Hardcover
Published April 22, 2020 by A Tom Doherty Associates Book.
It's no In an Absent Dream, but it's a perfectly serviceable follow-up to the series, if a bit unwieldy because of the number of characters and the situations they find themselves in not being particularly well suited for a novella-sized adventure. The series might have far better scoped entries, but you could do worse for such a short read.
But for book three, the most scattered - but also my favorite so far, in pretty much every regard.
Breaking the no quests rule was absolutely the right thing to do. I think In an Absent Dream is still my favorite of the books, but this one comes close.
Hm, this was another extremely linear book that didn't really grip the imagination the way some of the others do. For starters, we're returning (yet again) to the world of The Moors, which we've already explored a fair amount in book 2. We don't really have any new characters, and there isn't really any character growth; it's a pretty linear story of "thing happens, react to the things in a straight line from A to B till the end of the book as everything falls into place". It's not bad, it's just predictable, and in the unpredictable worlds of the Wayward Children that falls a little flat.
Also I gotta say, for a place that has "No Quests" posted on the door, Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children sure consistently fails to enforce that!
3.5 stars
The bookest of the Wayward Children so far, this follows Jack and Jill in the aftermath of Jack killing Jill in the first book (and Jill getting better...) McGuire clearly loves Jack and Jill the most out of all of her characters, and it shows here: the characters are more developed and more nuanced than any of the others by this, their third appearance. (Unrelatedly, do boys ever get to be protagonists for McGuire? Kade and Christopher also put in their third appearances and still are flimsy setting material.) Taking a diverse cast into the monotone, horrific setting that is the Moors provides some dark humor and also some depth to what otherwise starts to feel bland in its darkness.
I liked that we actually got a narrative arc and I finally felt like I had a full story, both plot-wise and emotionally, of Jack and Jill. This was the …
The bookest of the Wayward Children so far, this follows Jack and Jill in the aftermath of Jack killing Jill in the first book (and Jill getting better...) McGuire clearly loves Jack and Jill the most out of all of her characters, and it shows here: the characters are more developed and more nuanced than any of the others by this, their third appearance. (Unrelatedly, do boys ever get to be protagonists for McGuire? Kade and Christopher also put in their third appearances and still are flimsy setting material.) Taking a diverse cast into the monotone, horrific setting that is the Moors provides some dark humor and also some depth to what otherwise starts to feel bland in its darkness.
I liked that we actually got a narrative arc and I finally felt like I had a full story, both plot-wise and emotionally, of Jack and Jill. This was the first novella that actually felt satisfying. On the flip side, I don't actually enjoy Jack, Jill or the moors, so ups and downs. (I know, right? I don't actually like the sardonic female scientist character? Oh yeah, because she's a monster.) But overall, as a canon, the books are stronger than they are individually.
I really enjoy McGuire's narration, how she brings both the characters and setting to life.
In book 5 of Wayward Children, she tells of what happened to Jack and Jill Willcott after their return to The Moors, a portal world that is basically the lovechild of Stoker and Shelley. The sibling relationship and the friendships and interactions of the kids of Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children fill the book with a whole set of emotional ups and downs.
Overall a really good story
I continue to enjoy these but this wasn't the strongest in the series. The stakes seemed oddly low and the payoff unsatisfying. One of the best aspects of the series is the diversity of the cast, and it continues to deliver in that regard; this one includes a trans guy, sign language, a lesbian relationship, and OCD. The setting of gothic romance and the nods to the Cthulhu mythos give the story a certain richness, but the plot proceeds very straightforwardly from point A to B to C with few digressions or diversions (early on, the characters are split up and I was hoping and expecting to have some chapters of their separate adventures, but they are reunited in almost the next breath). Still, it's YA, not everything has to be life-changing, and it's nice to hang out with these characters for another book.
First, thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of the e-book for review.
I enjoy how McGuire goes back and forth between individual's stories and stories involving a group from the school.
The story of Jack and Jill continues in this book. Out of five stories, we are on our third of Jack and Jill. Their door leads to such an impossible world, I wonder if we will see them again in two books.
McGuire weaves morality and life lessons into this series for young adults. No few adults should also read these for these lessons.
I look forward to the next book in the series.
I love these characters.
Man, I really love this series, and I especially love Jack, Christopher, and Kade. I liked Cora a lot from the last book, and this book made me love her even more. Sumi is a delight as well. Basically, the characters are all amazing, and they are what makes this series so wonderful. I also really enjoyed seeing more of the Moors and meeting Gideon. I wonder if we'll see him again? I hope so.
