Review of The Wishing Game

A very unique, feel-good story! In many ways predictable, but in ways that I could live with, for the most part.

The story follows Lucy, a poor schoolteacher estranged from her family of origin, who wants more than anything to adopt Christopher, one of her orphaned students. He loves her too, but she can’t qualify as a foster parent because she doesn’t have any money. We also learn that she and Christopher have bonded over a series of Clock Island children’s books — some of Lucy’s favorites growing up, to the point where she briefly became obsessed with the author, and snuck onto his literal Clock Island, where he lived.

But Jack Masterson, said author, hasn’t written in years. Chapters alternate between Lucy’s POV and Hugo’s, Jack’s illustrator, who also loves him like a father, and lives on the island with him. Hugo is worried about Jack, until he offers a worldwide contest, a bit a la Willie Wonka, except that Jack hand-selects the participants. All of them are now adults, but who reached out to him in various ways during their own crises as children. The winner of the contest will get exclusive rights to his last book in the Clock Island series which no one has yet read–which, of course, is worth millions.

Of course Lucy gets chosen. The game consists of a series of riddles similar to those found in the books, but designed to help them face their deepest fears and desires. You have to suspend your disbelief a bit here–in the Clock Island books, the Mastermind is the shadowy character who leads the children along, and in the “real” version, it’s Jack himself. He seems to have supernatural insight and abilities or orchestrate circumstances defy ordinary human capabilities, but in this context, I could go with that a bit.

Lucy is forced to confront all the reasons why she was estranged from her family growing up, and why she keeps herself aloof from relationships–and along the way, she and Hugo find love in each other too, though that isn’t really a central aspect of the story. Jack too has to face his own demons, and there’s a lovely, if unrealistic “happily ever after.”

My rating: ****

Language: a decent amount though it wasn’t horrific

Violence: none

Sexual content: none

Political content: pretty heavy. Most of the left-wing agendas were heavily featured. 

 

The post Review of The Wishing Game appeared first on C.A. Gray.