From School Library Journal
YA?On a bitterly cold October evening, a truck skids across icy roads into a car that slides uncontrollably into pedestrian Bree Miller. The driver, Tom Gates, spends days helping the woman recover both at the hospital and later at her home. As they fall in love, Bree eventually tells Tom about her near-death, out-of-body experience and her recollection that she has been granted three wishes by the Being of Light she met during the episode. Once the three wishes are granted, she feels that she will die once more. Bree uses one wish as a test but the result is ambiguous, so she can't be sure if it is luck or the true power of the granted wish. It is only after her death that Tom has the hindsight to see that Bree's three wishes had been granted. Delinsky draws detailed portraits of her characters, from physical attributes to personalities. The picture-perfect, small-town Vermont setting is effectively drawn. The mystery of Bree's mother's identity adds another layer to the intriguing plot. For YAs who are fond of Lurlene McDaniel's novels, Delinsky's book is a natural progression into adult writing of the same genre.?Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Simon & Schuster got its wish by convincing Delinsky to switch publishers. Fans will surely get their wish when they read another juicy Delinsky novel. And we wish we could tell you more about the plot, but Delinsky is keeping mum.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
When bestselling author Tom Gates and an October blizzard move into a quaint Vermont town, Bree Miller's life is magically transformed forever. Amy Brenneman creates a soothing spiritual ambience with her warm and inviting vocal qualities. As Bree, she portrays a selfless person, able to cope with adversity yet overflowing with love for others. As the magical threads of the story weave a special pattern in Bree's life, Brenneman captures the many personalities of the townspeople and reveals their devotion for her. Tom Gates's gruffness subsides as Bree touches his heart, and Brenneman does a superb job escorting the listener through his emotional transition. Brenneman creates an "unearthly" aura, which adds the perfect nuance to this charming story. B.J.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Best-selling contemporary women's fiction writer Delinsky has written a sentimental love story that will be appreciated by her fans. The story follows 14 months in the life of Bree Miller, a waitress living a quiet existence in small-town Panama, Vermont. Bree is alone in the world; her father and grandparents are dead, and she was abandoned by her mother at birth. One night, she is walking home from work during a snowstorm when a jeep that is hit by another car plows into her. When her heart stops on the operating table, she has a near-death experience, during which she is embraced by a bright white light and promised three wishes if she returns to her body. Upon awakening in the hospital, she finds that the man who hit her (a handsome, single, wealthy author) has been at her bedside since the accident. Bree, who has been unlucky in love, immediately falls in love with him, and he (who up until this point has been a somewhat of a cad) falls mindlessly in love with her. The rest of the story is concerned with Bree using up her three wishes: to cement her relationship with this man, to find her lost mother, and to become pregnant (she is infertile as a result of the accident). Although much of the story positively drips with pathos, fans will enjoy the various small subplots and the surprise ending. Kathleen Hughes


Review
Woman's Own I wish you'd read Three Wishes....This charming novel has a fantastical premise, [but] its themes of redemption and love are powerfully earthbound.


Book Description
A storyteller of unparalleled emotional intensity, bestselling author Barbara Delinsky has created a novel that resonates far beyond its extraordinary love story. Here is a tale of courage, community, and the magical consequences of being given a second chance. What if wishes really could come true? It's the question facing waitress Bree Walker when she awakens in the hospital following a blizzard in sleepy Panama, Vermont. While she can't recall the near-tragedy that landed her there, she's overcome with the certainty that she has been granted three wishes. One seems to have come true already: at her side is renowned author Tom Gates, the accident's only witness, who had come to Panama to make sense of his fame -- and who now makes Bree his cause. Suddenly, the things Bree has wanted most -- a home, a soul mate, a family -- are within her grasp. But are the wishes real? And if they are, what is their price? As Bree and Tom consider what their hearts truly require, they discover that to live their dreams, they will have to take unimagined risks....


Simon & Schuster
When a surprise October blizzard hits Panama, Vermont, blanketing the sleepy little town with several feet of snow, it creates a scene so tranquil no one suspects the tragedy to come, least of all Bree Miller. Slipping and sliding as she walks home from the diner where she works, she barely has time to notice the runaway truck skidding toward her until it is too late. She awakens in the hospital, remembering little of the accident or the hours thereafter, except for a very bright light, a beatific smile, and a mystical nonvoice granting her three wishes.

Tom Gates is the accident's only witness. New to town, he is a bestselling author who turned his back on his family for the sake of fortune and fame. Now, rejected by both family and friends, he is in Panama to rethink his life. Bree becomes his cause.

For self-sufficient, independent Bree, life changes dramatically. Suddenly within her grasp are those things she always wanted most -- a home, a soul mate, a family. But there is unfinished business: the mother who abandoned Bree when she was an infant, the family Tom misses deeply, the child doctors say Bree can never have. And there are still those three wishes.

But are those wishes real? And if they are, at what price?END


About the Author
Barbara Delinsky is the New York Times bestselling author of sixty-five books, including A Woman's Place and For My Daughters. A master of emotional intensity, she touches the minds and hearts of her readers with intricately woven stories about domestic drama and relationships. More than twenty million copies of her books are in print worldwide, in eighteen different languages. She and her husband, both lifelong New Englanders, have three grown sons.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When a surprise October blizzard hits Panama, Vermont, blanketing the sleepy little town with several feet of snow, it creates a scene so tranquil no one suspects the tragedy to come, least of all Bree Miller. Slipping and sliding as she walks home from the diner where she works, she barely has time to notice the runaway truck skidding toward her until it is too late. Sbe awakens in the hospital, remembering little of the accident or the hours thereafter, except for a very bright light, a beatific smile, and a mystical nonvoice granting her three wishes. Tom Gates is the accident's only witness. New to town, he is a bestselling author who turned his back on his family for the sake of fortune and fame. Now rejected by both family and friends, he is in Panama to rethink his life. Bree becomes his cause. For self-sufficient, independent Bree, life changes dramatically. Suddenly within her grasp are those things she always wanted most - a home, a soul mate, a family. But there is unfinished business: the mother who abandoned Bree when she was an infant, the family Tom misses deeply, the child doctors say Bree can never have. And there are still those three wishes. But are those wishes real? And if they are, at what price?

