Wishing for Tomorrow

By: Hilary McKay

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

In this delightful sequel to A Little Princess, Sara Crewe has gone away with the Indian gentleman, and now nothing is the same at Miss Minchin's. Shy Ermengarde, spoiled Lottie, and awful Lavinia are all left behind at the Select Seminary for Young Ladies, and without Sara, school is even more dreary than before.

The new maid, Alice from Epping, is a bright girl from the country whose practicality and confidence are a refreshing change from stodgy Miss Minchin. Lottie learns to notice things and has adventures, Lavinia dreams of earning a place at Oxford, and Ermengarde realizes that friendship sometimes means keeping secrets. For her 13th birthday, Ermengarde wishes for no more Miss Minchin's, and in a fiery and dramatic climax, her wish comes true!

With a surprise visit from Sara at the end, this is a lovely story about finding your way and things coming out right.

©2010 Hilary McKay (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Great continuation of the story...

I think that Hillary McKay did a great job continuing the story of the girls from Miss Minchin's school. Her writing style duplicates the original Little Princess story very well. I have read the book and I have listen to the audio and I think that both are exceptionally well done. I listened to "A Little Princess" read by Justine Eyre and she has done just as fabulous a job reading "Wishing for Tomorrow". Very nicely done!

Cute, but not as good as I thought it would be

This storyline has all the makings of a hallmark made for tv movie. I loved the first "a little princess" and for some reason, I thought the author might actually follow the adventures of Sarah. Instead, this story follows the girls 'left behind' at the boarding school. Unfortunatley, life in the boarding school is pretty dull. I find it difficult to imagine that the school mistresses would be so cruel as to provide no entertainment for the youngsters in their care. The narration was good, and if more happened... I might give it a higher rating. Other than that, this was ok, not great.

most positive take from, the story, was Ermengarde's struggled and maturing.

I did a review years ago. My own opinion have not change, that this book, in my eyes, was not cannon to Burnett's, A Little Princess. Mckay took liberties to change the dynamic, of the ending of the original and altered the personalities of a lot in the characters. I see it now as a published fanfiction than a true sequel. The book, as a stand alone, if a good story but it took the charm and magic out of the first book and replaced it with more of a "coming of age" story.