In her Breadwinner trilogy, Governor- General’s Award-winning author Deborah Ellis used fiction to explore the plight of children in war-torn Afghanistan. In this new book, she once again presents the situation of children in a troubled part of the world. This time, however, she has real children speak, in their own voices, about their lives, their feelings about their homeland, and their wishes for the future. The group of children interviewed contains both Israelis and Palestinians, a choice that caused the parents of some children to deny permission for publication of interviews. Those published, however, are a moving, sometimes chilling, expression of the disruption and distress created in young people’s lives by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as well as a reminder of the human capacity for hope and renewal.

Ellis interviewed the children on a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in the winter of 2002. The interviews, ranging from three to six pages long, are with children from a variety of backgrounds between the ages of eight and 18. Ellis prefaces each interview with a commentary of several paragraphs, explaining an aspect of the situation in the country (such as the settlements) and something about the child’s own experience. Trying to keep a balanced perspective, Ellis usually alternates Palestinian and Israeli speakers, and includes children who express compassion for people on “the other side” as well as those who express hatred.

The interviews darken as the book goes on, the darkest being one with a suicide bomber’s sister who states, “I have only one wish. I would like to go to heaven.” Ellis ends, however, with Mai, who’s active in an Israeli peace group and determined to do what she can to end the conflict. Three Wishes is, as it should be, a disturbing book; several of the children comment on the stark contrast between their experience and that of sheltered North American children. The book includes a short list of organizations trying to make a difference in the situation in Israel and Palestine, and a reading list.