I loved it. "Children's books for adults" is an amazing genre. ( )

Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Munchausen by proxy, death of a child in the past and others by overdosing, grief and loss depiction
Score: Six out of ten.

The Wishing Game was an okay debut from Meg Shaffer but could have been better.

It starts with a prologue that is part of the Clock Island series by fictional author Jack Masterson. Then, it cuts to Lucy, who wants to adopt one of the foster children, Christopher. Jack has quit writing for years until he wants to write one last book in the series and start a challenge on his island named Clock Island. The Wishing Game is a book about books and a contemporary urban fantasy steeped in magical realism.

The writing style is accessible but too simplistic and lacks sophistication and detailed descriptions for an adult audience. The pacing is enough to keep The Wishing Game going at 300 pages but feels tedious to read sometimes. Some scenes are swift, while others are slower and more dialogue-heavy but removing those would help.

Lucy lacks relatability value, depth or development but more would help as her only characteristic is the fact that she wants to start a family despite her low financial status by adopting Christopher.

Lucy has a traumatic childhood as her parents used her to seek attention but that wasn't that grabbing.

The conclusion was okay.

( )

This was a book I never new I needed. It healed a part of my inner child I didn't realize needed healing. I think many of us have been in a situation so desperate for magic to be real and learning it isn't. However, kindness is a kind of magic we all have. ( )

Lucy is a kindergarten teacher's assistant who is desperate to adopt a traumatized little boy, if only she could afford to do it. Then she gets an invitation to a game being held on the private island of her favorite children's book author, featuring a prize that could make all her dreams come true.

This sort of seemed like it should be up my alley, as someone who very much appreciates the spell woven by the books we love as kids and the effect they can have on our lives. But, well... I am absolutely certain that this one will be someone's ideal feel-good read, but I'm afraid I can't say it's mine. It's a bit hard to say why. The only way I can think of to put it is that, even while I was reading, it never seemed true. Everything about it: the characters' various sad backstories, the sweet little kid, the blossoming romance, the writer's bits of verbal whimsey, it all just felt so carefully, conspicuously crafted to evoke the right kind of sentiment that it got in the way of me actually feeling the right kind of sentiment. I also just can't quite sink into the wish-fulfillment fantasy of an eccentric but lovable rich person swooping in to solve one's problems, being far too keenly aware of how much that doesn't happen in reality. It might be appropriate that I read this over Christmas, because I can't help feeling that the novel reminds me of nothing quite so much as a Hallmark Channel movie. At least, I think it does. I haven't actually watched those much, because they're really not my kind of thing.

Which isn't to say it was bad, really. There were things about it I appreciated. The ending is predictable enough, but it manages to avoid feeling too cliche in the process of getting there. I really like the fact that the romance subplot wasn't forced or speedrun, which I fully expected it to be. And even my apparently cold, dead heart responded a bit to the themes of found-family parental love. Still, overall, it wasn't really what I was hoping for. ( )

"Time to face your fears, my dears."

What a wonderful read! Sometimes it's nice to crawl into a comfy read and be reminded of the magic of reading words on a page (or listening to an audio) and being pulled into another world. To remember why we started reading, why we continue to read, and sharing that magic with others!

I loved the island and the photo. I love how, through the story, I slowly got to know Jack and the stories he'd created and given to children. But I also got to know his fears and his troubled past (and very sad current). For so few pages, we get to know a whole cast of characters and their hopes, dreams and even their fears. We learn their struggles (and remember that no matter how perfect appearances are, everyone is struggling with something!) and we see them hold hands and wish for others even though they are competing for their own dreams.

It's an amazing, magical read, one that I will definitely pick up again one day. This is the highest compliment I can give a book (as I don't re-read unless it's Stephen King!) ( )