The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

A fairytale for adults who grew up reading books about adventures.

This is a super cozy warm-hug of a book. It was nominated for 2023 Goodreads Best Fiction, and Meg Shaffer is also the pen name of Tiffany Reisz (who I love and who writes amazing erotica/romance). I'm so glad she changed her name for this one, to signal she shifted genres here, because this book takes a while to peak at handholding.

The story is about a reclusive, mysterious children's book author who hasn't written anything in decades who announces a contest to the world to win a copy of his newest book. He invites four people, who, when they were children had run away to visit the author. Our main character is one of those to receive an exclusive invite to the contest. The setting, contest and author invoke childlike whimsy, while our now-grown runaway children bring the weight and stress of the real-world with them. The book is a beautiful exploration about happiness, the importance of play and how found family can be just as important as the one you're born into.

I listened to the audiobook, and almost died laughing when the narrator attempts a Canadian accent. As a Canadian, I've never met anyone who sounds like that. Luckily this character says like 4 sentences, so we don't have to endure it too long. Other than that, the audiobook was a great listen.

I'll definitely be reading more from this author, no matter which name she writes under.

This book is best read in an upside down house, surrounded by magic-eye pictures in elegant frames.