Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

El juego de los deseos by Leire García-Pascual Cuartango, Meg Shaffer

150 reviews

keelirae113's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

The author said it best, “this book is for you and all the kids who, in dark times, find a light shining from the pages of books.” 
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isa_acevedo's review against another edition

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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

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larajgriff1's review against another edition

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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.
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meg_reads_alot's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is like the bookish version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and is the perfect example of why I read…to escape harsh realities even if it’s only while you’re reading. 

The characters in this book all are linked by how escaping into the story book setting written by Jack “Mastermind” Masterson helped them through their childhoods. Jack invites these individuals to his island to compete in a series of games and riddles and face their fears in order to have their wish granted - to receive the only copy of his newest book (just like the characters in his books). Only those who are brave will have their wishes granted.

This is an easier/short read, and reads very much like a YA book. Is it super realistic? No but it’s also fiction and as I stated before I read to escape reality. It was entertaining and heart felt. 


You may not want to read it if…
- you get annoyed when watching HGTV “I’m a crayon color tester who wants to buy a half million dollar house” vibes bother you
- you want a realistic story about foster/adoption of a child
- if you get the ick about someone who identifies as a mother figure in a child’s life acts like one despite not having adopted the child
- if you are bothered by someone talking about how they felt unloved/alone when their parents neglected to give them attention because their sibling was chronically ill 

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chris_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted sad 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? No

5.0

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margotfoster's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I laughed. I cried. I want to read it again. 
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mj_86's review against another edition

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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

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cyndi1966's review against another edition

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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

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oceanelle's review against another edition

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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.
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sydneylmeyer7's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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