The Wishing Game
By Meg Shaffer
In this charming love letter to books and reading, Lucy, a struggling teacher's aide, longs to adopt Christopher, an orphaned boy in her class. But circumstances — no money, no car, too many roommates — stand in her way. Then her favorite children's writer announces he's publishing a new book, and she's invited to compete in a contest on his remote Maine island. Lovers of wordplay and puzzles will delight in the contest trickery, and Shaffer invests us deeply in Lucy and Christopher's happiness, ensuring that readers will revel in the book's satisfying conclusion. (Ballantine. 286 pages.)
