Once upon a time, I came across The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer. The synopsis immediately sounded intriguing to me, so I decided to put this one on the TBR. I just recently got to read it and it was a delightful surprise.

About the book

• Title: The Wishing Game
• Author: Meg Shaffer
• Publication date: May 30, 2023
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• ISBN: 9780593598832
• Number of pages: 304
• Genre: General Fiction, Contemporary

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.

My review

Expectations

Quite honestly, I really didn’t know what to expect. This book sounded like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to me, but then for adults with more serious themes. Well, this is exactly what I’ve got, because this novel contains so many elements of this classic by Roald Dahl. However, it’s not the same, because nobody can beat that story. Shaffer also mentions this youth classic was her inspiration for this novel. However, I decided to go into this reading experience blankly, so it can only be good.

Characters

Lucy Hart is working as an assistant teacher in Kindergarten. After school, she meets up with Christopher, who used to be a kid in her class. He doesn’t have a stable living situation and is in foster care. Lucy meets him daily to help him out with school work and to provide him some stability. She really wants to adopt him, but she doesn’t have the financial stability fostercare requires. However, both Lucy and Christopher are huge fans of Jack masterson, an author of children’s books who, after a long hiatus, decides to start writing again. It’s just one book and there’s only one copy. To be able to get this copy, several adults have to compete in a game. The winner gets the book and may do with to as they wish. Lucy is one of the competitors and she must win in order to gain the financial stability to adopt Christopher.

Throughout the story, you see her devotion to win, to give Christopher the home he so wishes for. Also, there’s no denial that the bond between these two people is so trong, no one can come between them. It’s them against the world. However, things get a little more complicate once Lucy and Hugo Reese meet again. hugo is Jack’s illustrator and dear friend. Once Lucy and Hugo spend more time together, there’s also something growing between them. They both benefit from their time together, but Hugo especially. He seems to open up more and he seems to be able to choose for himself again. Then there’s Jack. From the start of the book, you know there’s something to him, he’s kind of mysterious and you want to know why. At least, I wanted to do so. It takes a while, but then you will find out what happened that causes his current behaviour. It didn’t seem possible, but even he benefits from Lucy’s presence during the games on the island. I can’t say more about this because of spoilers though. This book is written in such a way that you get to know the main characters as much as necessary for the story. This also applies to the side characters, even though their role is much smaller.

Writing

I was intrigued by this book straight away. It starts with a prologue that tells more about the past and about Hugo’s desire to get his own life back on track. Afterwards, we immediately switch to Lucy and the actual story begins. POVs alternate between both Lucy and Hugo, which gives you a good overview of the story. This works really well, because we get bits and pieces of both their backgrounds. Even Christopher gets his own chapter, but that’s all necessary for the storyline. The writing is indulging and accessible, it never let me down.

Plot

The plot has, as stated before, similarities to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Sometimes it might seem a bit juvenile though, but that’s because the games evolve around a children’s book. However, many mature themes are touched upon, such as fostercare, anxiety and family relationships. They all give this lighthearted novel a serious and deeper layer, which it absolutely needs. The mixture of both serious and lighthearted moments works really well here. They provide intrigue and it made me curious for what’s to come next. I think all the events where there in a logic way, although the ending was kind of predictable. However, that doesn’t matter at all.

Final thoughts

I unexpectedly enjoyed The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer more than I had ever anticipated. I didn’t know what to expect from this book at first, but this story is such a delight to read. It’s lighthearted but with serious themes. However, the love the characters all have for eachother is undeniable and was visible throughout the entire book. However, the events were a little predictable most of the time, but that didn’t matter at all to me. It was a pleasure to read and therefore a real feelgood novel. I think you could best describe this book as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for adults.