Scan barcode
A review by mysticpagemage
The Wishing Game: "Part Willy Wonka, part magical realism, and wholly moving" Jodi Picoult by Meg Shaffer
5.0
Let me start off by saying I have read some of the lesser star reviews, and I wonder if those people have lost their imagination. To call this book perverted is also way off base. I wonder if these people lived such perfect lives that they never dreamed of escaping into a fictional world. I can't comprehend their thought processes, and that is ok to each their own. However, to me, this book is an ode to find those who know your pain.
Lucy was the second child in a home where her older sister was always very sick. She was ignored by her parents because they believed they needed to focus their attention purely on the eldest daughter. As a child, Lucy deeply felt that loss of love. While waiting at the hospital to be picked up by her grandparent, Lucy discovered The Clock Island books by Jack Masterson. These books became her escape and also gave her a plan to MAKE her parents see her. She chose to run away to Clock Island, where she thought she could live with the Mastermind. Ultimately, Jack had to call the police to return her to her home with her grandparents even though his heart was breaking for the child who felt unloved.
Now, in her mid-twenties, she is a teachers aide, and a child from her class has had a terrible thing happen to them. From the trauma, he has attached himself to her because she understands his pain. She treats him how he needs to be treated to heal, which she only knows how to do because she needed someone to do it for her when she was younger, but that never happened. She is struggling to make ends meet, but the one thing she wants most in this world is to give her love to Christopher and become his adoptive mom.
Despite her shortcomings financially, there is still hope when a competition created by the mastermind himself, Jack Masterson, is announced to win his newest unpublished book. Lucy and three others who had also run away to Clock Island due to their own childhood trauma are chosen to participate. Will Lucy win the unpublished novel, or is there more to win than just a book.
I adored every second of this book. I took my time to really see through the eyes of each character. I felt the pain and struggles that they all had and found that despite these issues, they had become amazing adults. It is a wonderful read for those who enjoyed the adventure books they read as children and are seeking that nostalgia now as an adult.
Lucy was the second child in a home where her older sister was always very sick. She was ignored by her parents because they believed they needed to focus their attention purely on the eldest daughter. As a child, Lucy deeply felt that loss of love. While waiting at the hospital to be picked up by her grandparent, Lucy discovered The Clock Island books by Jack Masterson. These books became her escape and also gave her a plan to MAKE her parents see her. She chose to run away to Clock Island, where she thought she could live with the Mastermind. Ultimately, Jack had to call the police to return her to her home with her grandparents even though his heart was breaking for the child who felt unloved.
Now, in her mid-twenties, she is a teachers aide, and a child from her class has had a terrible thing happen to them. From the trauma, he has attached himself to her because she understands his pain. She treats him how he needs to be treated to heal, which she only knows how to do because she needed someone to do it for her when she was younger, but that never happened. She is struggling to make ends meet, but the one thing she wants most in this world is to give her love to Christopher and become his adoptive mom.
Despite her shortcomings financially, there is still hope when a competition created by the mastermind himself, Jack Masterson, is announced to win his newest unpublished book. Lucy and three others who had also run away to Clock Island due to their own childhood trauma are chosen to participate. Will Lucy win the unpublished novel, or is there more to win than just a book.
I adored every second of this book. I took my time to really see through the eyes of each character. I felt the pain and struggles that they all had and found that despite these issues, they had become amazing adults. It is a wonderful read for those who enjoyed the adventure books they read as children and are seeking that nostalgia now as an adult.