“But all lives are important, all people are important, because everyone is a book.” -Tanith Lee
As you likely already know, I love the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire, so of course, I was going to get my little robotic mitts on the latest book in the series as soon as it was released. I’m just late with my review because that’s how I roll now, haha.
I spend a lot of time gushing about good design in books (I mean, I have a weekly post dedicated to that topic) and fabulous illustrations. Illustrations primarily found in children’s and middle-grade books. I think the world needs more illustrated books – especially for older readers!
If you’ve been around my blog for a while you might have seen my reviews for the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire. The latest installment, In An Absent Dream, was released this January so I re-read the whole series!
When a girl wearing a dress made of cake falls from the sky and lands in the turtle pond at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, some of the students find themselves on a quest to help the new girl save herself and find her mother. But the group will have to travel to the underworld because the girl’s mother died before she was even conceived.
The third novella in the Wayward Children series, this book continues where Every Heart a Doorway left off, but also touches on the world one of the students, Sumi, came from. As usual, this book didn’t disappoint.
Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children caters to those children who have returned from elsewhere – gone missing, somewhere strange, unbelievable perhaps, and come back changed. Their parents struggle to deal with this new version of their child, and so Ms. West offers a home and her services to these children, to help them adjust to their life now that they’ve returned.
I really knew nothing about this story going in – I just know I like McGuire’s sci-fi (under the name Mira Grant) and when I saw this at the library, I couldn’t resist. At first, based on the description of how Eleanor West handles the parents who bring their troubled children to her boarding school, I thought perhaps she was evil. It was clear she was hiding the true nature of her school from parents and I was picking up a sinister vibe, but that was not the case.
Eleanor runs this home for children who have disappeared into magical lands, some fantastic, some dangerous, some completely ridiculous. Eleanor, having traveled to her own magical world several times, understands how hard it is for these children to adjust to “normal” life after their journeys. She knows that many of them will look for a way back into their world and will never find them. She provides a school and a sanctuary for them to live in, for as long as they need to.
This novella focues on Nancy, the newest boarder at Ms. West’s home. She’s returned from the Underworld, a land that may seem cruel to others, but a place where Nancy learned stillness and order. Unlike the others she meets at the home, Nancy doesn’t feel she was kicked out of her land – she says the Lord of the Underworld wanted her to be sure she wanted to stay in his realm, so sent her home to make her decision.
The cast of characters in this book is pretty diverse (as diverse as the magical worlds they’ve discovered) considering the length. These teens are not only culturally diverse, but sexually as well. What do I mean by that? Well Nancy describes herself as asexual. Her roommate is lesbian or maybe bi, and another friend of Nancy’s is trans. This is not something I can recall encountering in other books, especially with a fantasy element. It was refreshing. And while the teens made a point of bringing up their preferences, these preferences were only minor aspects of who they were, rather than focal points that could have easily turned cliché.
At first, when it came to the descriptions and the dynamics of the worlds these teens have been spirited away to, I was a little lost – much like Nancy on her arrival at Ms. West’s. There are four main characteristics of the worlds: Logic, Nonsense, Wicked and Virtue. Many worlds are a combination of either Logic and Wicked/Virtue or Nonsense and Wicked/Virtue. For example, Nancy’s Underworld was Logical because there were a lot of rules in place, and Wicked due to the inherent cruelty of many of those rules. But Nancy only knew of it as the place that felt right for her and she didn’t understand the way the other teens spoke about their own worlds and the terms they used.
I won’t say much more than that – there is a plot to this novella, aside from Nancy coming to terms with the current state of her life, and it involves murder. Ooh!
This being my first foray into McGuire’s fantasy writing, I have to say I’m impressed. I liked the modern setting and the variety of her characters. I can’t wait to read more from this universe!
And hey, I suppose this could be considered YA, so here’s some proof that I don’t always dislike YA! If you’re interested in modern fantasy with a little LGBT spice (though it is light…no real romance here), or if you like McGuire’s other work, I suggest you pick this up!
Milliebot Reads 