Spindrift and the Orchid by Emma Trevayne

My name is Spindrift, and I had a bad feeling about the customer in grandfather's shop asking if I'd ever seen a black orchid. I hadn't at the time, but that night a black orchid appeared in the glass ball my mother left to me. It changed into a woman who will grant me wishes, and she says there are six more hidden around the world! My grandfather has started sharing letters left by my mother before her death; she died in a shipwreck while searching for the other orchids. Then, that man returned to the shop and threatened us for our black orchid. He's trying to collect all seven orchids, which will make him the most powerful person in the world. I now know the only way to stop him is by getting all of the orchids first. The flowers created an obsession in my mother, and it eventually led to her insanity, and ultimately to her death. I feel the same compulsion and don't know if I can avoid the same fate.

Often, the adult characters in these situations try to control the younger characters with new abilities. The young characters then ignore advice and do their own things. Half of that is true in this book. It wasn't clear how much grandfather knew, but he gave Spindrift (her name comes from sea mist) clues and didn't do much to stop her. She then went off on her own to foil the plans of the mysterious man. There were a couple of unique ideas in this book. Seven sages were contained in the seven glass balls, and each one controlled a different power. The sages did this to put limitations on the wishes and so one person couldn't have all the power, but that obviously became the main conflict. Secondly, Spindrift's mother was overcome by the power of the orchids, and the change was displayed through her letters. She eventually considered killing in order to collect all the flowers. The conflict between Spindrift and the man became more threatening and wasn't settled until the very last chapter. The actual resolution was predictable, although the personality of the black orchid complicated things a little bit for Spindrift. Overall, it was an entertaining story, and I recommend you give it a chance.