The Wish

Historical novelist Morris (The Tattooist of Auschwitz) turns to contemporary fiction with an affecting if hackneyed story of a dying teen’s last wish. Jesse, 15, is in and out of the hospital with terminal leukemia. Alex, about to turn 30, is a brilliant but socially awkward coder working at a CGI studio, who lives alone except for his dog. When Jesse makes a wish through a foundation for an immersive 3-D film of her life to leave for her family after she’s gone, Alex’s company takes on the project. Working together, Alex and Jesse incorporate drawings by her younger brother, her mother’s poetry, photos of the family at their favorite picnic spot on the beach, and staged scenes featuring Jesse to surprise her family. Meanwhile, the strain of Jesse’s illness has torn her parents’ marriage apart, and her father treats Alex with contempt and hostility. What’s more, Alex’s boss wants to turn Jesse’s wish into a publicity stunt, which nearly drives Alex to quit. Though Morris avoids the maudlin by sustaining an upbeat tone, the plot veers into cliché, as when Alex finds himself falling in love with a blue-eyed social worker at the hospital. It’s a mixed bag. (May)