Wooden Dolls Game, written by Ivonne Hoyos, follows Mary Jane Crowell through a life shaped by family tension, a volatile sister, and a strange set of wooden dolls that lets her rewind time. The story begins with two little girls picking paint colors for their new bedrooms and unfolds into a tale about resentment, trauma, fate, and the high cost of trying to fix what cannot stay fixed. What starts as a simple childhood conflict grows into a sweeping journey through teenhood and adulthood, where Mary Jane desperately tries to undo tragic events using the dolls, and where every attempt triggers new ripples of chaos. It is a story about family wounds that never quite heal and the limits of love when time itself becomes a battleground.

The writing is direct and emotional in a way that sneaks up on you, and I found myself caring a lot about what happened. Scenes between the sisters made my chest tighten. Some moments felt painfully real, like the time Antonia destroys Mary Jane’s room in a wild burst of envy or the school fight that spirals into tragedy. The author captures the feeling of walking on eggshells around someone you love yet fear. I felt myself bracing every time Antonia entered a scene. The pacing moves fast, and sometimes the dialogue feels raw, but honestly, that worked for me because the characters live in a constant state of imbalance. Their world is never calm.

As the story leaned more into the supernatural element of rewinding time, I felt a mix of fascination and frustration, which I think is exactly what the book wanted me to feel. Every attempt to rewrite the past leads Mary Jane deeper into emotional exhaustion. I kept rooting for her and kept dreading what might go wrong next. The idea that fixing one tragedy only opens the door to another stayed with me. It made me think about how people carry their pain and how trying to rearrange life into something perfect can end up breaking everything. Even when the plot went dark, I stayed hooked because the emotional truth behind the events felt honest.

Wooden Dolls Game is a story for readers who enjoy family drama with sharp edges and for anyone who can handle a bit of heartbreak mixed with hope. If you like stories about sisters, trauma, time loops, and choices that echo forever, you’ll enjoy this book. For readers who enjoy a tense and emotional journey, Wooden Dolls Game is more than worth your time.

Pages: 353 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CDJ8T2NX