What does it really mean to be a "good person"? 10-year old Chloë Taylor has an unusual wish that she longs to come true. For haunted by a terrible secret that she has never dared to reveal, and tired of trying to be liked and loved, Chloë's wish is to feel good about herself, and to be freed from the guilt and shame that has clung to her for several years. The wish seems impossible until the day that word reaches Chloë about a mysterious, hollow-shaped "owl tree" in the wood stretching away from the back of her parents' garden. The owl tree, it is said, has the ability to make any wish come true. Upon finding the tree, however, the pursuit of Chloë's wish becomes even more complicated. For the tree is not prepared simply to grant the wish; rather, it sets Chloë a series of tasks that may, or may not, guide her to achieving it. The tasks take Chloë and her best friend, Harry, on a testing journey of "trial and error" that create clashes with their parents, siblings, schoolteachers and friends. But it is confronting her terrible secret that poses the greatest challenge for Chloë. Through tears, fears, triumphs and laughter, the children discover the hard way what it really means, and takes, to be "good". The answer, when it comes, is not at all what either of them, least of all Chloë, had expected. Although it was written without any knowledge of the same, this novel has a number of similarities in approach to the highly successful book and film 'A Monster Calls' by Patrick Ness. It is a heart-warming, life-affirming and enjoyable exploration of difficult topics that many children are called upon to navigate as they grow up, and it is designed to make that navigation a little easier.
