Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

159 reviews

isa_acevedo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Child abuse and Child death

larajgriff1's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

When I was a kid I wanted to run away and live in a boxcar just like the Boxcar children.  I can see that feeling manifested in this book.  Books were the only way we could really escape our lives as kids, especially because what we read was one of the few things we have some control over.  In those stories, life was hard, but they always had a perfect happy ending.  Though as adults, life is even more complicated, and there is rarely a perfect happy ending. 

I'm very happy that Lucy, Christopher, Jack, and Hugo got theirs.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

itsheyfay's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Abandonment

Moderate: Miscarriage and Classism

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

The Wishing Game is perfection. A perfect blend of heartbreak and hope, wit and whimsy. I laughed, I cried. I raced to solve riddles and braved my own fears. I had so much fun on Clock Island.

I love stories that make you fall even more in love with stories. Books have been such an important part of my life, and I love when authors not only acknowledge what books mean to us, but write whole new stories just to honor and celebrate them! Who would we be without the books we’ve loved? I don’t care to know the answer. 

The Wishing Game is like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory but for adults whose inner child is ready to come out.  For a book set in the “real world” without any actual magic, it felt like I was reading a fantasy. Clock Island truly felt magical and is certainly a place where wishes do come true if you’re brave enough to ask. 

I connected to this story personally on so many levels. You know a book was meant to find you when, halfway through, you’re already thinking about getting quotes and images tattooed on your body forever, because having them branded into your heart just isn’t enough.

The Wishing Game is perfectly paced and easy to binge-read if that’s your thing. It’s a quick read at just under 300 pages. Most of the chapters are quite short and even the longer ones move quickly enough that you don’t notice the difference. If you appreciate a good floppy paperback like I do, the publisher nailed this one - so easy to break in and then lays flat like a dream even from the first page! Also the cover?! Stunning! No notes.

In short, I highly, highly recommend The Wishing Game. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Outing

mj_86's review against another edition

hopeful fast-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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Chronic illness and Miscarriage

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

theladyjsays's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Death of parent

cyndi1966's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, and Miscarriage

oceanelle's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

The premise was so compelling to me in a TJ Klune kind of way, but the first third of the book dragged to the point that I wondered if we’d ever get to Clock Island, and then the actual game felt rushed. Lucy is an incredibly flat character—dare I say bordering on manic pixie dream girl?—and overall kind of sucked the fun out of the game (not to mention the

romance with Hugo

) for me.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse and Child death

apandabearcub's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

mhilt17's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship