The Wishing Stick

The Wishing Stick is a heartwarming and whimsical story centred on the unlikely, yet profound, friendship between a teenage girl and a charismatic aged care resident. The story is initiated when Janey, a final-year high school student, begins a local history project, leading her to interview Bill Stoddart at the Serenity Gardens facility.

The story unfolds through Bill's captivating storytelling, as their formal chat sessions quickly evolve into an exchange of "mischievous stories, fascinating connections, wisdom sharing and an array of some not-so-ordinary events". The title object, the wishing stick (or "crook"), is a walking stick gifted to Bill by his grandfather after Bill, as a five-year-old, saved his life. Bill's grandfather declared the worn, wooden stick to be "a big magic wand" that had a "knack for making wishes come true". The central plot is less about the project itself and more about the wisdom Bill imparts to Janey through his adventurous and sometimes questionable past.

There's some action in here too, Janey gets physical in defending what's right and makes her mark in some comical and heroic ways. Get insired as Janey takes us on a journey to find meaning and explore the challenges life presentes.