The Wishing Game Book Review
Check out my review of The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer, a whimsical book about the power of childhood stories and how they stay with us once we’re grown.
Judging a book by the cover, who could resist The Wishing Game??
I’m always a sucker for reading books about books or books about authors and this one had both. Add in a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory style contest and a remote island? Sign me up.
Curious if this book is for you? Check out my full review below.
Summary of The Wishing Game
Make a wish. . . .
Lucy Hart knows better than anyone what it’s like to grow up without parents who loved her. In a childhood marked by neglect and loneliness, Lucy found her solace in books, namely the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson. Now a twenty-six-year-old teacher’s aide, she is able to share her love of reading with bright, young students, especially seven-year-old Christopher Lamb, who was left orphaned after the tragic death of his parents. Lucy would give anything to adopt Christopher, but even the idea of becoming a family seems like an impossible dream without proper funds and stability.
But be careful what you wish for. . . .
Just when Lucy is about to give up, Jack Masterson announces he’s finally written a new book. Even better, he’s holding a contest at his home on the real Clock Island, and Lucy is one of the four lucky contestants chosen to compete to win the one and only copy.
For Lucy, the chance of winning the most sought-after book in the world means everything to her and Christopher. But first she must contend with ruthless book collectors, wily opponents, and the distractingly handsome (and grumpy) Hugo Reese, the illustrator of the Clock Island books. Meanwhile, Jack “the Mastermind” Masterson is plotting the ultimate twist ending that could change all their lives forever.
. . . You might just get it.
What I Liked
Here’s what I would tell my best friend about the book:
- How Books Shape Us: Each of the contestants on the island have had their lives shaped by the books they read as children. As a lifelong bookworm, I felt this deep in my core.
- Jack Masterson and His Clock Island Series: I loved the idea of a children’s mystery book author living on an a mystical island hosting a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory style contest for the rights to his next book. Snippets of this fictional book series help tie the story together as it plays out.
- The Riddles and Puzzles: I loved the word play involved with each of the challenges Jack gives the contestants.
- Favorite Quote: There were several quotable pieces of wisdom in the book but my favorite was, “Because only brave children know that wishing is never enough. You have to try to make your own wishes come true.”
What I Didn’t Like
Every reader needs something different from a book. What I may not have preferred may be your favorite part.
The main character, Lucy, is a very young women who’s main motivation is to win the money from the contest so that she can adopt a 7 year old boy, Christopher, she’s helped foster.
I really struggled with this set-up. It didn’t feel believable and I’m not sure Lucy was truly the best for Christopher. Their relationship felt borderline abusive to me, as though Lucy was trying to prevent Christopher from finding another more stable home with parents who could better provide for him because she selfishly wanted him to be with her over all else.
The hardest part about being a parent is putting the child’s needs over your own wishes and I don’t feel like Lucy was doing that at all in this story.
This was a significant part of the plot so it wasn’t something I could overlook as just part of the set-up. I really struggled to like Lucy for most of the book. I finally warmed up to her by the end of the story but it was a large enough problem the book was almost a DNF for me.
How Spicy Is It?
🚫: The Wishing Game is spice-free. You can see how I rate this factor on my spicy books rating scale.
Overall Score
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I give The Wishing Game 4-stars because by the time I finished the book, my problems with the set-up had eased and I appreciated how the story finally came together. I was also going through a stressful season of the school year so some of my inattention in the middle of the book was likely my own fault. The story concept is clever and there are many quotable bits.
If you love the idea of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but with books, it is very likely you will love this book.
If this is your first time reading one of my reviews, you may want to check out how I score my reads with this scale guide here.
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