The Wishing Game is a big cozy hug in book form! Full review coming soon.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, and Meg Shaffer for providing an eARC!

Just the right amount of whimsy and emotional connection. I feel like those who loved Harry Potter and hold a soft spot for being a fan of children's books will enjoy this story about what happens to a handful of fans when they grow up. I liked the romantic interest and the drive behind the plot. However, I felt like the relationship between Lucy and Christopher could have been fleshed out a little more. I also felt like some of the backstory of Lucy and her relationship with her sister/family was a bit rushed. Some of it seemed more told for progression of the plot than actual story telling...like they needed to make up a reason for Lucy to have ran away as a child and so it was more of an afterthought. I did like the Charlie in the Chocolate factory-Harry Potteresque vibes.

I seriously loved this book so much! It was so nostalgic and fun.

A best-selling children's author - think Harry Potter level of beloved series, starts a competition wherein he will offer a prize that will change the winner's life! Sort of like Charlie and Chocolate Factory, contestants are chosen to come to his private island and compete by solving riddles.

This book has everything - nostalgia, heartwarming backstories, and cute riddles to solve. I loved CATCF and this was sort of a modern take on that old classic. However, this one is more of a feel good tale. I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a whimsical, fun read for all ages.

Special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Ballantine Books, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pure Magic!

I thoroughly enjoyed Meg Schaffer’s debut novel. She has created a magical story. The cover is beautiful, the story is a celebration of the love of reading, the magic of wishes, and the love of found family.

Totally agree that The Wishing Game is a “love letter to reading and the power that childhood stories have over us long after we grow up”

Thanks Random House Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

My heart feels full after finishing this book. The simplicity of making a wish as a child and believing it will come true because you have people in your life that care about you is the purest thing. <i>The Wishing Game</i> is about heartache, unconditional love, imagining the impossible and meeting your deepest fears head on.
I started this book thinking it was like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but as it was said in the book, that story is about torturing young kids. <i>The Wishing Game</i> is about giving kids at their lowest point the strength to keep going because someone is on their side hoping they succeed.
This is a adult version of a kid's book and I loved every part of it. Do yourself a favor and read this one.

Can a review simply be “I loved this Book!”?

“Places were times. Times were places. Confusing at first. Then charming.”

An island, a writer, a Mastermind, a keeper, a painter, a teacher’s aide, an orphan - an extraordinary story is about to unfold.

“SOS. Save Our Sanity.
SOS. Save Out Stories”

Riddles abound - “Two men on an island and both blame the water………”
“The only wishes ever granted - - - are the wishes of brave children who keep on wishing…”

The Wishing Game has everything - simply wonderful characters, snappy dialog, meaningful inner thoughts, emotions and more that tear your heart into tiny little pieces, and challenges that have you thinking and wondering and burning your gray matter until you can smell your smoking brain.

I ask you can a review simply be “I loved this Book!”?

So many thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a copy.

So, here's the thing. If you love a feel good book that follows a predictable but heartwarming story arc and ends with the conclusion you saw coming - all while providing tons of times that you feel warm and fuzzy inside - this is the book for you. I can completely understand the appeal of this book for others who have raved about it.

But, it's not for me. I need more than a warm fuzzy tale to rave about a book, and my tastes tend toward something with a bit more conflict. Also, the portrayal of a teacher's aide who has a student sit on her lap, tells him that she is working to adopt him and be his mother, buys him gifts, hugs and kisses him, etc., was just too much for me to get over. I understand that the purpose is to develop a deep bond between the two characters, but regardless of whether a student has a supporting and loving family, or is a foster child who could use a bit more love, the behavior of a school employee should not cross the lines that are crossed in this book. It gave me the squinks.

Overall, this book is primarily lovely, and I enjoyed the descriptive language and following the author's journey. I just need a bit more of a mystery to hold my interest.

THE WISHING GAME by @meg_shaffer

Yesterday I finished what will most likely be my favorite book of 2023.

I reluctantly (I didn’t want it to ever end!!!!) finished this gift of a novel with tears streaming down my face.

Whimsical, love-filled, delightful , magical, and tender—this book will heal your inner child and mend your adult soul.

It’s perfect. Truly. This is a short review because I truly can’t find the words, but believe me when I say

YOU NEED TO READ THIS. NOW.

It’s a gift and a joy and an absolute triumph, and I’m a better person for having read it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this. It was such a cute little story and it was so heartwarming in the end. One of those books where you start it and you really, truly know where it’s going to go, but you’re happy to go along for the ride. Just cheesy, magical goodness. The characters really grab you, and the setting is just perfect.

If you need a lovely book to finish your summer or start your fall, I suggest THE WISHING GAME by @meg_shaffer. I loved this ARC so much that I needed the @bookofthemonth copy for my library. This is a book I would reread so that’s my review. Five stars! It was heartwarming and just lovely with all of the Willy Wonka feels. My favorite message was being brave enough to reach for your dreams and being brave enough to let some wishes/dreams go. And books about books always gets me! Not only did I love the characters and the entire story, but it made me want to read the fictitious Clock Island series that doesn’t even exist. I want to read books that don’t exist because I read this book!

