Do you remember reading your favorite childhood book for the first time? It felt like the author had written the book solely for you. For me, that book was Alice in Wonderland. The Wishing Game gave me that same feeling.
Thirtysomething Lucy has a favorite childhood book series called the Clock Island mysteries. Unfortunately, the author retired to an isolated island and stopped writing the series years ago. However, he has just announced a competition pitting his four biggest fans in a puzzle competition to win the rights to his new unpublished book. Lucy desperately wants to win so she can legally adopt one of the children in her school. However, the other three contestants also have compelling reasons for their drive to win.
I really enjoyed feeling that rush of reading a book that brought back all my memories of my childhood reading favorites. But that is not to say the book is without flaws. Lucy’s magical thinking of “I want it so it must come to pass” is a bit grating on my, perhaps jaded, adult mind. The plotting had no true surprises, which is consistent with children’s rather than adult fiction. Still, I enjoyed reading The Wishing Game. If you loved Alice or Willy Wonka books as a child, you will enjoy this book as well. 5 stars!
Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.