spent six years on the New York Times bestseller list and is beloved by over two million readers. Dream follows a small town girl with big aspirations who discovers that anything is possible with your best friends and an adorable pup by your side!
The sky is the limit.
Idalee Lovett is content with her life in small-town Colby, North Carolina, living in her family’s huge house with rooms for rent. But she has big dreams, just like her mama. While Mama is on tour for the summer with her cover band, Lovey Lovett and the Junkyard Dogs, Idalee decides to hone her craft as a songwriter—since her truest wish is to hear her country songs on the radio one day.
When the local radio station announces a songwriting contest with the winning song being recorded by an up-and-coming singer, Idalee is determined to win. It would definitely be possible if only she could buy the shiny blue guitar in Asheville’s music shop. Idalee doesn’t have much money, but she knows exactly how to get it—the long-lost treasure her late granddaddy hid somewhere in their house. With the help of her friends Odell, Howard, Charlie, and an adorable little dog named Wishbone, Idalee is going to search in every nook and cranny until she finds it. But little does she know, the biggest treasure of all is only discovered when you believe in yourself with your whole heart.
In this standalone companion to the #1 New York Times bestseller Wish, nothing is impossible as Idalee learns the power of chasing her dreams one guitar strum at a time.
Wishes and Dreams Giveaway:
WHAT DO I WIN?:
THREE (3) lucky winners will receive a Wishes and Dreams Prize Pack that includes:
– ONE (1) paperback copy of Wish by Barbara O’Connor
– ONE (1) hardcover copy of Dream by Barbara O’Connor
*Prizes generously provided by Macmillan
HOW DO I ENTER?:
Grab a parent or guardian and have them fill out the form below by December 25, 2025 at 11:59pm ET.
Giveaway runs from 11/19/25 at 04:30 pm ET through 12/25/25 at 11:59 pm. Open to US residents ONLY. Be sure to read the fully detailed rules HERE before entering.
You must be 18 or older to enter. Please, only ONE entry per person. If selected as a winner, we will provide your parent/guardian with an affidavit to confirm that you are a valid winner who has permission to win. They will be REQUIRED to sign and return the affidavit to YAYOMG! to claim your prize. Prizes will NOT be mailed out without signed parental consent.
✨CHASE YOUR DREAMS: Wish and Dream are both available now from Macmillan!
