Wishtree

Wishtree (2017) is a work of young adult fiction by Katherine Applegate. Directly addressing the bigotry and Islamophobia of the Trump era, the novel tackles the polarized American political climate by praising the value of diversity, tolerance, and compassion.

Plot Summary

This book’s narrator is a 216-year-old northern oak tree named Red. Red is a dioecious tree who has both male and female characteristics, so refers to themself with the pronoun “they.” The story takes place in an unnamed American town, where Red is a wishtree. Every May 1, on Wishing Day, townspeople make a pilgrimage to Red to tie their dearest wishes to Red’s branches.

Red has been rooted to their spot since before 1848, when an influx of immigrants arrived in the area. They became a wishtree when a young woman named Maeve brought her Irish tradition to the town and tied a wish on Red’s branch for someone to love. Maeve received her wish when a destitute Italian immigrant left a baby in one of Red’s hollows. Maeve, unmarried and lonely, adopted the Italian baby and gave her a name that honored her heritage—Amadora. Initially ostracized for her choice, Maeve eventually succeeded in carving out a place for herself and her hybrid family within the community.

In the present day, Maeve’s great-great granddaughter named Francesca is technically the owner of Red, as Red grows on her property. Francesca watches passively as a new Muslim family in the community bears escalating harassment.

Samar is the only child of the Muslim family. She is quiet, intelligent, and friendless—but she enjoys a special connection to the natural world. Every night, she visits Red after her parents have gone to sleep. Red’s ragtag gang of animal friends—which include three discrete family units of raccoons, opossums, and owls, as well as Red’s best friend, the crow Bongo—take an immediate liking to Samar. One night, Samar wishes for a friend. It’s clear by her surreptitious longing for her neighbor Stephen’s attention that she hopes he might befriend her. Bongo also gifts Samar with a small silver key.

One day, an unnamed teenager scrawls the word “LEAVE” into Red’s trunk, an action viewed as a threat against Samar and her family. Francesca uses this unpleasant event, as well as the fact that Red’s roots are disrupting her plumbing, as an excuse to cut Red down. Meanwhile, Red consorts with their animal friends to orchestrate Samar’s wish. Francesca also makes serious preparations to cut Red down on Wishing Day. 

Finally, in a desperate attempt to both save their own life and grant Samar’s wish, Red breaks the rule of nature which dictates that animals and plants can’t talk to humans. Two nights before Wishing Day, Red tells Stephen and Samar the story of Maeve and Amadora. The next day, Stephen and Samar beg Francesca not to cut Red down. Francesca will not listen, although she does recognize the key around Samar’s neck as the one that opens her great-great-grandmother Maeve’s diary. Francesca tells Samar that the actual diary is in the shed behind her house. That night, Samar opens the diary and finds that the story told to her by Red is within it—in Maeve’s words.

On Wishing Day, the townspeople fill Red’s branches with their wishes. Samar and Stephen persuade Francesca to read the diary. As she sits reading it, the children from the elementary school fill Red’s branches with a wish that counters the vandalism carved into Red’s trunk: Each of their wishes reads “STAY.” Stephen spearheaded this effort and tells Samar publicly that he hopes that she and her family will remain in the community.

After reading her great-great-grandmother’s diary, Francesca realizes that she has forgotten Maeve’s legacy of standing against bigotry and championing love. Francesca stops her planned felling of Red and also publicly tells Samar and her family that she hopes they will stay. Red is safe, and the Wishing Day tradition will continue. By narrative’s end, Samar’s family has decided to stay in the community, and Stephen and Samar develop their friendship.