The Wishing Game

✮✮✮✮✮

Jul 17

The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer

my review : ✮✮✮✮✮

This book is magical. If you're open to all things whimsical and wonderful with some real-world bits mixed in, this is the book for you.

Years ago, famous and reclusive author Jack Masterson stopped writing his wildly popular children's books to the shock of the world. Suddenly, he resurfaces with a brand new book and a life-changing competition set on the remote island off the coast of Maine that he lives on. So far, this might sound like the premise of a thriller (lol) but let me assure you this is a heartwarming, life-affirming story. Lucy Hart is a huge fan of Jack Masterson's work and relied on his magical stories to get her through a rough childhood. Now, she's 26 and working as a teacher's aide. Her greatest dream is to adopt Christopher, a 7-year-old orphan who was once her student and now the child she tutors and spends all her free time with. Unfortunately, becoming a family seems impossible, given Lucy's financial situation. Lucy has exhausted every option available to make her dreams a reality. She is on the brink of giving up before she learns she's one of the 4 contestants chosen to participate in Jack's life-changing contest.

This book is a love letter to storytelling. It's bursting with lovable characters, full of heartstring-pulling plots, sprinkled with hope, and finished off with a heap of magic. As an added bonus, I found myself googling a few words sprinkled throughout this book and, once learning their meaning, thinking to myself, "I need to use that word in my everyday life." Stumbling across a new word felt like getting an Oreo-filled spoonful of cookies and cream ice cream.

Simply put, I had the most marvelous time getting lost in this story. I will be pushing it into the hands of many of my friends.

You come here for the beach reads, and this is simply that—a book that makes you feel good. I would be shocked if this wasn't in my top 5 for the year.