Book Review: Through Gates of Garnet and Gold By Seanan McGuire

Pros: interesting world-building, beautiful prose

Cons:

The book picks up a few months in our world after the events of Mislaid in Parts Half-Known. Nancy, living in the Halls of the Dead, where time passes slower, is forced to flee when the hungry ghosts start killing her fellow living statues. She asks her former classmates at Miss Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children for aid, and though it’s against the school’s rules, they embark on another quest.

The book has a beautiful lyricism to it. McGuire’s prose often reads like poetry with a lot of pointed commentary on the human condition. Though the Halls of the Dead have shown up in previous books, we get to learn more about it and it’s rulers. We also get to learn more about Talia, who’s briefly mentioned in the previous book.

It’s cool seeing how the kids’ various talents help them solve the problem. The novella’s the perfect length for this adventure.

Book Review: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire

Pros: great characters, thought provoking

Cons:

Nadya was abandoned to a Russian orphanage on birth, having been born without a right hand. She never considers herself lacking something until a Christian American couple adopts her and gets her a prosthetic. Unsure of her future, she falls through a door into a world with giant talking turtles.

This is book 10 of the Wayward Children series, but it is an origin story novella, so while Nadya is a main character in Beneath the Sugar Sky (book 3), you don’t need to read that to understand her story here. Nor do you need to have read any of the previous book to have a full understanding of this book.

McGuire is a master of creating empathy with her characters. Her clear but lyrical prose allows you to follow Nadya’s thoughts regarding her missing hand - how she doesn’t feel its lack, nor does she feel it needs replacing to be ‘whole’. Too often books align with the parents in this situation, expecting gratefulness from the recipient of their ‘aid’, unwanted and unnecessary as it may be.

It’s a thought provoking read, not only for the prosthetic, but also about Nadya’s adoption and some reasons why families choose that option and how it can affect the child in question.

I loved Nadya’s spirit and cleverness. Her kindness. Her resilience.

Belyyreka’s a challenging world to get your head around. I loved the giant turtles and how they were used in the story.

The ending, as usual for the origin novellas in this series, has an abrupt ending. We do know what happens to Nadya next, after this story ends. Strangely, that knowledge left me with more questions of how things go after the end of Beneath the Sugar Sky. Maybe those will be answered in a future novella.

If you haven’t read any of the Wayward Children books, this is another entry point that requires no previous knowledge, and it’s a great little story.

Book Review: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

After losing years of her life in the Land Where the Lost Things Go, Antsy Ricci has found her way to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. But a school filled with kids trying to find their Doors back to magical lands might not be the best place for a girl that can find anything,

This is the 9th book in the Wayward Children series and is best read in sequence. It takes place a bit before and directly after the events of Where the Drowned Girls Go and Lost in the Moment and Found. It’s worth rereading those if you don’t remember what happened.

Antsy’s an interesting character. She’s 9 years old in the body of a 16 year old, with no idea of how to act around kids her visible age. Seeing her face her past and giving real resolution to her story in Lost in the Moment and Found, was wonderful.

I loved Sumi in this story. She can be a bit much but acts like a real mother hen crossed with a real no nonsense attitude. She has some of the most insightful lines in the book.

Despite the rules of the school, a quest is at hand. As a novella it only takes a few hours to read, but has a very satisfying story arc.

If you’ve read the prior novellas in the series, this is a strong follow-up. If you haven’t, I can’t recommend the series enough.

  - a review copy of the book was provided by NetGalley -

Book Review: Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire

Pros: psychologically astute, lyrical writing

Cons: packs a real emotional punch, may be distressing for some readers

When Antsy ran away from a bad situation at home she opened a Door. The Shop Where the Lost Things Go is a nexus connecting all the worlds and provides a new home for her. Antsy wants to return to her mother someday, but doesn’t realize what her adventure has already cost.

