A review by jes312
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I wanted to like this more based on the premise; similar to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but with people who love books. But it was poorly written--to much telling, not enough showing, especially in terms of relationships between characters.

There were too many predictable and/or unnecessary subplots; one issue was introduced at the very end just to keep everything from being wrapped up a little too neatly. The thing that bothered me the most was
Autumn's death
; I felt like it was shrugged off by everyone; the author creating the contest and
only making it available to kids who did make it to the island felt disrespectful to her memory
.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings