Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

182 reviews

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5 trillion stars all around for this beautiful novel that had me crying tears of joy and sadness from beginning to end. I’ve heard such amazing things about this book so I had no choice but to read it myself, and it’s a decision I’ll always be grateful for. 

Our main character Lucy is a kindergarten teacher who is trying to foster then adopt one of her orphaned students Christopher, who she has formed a wholesome bond with over the past two years but is facing some financial setbacks that is stopping her from meeting the requirements to foster her baby boy. She would read her favorite childhood book series to him whenever he needed comforting from his trauma of finding his parents passed away and it was an outlet that helped him heal, so when the author of said series who has been on hiatus for years suddenly posts about a challenge to solve various riddles for a shot of winning his newest book Lucy has no choice but to accept his invitation.

This was a beautifully written story about family, heartbreak, and finding new love in the most unknowing situations. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in reading it or to those who’ve never heard of it, and definitely see myself rereading this eventually bc yes it is just that good❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

ixris's review

hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A very easy read, which would not be a bad thing except that the writer will repeat herself sometimes on the same page, sometimes in the next sentence. The amount of things I had to stop and reread because surely the redundancy was a misread on my part (it wasn't) was more than I care to admit and made the reading unpleasant at times. 

The plot focuses on a woman who (to me, a person who spent nine years as a childcare aide) is the least believable depiction of a struggling poverty class worker let alone a childcare worker and how she is enamored with the MPDG of an old man who invites her to return to his Defunctland vibe private island and falling in love with his grumpy live in illustrator (Sorry she's not sunshine tho).

A lot of this was really trite to me but maybe I'm not the right audience. It was a coherent plot and structurally sound, and I quite liked the flirting scenes - our FMC and her MLI really had a good vibe overall. 

You could spot this plot from space though. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Third act trauma dump

girl being raped by her dad tries to swim to the island and drowns is the source of Jack's grief

aprilb_reads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Child death and Incest

ericj32's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This novel taps into the special kind of excitement that many lonely kids feel about their favorite books as an escape to a place where they can imagine their wishes coming true.  The structure of the plot and overall sense of childlike wonder feels very similar to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, except it revolves around an eccentric and mysterious author of beloved children’s books.  The first few chapters felt disjointed and jumped around quite a bit, introducing a lot of different characters, but once I met the young orphaned Christopher, I was invested.  There are some holes in the plot and not all of the details really feel very realistic but if you suspend a little disbelief, it’s an enjoyable ride.  I felt like the book set reasonable expectations that it would be a loosely realistic near-fantasy, in the vein of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, so I didn’t get bogged down in the questionable ethics and legality of Lucy’s relationship with Christopher when she was promising to adopt him while still being a teacher’s aide at his school.  The relationship between Christopher and Lucy made me tear up more than once.  I was less invested in the love story and the subplot with Lucy’s ex.  The subplot about Lucy’s own sister and parents was interesting, but felt a little underdeveloped.  I also wish that there had been a few more puzzles and riddles in the book, as I enjoyed solving those that were included.  I definitely felt a rush of anticipation as the contest began, and the contest wasn’t quite as involved as fun as I’d hoped it would be.  But this was overall a very engaging read with so much heart that I can’t be too critical.  There is more wisdom than you’d expect in this kind of book about what it takes to find happiness and be brave and what things are worth fighting for.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Drug abuse

kimberleyw12's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

chronic_listener's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer and Miscarriage

hdoomk's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

abbygdickerson's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Medical content, and Abandonment

keelirae113's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The author said it best, “this book is for you and all the kids who, in dark times, find a light shining from the pages of books.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Miscarriage, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

hilivingston7's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It felt like a warm hug. Willy wonka meets Peter pan with a therapist. Love the nuanced approach to dreams and encouraging children’s spirits, while not promising life is fair. The letters from Christopher to the mastermind had me 😭

I think the critique of Lucy’s relationship with Christopher is fair,  but also think the difference of one person who really cares can make in a child’s life. I also didn’t like that her love interest meets her when she’s underage.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment