I first heard about the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire a few years ago. Like with a lot of the fantasy series I have picked up this year, I became interested in this one after seeing good reviews on YouTube. What makes these books a little different from what I usually read is that these are all novellas, and while they are all connected to each other, they can technically be read in any order. I decided to read them in publication order anyway (because my perfectionist nature won't allow me to do anything different). Since they are all so short, I will be combining my reviews for the first four books here.
Book 1: Every Heart a Doorway
As the story begins, a girl named Nancy has just arrived at the school. She's recently returned from a world of the dead, and just like most of her other classmates, she hopes to find a way back there eventually. As she is settling into her new surroundings, however, one of the other students at the school is gruesomely murdered. As the new girl, suspicion begins to surround Nancy, and this suspicion only intensifies when another murder occurs a few days later. She's not completely alone though, and the few friends she's made so far start working together with her to get to the bottom of whatever is happening and turn their school back into the safe space it's meant to be.
For a short little book, Every Heart a Doorway was extremely impressive. I thought that McGuire's writing was well suited to the story. It was a little dark, a little creepy, and very wise-sounding, much like a dark fairy tale. The story itself was very creative and engaging. I loved how McGuire described the different worlds and the magic systems they contained. The characters were all very interesting and I was excited to learn little bits about each of their backstories and the places they visited. The ending was very satisfying too. I wanted more after I was finished, so I guess it's lucky that I've got six more books ahead of me.
The second book in the series focuses on Jacqueline and Jillian (Jack and Jill), two of the students in Eleanor West's School. The plot centers around how they first traveled to another world, what they did there, and how they ended up leaving. Jack and Jill are twin sisters, but they aren't especially close. Their relationship has been damaged by their parents, who are quite cold and force them both into roles that don't completely suit them. Jack is supposed to be the pretty, delicate sister that always wears fancy dresses and stays quiet. Jill is meant to be the tomboy, always running around and getting messy. This forced separation has created a strange dynamic between them. They are family and hold onto that connection, but they frequently don't like each other much.
Their adventure begins on a rainy afternoon when the girls are twelve. They sneak away together to play in an old trunk of clothes, but when they open the trunk, they find a staircase instead. Curious, they travel down the stairs and emerge into a strange world called The Moor. There are rugged mountains, a fierce sea, and, of course, a giant moor. There are also dangerous creatures like werewolves, sirens, and vampires. After wandering around a bit, they run into the powerful man called the Master and explains to the girls that they will have a choice to make. One will stay with him and live a life of luxury in a large estate, eventually becoming his daughter. The other will go live with Dr. Bleak, a mad scientist, and live a life of toil and scientific work. Jack, sensing something sinister about the situation, chooses to go with the doctor. Jill, more interested in the luxuries promised, stays with the Master.
From that point forward, their stories diverge. Both girls are more able to embrace their true natures in their separate places and become happier, more complete people. Not all of the changes they make are positive though, and the Moor is a dangerous place with rules that must be followed. When Jill ignores one of these rules one day, she unwittingly places herself and her sister on a path that could lead to their destruction.
Similar to the first book in this series, I thought Down Among the Sticks and Bones was excellent. I might even like it a little bit more than the first, actually. The imaginative setting and beautiful writing continued to be engaging, and I really liked the exploration of the relationship between Jack and Jill. It was surprisingly complex for such a short text. I also enjoyed the themes McGuire worked in; she shows the harm that comes from forcing children to adopt roles that don't fit them and the importance of being your true self. It was fun to trace the connections between how Jack and Jill started their stories and how they end up in the first book too. Overall it was a really solid story and I enjoyed reading it very much.
Book 3: Beneath the Sugar Sky
The plot of the third novel brings us back to Eleanor West's school and picks up a little while after the events of the first book. The story begins when a girl named Rini abruptly falls from the sky into the school's turtle pond. She is looking for her mother, a former student destined to return to the nonsense world of Confection and defeat the Queen of Cakes. The only problem with this is that her mother died at the school many years before Rini was even born. Time is flexible in nonsense worlds, so this is possible in Confection. However, it's not possible in our world, where her mother is very much dead and buried. Rini's focus then shifts to finding a way to resurrect her mother before time catches up with the whole mess and makes Rini disappear entirely. She teams up with a handful of students from the school and sets out on a quest that will span several worlds in an effort to bring her mother back so that she can fulfill her destiny, save Confection from the Queen of Cakes, and give birth to Rini.
This was another excellent little story and I enjoyed it a great deal. I'm starting to sound like a broken record here already, but the writing was excellent, the plot was engaging, and the characters were relatable and diverse. I especially liked the introduction of Cora, a new student to the school that traveled to a water world where she was a mermaid. She's a curvy girl that has endured cruel bullying about her weight all throughout her life in our world. She wants to go back to the mermaid world because her weight was an asset there, and she felt beautiful. I thought the way McGuire spoke about weight and described Cora's feelings was very well done and seemed like good representation.
The other notable thing about this novella was how the world of Confection was described. It's made entirely out of baked goods and candy and the way McGuire wrote about it was pure magic. Everything was cookies and frosting and layers upon layers of cake. It was simultaneously delicious-sounding and fantastical. The imagery was stunning and really stood out. This was another worthy entry in a great series.
Book 4: In an Absent Dream
In an Absent Dream takes us back in time to the 1960s and focuses on a character named Katherine Lundy, whom we first meet as a teacher at the school in the first book. This is the story of her childhood. Katherine is a quiet, bookish kid with no desire to conform to the societal norms of being a proper housewife-in-training. When she is around ten years old, she comes across a door inside a tree and travels to the Goblin Market, a world based on deals and fair trades. Many amazing items can be found in the market, but the punishment for cheating people or not paying back debts is severe. Katherine comes to love the rules of this unusual place and befriends another young girl named Moon, whom she has several adventures with.
Traveling to the Goblin Market is different from most other worlds. The doors appear over and over again and children called to this place tend to come and go several times throughout their adolescence. They must make a final decision as to stay or go by the time they turn 18. Katherine leaves and returns a few times over the years, and finds it increasingly difficult each time. When she stays at the Goblin Market, it hurts her sister at home. When she stays home, it hurts Moon. She is very indecisive about what to do, and when she tries to find a loophole in the rules of the market to extend her stay, she must deal with the consequences.
This was another great entry in the series and I liked it as much as the others. This one was a little bit different, due to the frequency with which Katherine could travel back and forth to the market. Rather than trying desperately to get back to her different world, like the kids in the previous books, Katherine has to decide whether or not to stay in hers, and the implications of what making that choice means are more deeply explored here. She is disappointing people no matter which decision she makes, so it's very difficult. There is more sadness in this story, and I thought McGuire wrote about loss and longing beautifully.
So obviously, I'm really enjoying this series so far. In my next post, I will cover the last three books and reflect on the series as a whole.
Challenge Tally
Finally in 2022 - Series Edition: 25/28
Total Books Read in 2022: 56
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