I really love the setting of this book, with an author that writes for children creating a competition to launch a new book. I wanted to know more about the fictional stories of the books of the clock island so it would be nice to have those books in the future, it seems like a pretty nice idea. Anyway, the competition is very focused on what you wish for, a theme that also appears on the children’s books. And it worked really well, I like the message that we sometimes can get what we wish but in a different way.

This title wasn't something I could get into, so I won't be finishing it. I really hope that others enjoy it.

For those of us who loved to escape into books as a child, wishing we could visit the places we read about, and, now as adults, still have those wishes, here is THE WISHING GAME, the debut novel by Meg Shaffer. THE WISHING GAME is a feel-good novel that has the reader wishing for their own Golden Ticket! Full of quirky characters, including one contestant deserving of good fortune, this novel will have you wiping happy tears from your eyes as you close the book with a smile on your face and in your heart. It was a wonderful escape for me.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#THEWISHINGGAME #MEGSHAFFER #BALLANTINEBOOKS

Thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

I must be an outlier on this one because I didn't love this book. I thought it was just fine. I've seen some reviews take issue with Lucy's inappropriate relationship with Christopher, but I didn't take too much issue with that. But I was expecting this book to have a bit more whimsy to it. I was expecting a girl to meet a Roald Dahl/Willy Wonka hybrid and this just wasn't it. Maybe I'm not the right audience for this one, I'm not sure. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ballantine books for this advance copy of The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer - this one is available now and is also a selection through Book of the Month!

I absolutely ate this one up and I was so thrilled that my hospital book club chose this as its August choice, delaying my read until now. A modern-day Willy Wonka feeling gives this one a whimsical feeling and I just fell in love with all of the side characters, particularly Lucy and Christopher's journey. It was so easy to read and really stresses the importance of how books and childhood memories can shape a journey well into adulthood. I also found the "gaming" aspect to be really fun to read. Definitely recommend this one as a book club pick as there is a lot of great discussion points.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC - go check this one out today!

The Wishing Game is a book that, to me, seemed like it should be fantasy but wasn’t. Lucy grew up in a tough situation and found solace in a children’s book series set on Clock Island. Clock Island is a real island where the writer of the series lives and is holding a special content for only a select few. Lucy is invited to participate in the once in a life time content that could grant her wish of adopting a little boy named Christopher.

Tbh, I want sure I was feeling this book to start but I kept on and then had tears in my eyes at the end of it. It really felt like it could have been more fantasy than reality because of this other worldly Clock Island setting. Overall, a cute, heartfelt book.

How is this a debut novel?!? It seems impossible.

The reading experience was propulsive. I read it so fast it felt like a short story. The setting is entrancing. Im sure everyone is ready to live on Clock Island after reading this. The characters felt real, and they were all bookish and charming. It’s nice to visit a world where everyone loves books and believes in the transformative power of storytelling. Everyone grew and changed through the book.

If you were a westing game kid, this book is for you. The only problem I have is what to read next? I am worried everything will be disappointing. I only wish it were gayer because everything should be gayer.

I loved this book so much. It was a sweet story with such great characters! I cannot believe this is this authors debut. It was a phenomenal read and I wish I could read this again for the first time!

“The stories write us, you see. We read something that moves us, touches us, speaks to us and it….it changes us.”

I absolutely adored this book. I work in a mental health facility with at-risk teenagers and this book made me think so much of them. I wish they had an author like Jack Masterson to write to that would give them hope. This was such a beautiful story with love and light and magic. Lucy was so relatable and her love of stories and helping those she cares about was so heartwarming. What a unique and engaging read! I also really loved the audiobook!

While I would have tabbed this entire story, here are a few of my favorite quotes!

“Hate is a knife without a handle. You can't cut something with it without cutting yourself.”

“Another thing I learned in therapy?" Angie said. "The kids in dysfunctional families who act out and rebel are the ones who are the healthiest mentally. They're the ones who see that something's wrong. That's why they act out, because they see the house is burning down, and they're screaming for help.

“Hindsight is twenty-twenty, they say, and they aren’t wrong. We only know the right thing to do after we’ve done the wrong one.”

“There is nothing braver than a child asking for help.”

Thank you @netgalley for the early copy and thanks to @prhaudio for the early listening copy!

Willy Wonka for book lovers! How amazing it would be to have first dibs on your favorite author's next book especially when it had been such a long time since the last one. It must be absolute privilege for a reader. In this case, you not only had a chance to get your hands on that book, but also get to visit the island books were placed and play the game with the author.

Kids looked up to Jack Masterson. For some he was the father figure they never had. He meant comfort and belonging to them. Clock Island was their refuge figuratively and literally. Lucy was one of those kids. As a grown up, she still needed Jack Masterson and his books to feel comfort and share it with the little boy she wanted to adopt so bad. When she was presented with the golden ticket to Clock Island, she knew she needed to do her best to win the game, book, and life she dreamt of.

Depending on how you are feeling on the days on you are reading this book, you might find it wholesome and whimsical or bit too happily ever after. But I think it won't stop you from rooting for Jack, Hugo, Lucy and most importantly Christopher. It's definitely a feel-good story.