Wish (Anna Staniszewski) Books in Order

The books grouped here under Wish are not one long continuing saga. They are a set of Anna Staniszewski middle grade novels that share a similar lane: smart, funny stories about girls dealing with friendship drama, family stress, first crushes, and the awkward business of growing up.

The closest thing to a true sequence is the Lily Blake pair, Clique Here and Double Clique. Lily loves science so much that she treats middle school like an experiment. In the first book she switches schools and tries to rebuild herself as "Blake," the kind of girl she thinks people will admire. The second book follows the fallout, especially her effort to repair her friendship with Kat and figure out whether there is any formula for staying close as people change.

These books know that middle school can feel like a lab where every social mistake explodes in your face.

Secondhand Wishes brings in a small magical twist. Lexi finds wishing stones and quickly learns that getting what you ask for is not the same thing as fixing what hurts. The story mixes jokes with very real worries about friendship, jealousy, and a younger brother's health, so the magic never floats too far from everyday life.

Once Upon a Cruise stays in the real world, even though it is wrapped in fairy tale costumes. Ainsley spends the summer working on a fairy tale cruise run by her mom, who is rebuilding her confidence after a divorce. Between shipboard disasters, too many responsibilities, and a crush on the boy in the Pig King costume, the book turns a week on the water into a story about learning to speak up.

What links these books is voice. Staniszewski writes girls who are observant, sometimes anxious, often funny, and usually one bad decision away from a spectacular mess. The stakes are emotional rather than world ending: losing a best friend, feeling left out, disappointing a parent, or realizing you are not quite the person you thought you were.

If you want a strict reading order, start with Clique Here and then move to Double Clique. The other books work well as standalones. Expect heart, humor, and just enough chaos to keep things moving.