The book begins with a content warning from the author that Antsy runs before she is sexually abused. The first few chapters are difficult to read all the same. While she is a child, you know what’s happening and feel the tension and horror. The book also begins with the death of Antsy’s father. It’s a highly emotional scene that gut punched me harder than expected. This is a standalone story in the Wayward Children series, so if the content will distress you, you can skip it. If you can deal with the content, it’s an emotionally rewarding story.

In feel, the story has the same mixture of lyrical writing and keen psychological observation as the other books in the series, and Down Among the Sticks and Bones in particular.

Antsy’s a surprisingly astute child, who realizes something is wrong with her new stepfather but isn’t quite sure what. She has good instincts and follows them to positive effect in the story. She is a delight to read about.

Seeing through several doors was a lot of fun, as was learning more about the store.

As with most of the series the ending is a little bittersweet, but appropriate based on what happened.

Book Review: Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

Pros: thought provoking, plus sized protagonist, interesting story

Cons:

Cora Miller is still having nightmares months after returning from the Moors and no longer believes Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children can help her. So she transfers to the other school for children who have found doors to other worlds, Whitethorn. Upon arrival she realizes she’s made a terrible mistake. But while it’s easy to enter Whitethorn, it’s very hard to leave.

This is the 7th novella in the Wayward Children series and relies on knowledge of the prior books to really work. You find out what happened to Regan after the events of Across the Green Grass Fields as Cora deals with the trauma of visiting the Moors in Come Tumbling Down.

Cora is a fantastic character and though it’s not her origin story (so no mermaid adventures in the Trenches) it was wonderful watching her grow and realize that she doesn’t need to be in a portal world to be a hero. And that sometimes you just have to deal with your problems head on.

I found the book thought provoking as it pointed out some of the daily horrors humans inflict on each other, especially towards those with larger bodies.

The story is engaging and the perfect length.

Book Review: Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire

Pros: great characters, excellent world-building

Cons: I’d have liked a longer epilogue

Ten year old Regan Lewis strives to be normal, so when she notices that puberty isn’t hitting her like the other girls she starts asking questions. Walking home from school after a rough day of bad choices, she finds a strange door and stumbles into another world, a world populated by various equine races. Her presence means their world needs saving, but Regan doesn’t believe in destiny, and doesn’t want to be a hero.

This is the 6th book in the Wayward Children series, but is a complete standalone novella. Regan has not been in any of the other books and the story is completely self-contained.

I loved Regan as a character and enjoyed seeing her start to question the world and her place in it. I thought the Hooflands were wonderful, with a well developed culture between the various hooved races (which includes centaurs, kelpies, satyrs and more).

While I’d have liked a longer epilogue showing some of the fallout of Regan’s adventure I understand why McGuire ended this novella where she did. It wraps up this particular story nicely, though I’m hopeful there’s a follow-up novella that continues Regan’s story.

The copy of the book I reviewed was an advance reader copy, so it didn’t have the illustrations by Rovina Cai. I’ve seen a few of them on the Tor.com website and they’re quite nice and I can imagine they help add to the fairytale quality of the story.

If you love horses and character development, this one’s for you.

Book Review: In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

Pros: interesting character, evocative writing, quick paced

Cons:

Katherine Victoria Lundy is content to be the friendless principal’s daughter so long as she can read her books. When a mysterious door appears before her one day, she opens it and finds a new world, one with strict rules of fairness. She has until she turns 18 to decide which world she wants to live in, a choice that gets harder the closer the deadline comes.

This is a novella and so can be read in a couple of hours. It’s a great, fast paced story that’s hard to put down. I liked Katherine’s no nonsense behaviour and the world where people state what they want and try to deal fairly with one another (or risk discipline). I can understand why she’d want to live there as there’s something comforting in the idea of knowing that no one can take advantage of you.

I thought her choice at the end was believably difficult, with several sides to consider.

The writing was quite beautiful at times. Almost lyrical even.

While part of the Wayward Children series it easily stands alone and you don’t need to have read any of the others to fully grasp the story.

This is a great series and a good alternate starting point.

Book Review: Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

Pros: interesting settings, fun characters

Cons: 

When Rini falls out of the sky at  Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children she’s shocked to learn that her mother has died. Several students help her bring her mother back, knowing that if they fail than Rini will be erased from existence. 

