Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - The Wishing Game

From the start, I’ve had an apprehensive relationship with this book. It caught my eye when it dropped as a Book of the Month selection. I ultimately passed on it because I couldn’t determine if it would be something I would enjoy. I liked the premise but after seeing so many fantasy tags, I decided to put it on the back burner (and eventually bought the Kindle version). When a buddy read opportunity came up I figured I’d finally put my curiosity at rest.

In the style of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jack Masterson holds a contest at his home, Clock Island, which is the backdrop of his famed children’s books. The prize is his newest book in the ‘Clock Island’ series — the only copy. Four contestants all have their reasons for wanting to win, however, the story focuses heavily on the contestant Lucy Hart. She hopes to win the book especially for her young student Christopher. Though she knows it’s merely wishful thinking, she hopes to adopt him.

I feel like a lot of good intentions went into this book… but they came out in all of the wrong ways. Lucy’s relationship with Christopher is unhealthy and, frankly, inappropriate. Not in an abusive sense, rather, she’s imposed herself into his life, taking on the role of mother when she is hardly in a position to take care of herself let alone a child. Very much on the surface, it’s a sweet bond, especially connecting through the ‘Clock Island’ books, but when you look at the situation, it’s unsettling, especially in today’s climate.

Another instance of this is with Jack admitting that he’d always wanted a child and was not in a time, place, or situation that would allow him. But it goes beyond that. This man received letters from children, many of them along with their wishes (as per the theme of his books). Sadly, many of these wishes centered around tragic home lives… to which Jack would reply with what many people would point out as a red flag in the real world. Despite that, we are left to assume his intentions were good-hearted. To go even further, we hear about an occurrence with one child who took up one of his offers to live with him on ‘Clock Island’.

Were there some scenes I got sucked into? Enjoyed? Definitely. Did they matter in the greater scheme of the book? Sadly, no, and I can only recall the details of one of them due to it being a buddy read discussion. The book lacked direction as a whole. At the beginning of the book I thought it was going to be multiple POVs, then the focus on Lucy took over, and then the other contestants seemed to be mostly forgotten as Hugo and Lucy’s friendship grew. (Some of that early stuff is likely on me as I was under the weather, but given how the book progressed, I stand by it.) On top of this, I found the characters superficial, albeit, not without potential. Unfortunately, those characters with the most promise have the major strikes against them that I’ve already mentioned.

Lastly, there is a strong YA voice presented in the writing, which is fine and complements the plot, however, it’s not being marketed as such. Even making Lucy say, 20, would explain the way she presents herself (to a certain degree). I’m also confused as to why this is being so heavily tagged as fantasy. I’d say there are whimsical elements at best but it is otherwise very much a piece of contemporary fiction.

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l1brarygirl's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

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

1.5

1.5 stars - I did shed a tear for that extra half a star....

I wasn't too aware of what this book was about and I read so many thrillers, that I kept expecting a twist that never came. I could NOT connect with the MC Lucy at all and it made it very difficult to stay engaged. I also just was creeped out by a lot of the adults actions in this book.

I think Jack's actions were fatherly in the end but for most of it, I just was kinda icked out by his actions. I couldn't get over Lucy's obsession with Christopher (highly inappropriate behavior for a teacher). The weird attraction between Lucy & Hugo (I'm okay with large age gaps but not when you first meet your SO as a CHILD). I also think Lucy was very unfair to her sister and completely glossed over her grandparents taking care of her. Also a slap in the face that everyone else in this story got a HEA except her sister.

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maddiehansen's review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

2.5

The book was a more positive version of The Westing Game, but not executed as well. The depiction of the foster care system did not seem quite accurate, the relationship between a teacher's aid and a student was not safe, Capri-sun is clear, it covered many deep issues with mere mentions (miscarriage, PTSD, addiction, trauma, foster care system, adoption, rape, incest, abuse, alcoholism, miscarriage, poverty, disability, abandonment etc). It needed more research.

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

This was a lighthearted, wholesome, easy read. I liked the premise and the general storyline, and fell in love with Hugo and Jack. This book felt very juvenile though, like just a couple changes would have made this a middle grade novel. It touched briefly on a lot of heavy topics but I would have loved more depth and length in those discussions. I didn’t particularly care for Lucy, she also felt immature and irresponsible in a lot of ways- like I was reading about an 18 year old and not a 25/26 year old. Overall this book was sweet but could have been a knockout if it was handled with different aims.

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