A beautiful story of family, community, and change.
Sam and Mom go to the neighborhood laundromat every Sunday. This Sunday is different, however, since they will soon be leaving to live with Sam’s grandpa in his tiny trailer, far away. Although Sam is clearly saddened by the idea of the move, they are also trying to find some good in it, noting that it’s always fun to spend time with Grandpa and his dog.
As Sam hears the washing machine go wish-wish-wish, Sam knows what they wish for—to stay in their apartment. As they ponder their dream, they run around asking the other patrons of the laundromat what their wishes are: a person of indeterminate gender, wearing a Pride flag pin and sitting in a scooter/electric wheelchair wishes for “A new scooter!”; a woman wishes for a green card; another wishes for a cat.
Sam hums and spins along with the dryers, but the pending move still obviously weighs on their mind. When they drop a few leftover coins into the vending machine for some cookies, however, the machine spits out an extra spray of coins! “Enough for the rent!” Sam excitedly says, thinking their wish has come true—until their mom gently points out that it’s not their money, and returns it to the laundromat manager. Still, they have their cookies, and share them with the other patrons.
In the end, although Sam doesn’t get their wish, their mom just might get hers, which is that they be “together and happy, wherever we are.”
This is an absolutely wonderful book about family and community. Sam and their mom are clearly facing housing insecurity, but are put at the center of their own empowering story, not treated as objects of charity, as in some books. There is a poignant sense of loss here as Sam and their mom prepare for their move, but there is also a sense of resilience. Author Jonathan Hillman brings a lively charm to the text as well, giving us the sounds of the laundromat from the clunk of the machine door to the clink of coins and the “wish-wish” of the clothes, and showing Sam’s emotions through small, thoughtful moments.
Highly recommended.
Sam is never gendered in the story itself, but the publisher’s blurb uses “they,” so I’m tagging the book as having a nonbinary child in it (although Sam could be read in other ways as well). The adult in the scooter also reads as nonbinary as well. Sam and their mom are White; other patrons of the laundromat reflect a range of racial/ethnic identities.
