Fire and hemlock

Cons: I'm very skeeved out by the idea that someone the main character thought of as an adult when she was a child ended up as a romantic interest, and that left a very bad taste in my mouth overall. I also found the ending unclear, which was pretty unsatisfying. In general, the writing was quite a bit muddier than DWJ usually is. I found the complete dropping of Polly's dad to be abrupt. What was the power of the opal? What was with the hair in the picture frame? Laurel's powers were often implied, but not explicitly named. I often confused Seb and Leslie. The concept of and access to Nowhere was murky.

Pros: it was neat to see Polly grow up and watch her interests and perceptions change. I also enjoyed the things Tom and Polly wrote together coming true, although I wished there was more of that. I liked the twist with Granny and Polly's grandfather.

It occurs to me after reading lots of Diana Wynne Jones in a row that... perhaps she didn't have the best relationship with her parents and siblings. In many of her books they're the ones doing the most harm to the protagonist. On the whole, I think I much prefer her writing for children/young adults.