This is the third novella in the Wayward Children series and returns - for a time at least - to the setting of the first book. In addition to the school and the students there, you also see Nancy again. 

Rini is from a nonsense world, Confection, the world her mother, Sumi, went to and was hoping to return to one day. There’s another new character, Cora, an overweight girl who loved the underwater worlds where she was a beautiful mermaid. She’s the main point of view character, which allows the reader to understand her feelings around weight and self-confidence (and the attempts by others to use the first to undermine the second). It was interesting seeing her interactions with Christopher, who went to a world of skeletons and who therefore as unconventional ideas about flesh and weight.

The plot is fairly linear and takes the group to several locations. There are some dangers they face, though not always physical ones.

I thought the mythology of Confection was kind of cool and really fit the kind of world it was - giving it a weird sort of logic despite its nonsense overlay.

It’s a quick, fun read.

Book Review: Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

Pros: brilliant characters, unique narrative style


Cons:

Chester and Serena Wolcott decided to have children after seeing the impeccably behaved offspring of his work peers and her social clubs. They were not prepared for the real thing. Which is why

Jacqueline and Jillian, their twin girls, are so rigidly forced into the roles their parents intended them to fill. So when the twelve year olds discover a strange doorway, they enter it, and find a strange world, one that finally allows them to be who they choose.

While this is the second Wayward Children novella, its events are a prequel to those of Every Heart a Doorway. I REALLy liked this story. The narrative style was unique, with the narrator occasionally addressing the reader during interludes of storytelling. I greatly enjoyed this and it gave a bit of distance from the text, which was helpful as the story went in dark directions. It doesn’t quite line up with the narrative of their history from Every Heart a Doorway, but most of the details carry through.

The world is really interesting, with just enough fleshing out to feel alive, but not enough to make you question how it all works in practice. I enjoyed the characters, who had a level of depth to them that was wonderful to read.

While it’s short it packs a punch. Highly recommended.

Shout-Out: Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day by Seanan McGuire

When her sister Patty died, Jenna blamed herself. When Jenna died, she blamed herself for that, too. Unfortunately Jenna died too soon. Living or dead, every soul is promised a certain amount of time, and when Jenna passed she found a heavy debt of time in her record. Unwilling to simply steal that time from the living, Jenna earns every day she leeches with volunteer work at a suicide prevention hotline.

But something has come for the ghosts of New York, something beyond reason, beyond death, beyond hope; something that can bind ghosts to mirrors and make them do its bidding. Only Jenna stands in its way.

Book Review: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Pros: brilliant characters, great premise

Cons: underdeveloped, mystery’s fairly easy to solve

Seventeen year old Nancy is starting at a new boarding school. But this isn’t just any school, it’s a school for kids who have found doorways to other worlds, kids who can’t forget their experiences and adventures and who want to return to their real homes in those worlds. And one of them is willing to kill to find their doorway.

I loved the premise of this novella, that kids who went to other worlds (fairylands, underworlds, nonsense realms, etc.) would come back changed, and would want to return to those places. I also liked how their parents weren’t too happy with the changes, and how society viewed their ‘odd’ stories, assuming mental illness.

The characters were fantastic. What a fun bunch of misfits. You’re told that a particular type of person finds these doorways, and that shows in how these youths act. They tend to be older than their years, speaking with a refreshing frankness. They’re a diverse bunch with several sexualities and genders represented. Having an asexual protagonist was neat, as it’s a perspective not generally used.

While interesting, the murder mystery is fairly easy to solve. And the shortness of the book meant that things wrapped up pretty quickly.

I really enjoyed this story. It was a fast read, and while I’d have loved for it to be a full length novel, the author made some great observations about humanity.

Spoilers

I was left confused as to why the killer started murdering people when they did. I’d assumed it would have something to do with Nancy’s arrival - that she had a part the killer needed or something. But no, there appeared to be no reason why they waited so long to start their spree.

Shout-Out: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of things.

No matter the cost.