Lucy didn’t have a wonderful childhood, but she found some solace in a wonderful series of books for children. She even ran away to the island where her beloved author lived. Now, years later, Lucy is a teacher’s aid, and has come to love a little boy in her class whose parents have died. She wants to foster him, a prelude to adoption, but she doesn’t qualify. She needs a home, more income, and a car. She needs money. In a miraculous turn of events, she and three others have been invited to the island of the famous author, in the hopes of winning a contest. The prize? His latest novel, which will be worth enough money to make her dream come true. Is it too much to wish for, or will her wish come true? This novel is quite clever, with its riddles and twists along the way. The characters are endearing, and even the competitors in the contest are likable. And it even has a lesson in the end. You may not get what you wished for, you may get something even better. Intriguing and entertaining, this well-written book is highly recommended. ( )

This book reads like a young adult book and covers issues of foster care, adoption, bad parents, sexual content (really very mild). It also gives a lot of mentions to other children's books. It's also a romance. I would fault the book for trying to do too much. I think the author borrowed from a other writers such as using the name Astrid, the parents who have a daughter as a organ donor (Piccoult), I found some good things; the listing of other great reads, the feel good ending. Not very original. ( )

It seems that people either loved this book or hated it. It was one of the five finalists for book of the year 2023 with Book of the Month Club. Since I had read the other four, I took a chance on it. While I did like parts of the story, there were other parts that made me roll my eyes. I finished the book but my eyes are a little sore. ( )

It took me a few chapters before I settled in with this fantastical, "Willy Wonka" type story which isn't my typical read. With that in mind, the quirky and unbelievable situations creates a fairy tale type story. It opens with a well-known children's author who wrote many stories which fascinated his readers with the mysteries on Clock Island. Jack Masterson was nicknamed the "Mastermind" which eluded to the protagonist who was the Mastermind in the books granting wishes with his cunning games.

It's been 15 years since he had secluded himself on his Clock Island where he struggles to ever write another book. His illustrator, Hugo Reese, has been his loyal companion not wanting to leave his long time friend alone on the island. Little does he know, Jack has been working on what would be his final novel but not for mass publication. He proses a "special" wishing game on the island with personally selected competitors. The prize is the one and only copy of his final book which the person can do with as they wish. The people chosen are thinking about how the publication of the book would help their financial situations.

Lucy Hart chooses to leave her home and controlling boyfriend, Sean, in Maine after she graduates college. She is desperate is leave her family behind and what she felt was a lonely childhood. She found respite in the Clock Island books. Her sister Angie was a sickly child with her parents focusing primarily on her and leaving Lucy feeling neglected. As a result she has always resented her sister who managed to become a lawyer in Maine.

As an adult, Lucy is a 26-year-old woman working as a teacher's aide at an elementary school in California. She is well liked by the teachers and students but she seems to form a bond with 7-year-old Christopher Lamb who is living with a foster family. Her connection to him sometimes feels "cringe-worthy" given that Christopher is being cared for by a caring family. Lucy desperately wants to adopt him even to the extent that she expresses this to the young boy. He is aware of her financial insecurity and wants to "help" Lucy raise money so she can afford to adopt him. They discuss what the future would look like when Lucy can provide a stable and financially stable home for Christopher.

When Lucy is notified about the Wishing Game opportunity, she is excited to think that she may be able to reach her financial goals sooner than she expected. But, winning the Wishing Game proves to be more challenging than she could've imagined. ( )

Read 26% of this book weeks ago but haven’t been in the mood to read it since.

Dnf for now