This was an absolutely amazing YA contemporary read from Fiona Wood. This is the first book of hers I've read though I did try Six Impossible Things. I've only realised now that all three of her books (Six Impossible Things, Wildlife and Cloudwish) are all connected and include some of the same characters, so I'll have to look into that, especially as I really enjoyed this story. 
 I went into this book, not knowing much more than what the blurb gave me, which wasn't much but turned out to be a good thing. Van Uoc (I still have no idea how to say this name) is a Vietnamese Australian teenager who goes to Crowthorne Grammar on a scholarship. Her best friend is Jess, another Vietnamese Australian girl, who she is next door neighbours with and used to go to school together with. 
 Van Uoc had a distinctive voice and her personality was something I really liked. She's not at all cliche, and reading about someone who has a Vietnamese background was refreshing to see. Her character is very relatable to me for various reasons that I will go into later. 
 Van Uoc's name in English means cloudwish, and it is quite fitting as a wish starts the whole story. 
 Van Uoc's parents came from Vietnam to Australia before she was born by boat. Because of this, her mother was greatly traumatised, and though she seems alright, every year at the time when she left from Vietnam, she relapses into PTSD. Her parents have never told Van Uoc about their story, and she has always wanted to know, to perhaps feel more connected to their plight, which she feels they always compare to her problems. Van Uoc isn't very close to her parents and she does admit that she'll never have quite the same bond with her mother that her mother had with her grandmother, which I thought was quite realistic. While saying this though, Van Uoc and her mother do become closer throughout the novel and have a better understanding of each other at the end. 
 As well, Van Uoc's parents are very strict on her; they are poor and want what's best for her, as they never had the opportunity, even if they do sometimes treat Van Uoc unfairly, especially as she is a hard-working student. Van Uoc doesn't really fit in at school but just lays low, her friends more like protectors for her. A lot of the kids she goes to school with have wealthy parents and they therefore don't know what it's like to be in her situation. 
 Billy, the love interest is introduced into Van Uoc's life a bit dubiously, based on a simple wish. I was suspicious of Billy for a long time, but he did prove himself. I am still doubtful a bit because they were in the same class before and he never once talked to her, but I suppose just like the book says that these kinds of things can happen. It was just awfully unlikely and a bit of a cop-out. 
 Van Uoc is an art student and is taking an art course, where she has to create an art folio, which is written about in the novel. I thought this was pretty interesting and would have liked to see more of it. 
 I liked the ending and the whole story, really. Everything is wrapped up nicely, albeit too near the end, and therefore not as believable. Cloudwish is a light-hearted, delightful novel which explores identity, displacement and how one can really find who they are when they open their eyes to the world. This book was an enjoyable read which I rate 4.5 stars.