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A magical near-death experience charms a woman's life in this heartwarming novel from popular romance writer Delinsky (Together Alone; A Woman's Place; etc.). Bree Miller is content with her tranquil, solitary existence in picturesque Panama, Vt., until she is struck by a speeding Jeep. Waking in her hospital bed, she recalls the comfort of a bright light and a voice that sent her back from the land of the dead with a gift: she may have three wishes before she dies again. As she recovers, Bree finds she is no longer alone; beside her is Tom Gates, the man responsible for the accident. A successful lawyer who became a bestselling novelist, Tom has fled the New York glamour world to reconnect with his own lost soul. As Bree and Tom discover love and contentment, Bree can't help but wonder if the spiritual light and her promised wishes are real. Delinsky's prose is spare, controlled and poignant as she evokes the simplicity and joys of small-town life with the sugary finish of a Norman Rockwell scene. While the heart of the book is a love story, Delinsky manages to avoid romantic slush and she capably balances her narrative on the tightrope between spirituality and earthly love. Literary Guild alternate; Reader's Digest Condensed Book selection.

Library Journal

When Bree Walker wakes up in the hospital, she remembers only that she died on the operating table and it had been great. A being of light had enveloped her with unconditional love, granted her three wishes to be named later, and sent her back to life until after she had used the third wish. The story gets sappier from here. Reader Jen Taylor does a commendable job considering what she is up against; she isn't given toward melodramatics, so she is able to keep the story on an even keel. Like Delinsky, she has a good feel for small-town Vermonters and imbues many of the major players with amusing eccentricities. But in the end, the story fails its listeners even while remaining true to itself. In general, the suspension of disbelief factor is extraordinarily high. Not Delinsky's best; not recommended. Jodi L. Israel, MLS, Boston Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

On a bitterly cold October evening, a truck skids across icy roads into a car that slides uncontrollably into pedestrian Bree Miller. The driver, Tom Gates, spends days helping the woman recover both at the hospital and later at her home. As they fall in love, Bree eventually tells Tom about her near-death, out-of-body experience and her recollection that she has been granted three wishes by the Being of Light she met during the episode. Once the three wishes are granted, she feels that she will die once more. Bree uses one wish as a test but the result is ambiguous, so she can't be sure if it is luck or the true power of the granted wish. It is only after her death that Tom has the hindsight to see that Bree's three wishes had been granted. Delinsky draws detailed portraits of her characters, from physical attributes to personalities. The picture-perfect, small-town Vermont setting is effectively drawn. The mystery of Bree's mother's identity adds another layer to the intriguing plot. For YAs who are fond of Lurlene McDaniel's novels, Delinsky's book is a natural progression into adult writing of the same genre. Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

AudioFile - Bonnie J. Powell

When bestselling author Tom Gates and an October blizzard move into a quaint Vermont town, Bree Miller's life is magically transformed forever. Amy Brenneman creates a soothing spiritual ambience with her warm and inviting vocal qualities. As Bree, she portrays a selfless person, able to cope with adversity yet overflowing with love for others. As the magical threads of the story weave a special pattern in Bree's life, Brenneman captures the many personalities of the townspeople and reveals their devotion for her. Tom Gates's gruffness subsides as Bree touches his heart, and Brenneman does a superb job escorting the listener through his emotional transition. Brenneman creates an "unearthly" aura, which adds the perfect nuance to this charming story. B.J.P. cAudioFile, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

Heartwarming, tearjerking small-town romance from veteran Delinsky (A Woman's Place), replete with an out-of-body experience.

Bree Miller, a well-liked waitress at an unbelievably good diner in Panama, Vermont, is hit by a car on a snowy night and, during surgery, "dies" briefly. While her heart's stopped, Bree is aware of floating above the operating table and of encountering a loving and gentle bright light. When she wakes up, she also remembers having been given three wishes—although after her third wish is granted, the deal goes, her life will be over. She also, when she wakes up, finds herself being taken care of by Tom Gates, a bestselling author in the John Grisham mold, who has come to little Panama to escape his celebrity status and to try to find himself. Although it wasn't Tom's fault, it was his car that hit Bree, and so this "movie star handsome" guy now finds that the time he spends caring for Bree helps him feel better about himself. He has, in fact, given up his fast-track life out of guilt over his mother's death: He rarely visited her, and when she died (of cancer), he was sailing the Adriatic with his equally famous friends. Bree helps to make him into a much nicer guy. Indeed, he becomes a supremely thoughtful man, fetching and carrying for Bree and listening to her concerns. Eventually, they fall in love, of course, and he gives Bree a really swell diamond engagement ring. Bree finally makes her three wishes—but not very shrewdly. When the white light comes for her (she's found with a serene smile on her face), the bereft Tom manages to go on with the help of his newborn son and the loving small-town Panamanians.

Delinsky rises above gag-me-with-a-spoon melodrama—though just barely.