McGuire returns to her world of wayward children to explore the backstory of two of the most interesting characters from the first novel, Jack and Jill. The story and characters were compelling, although the setting itself at times threatened to upstage the drama of the main characters. My only complaint is that the brevity of this novel detracted from its impact - it felt at times like it was rushing to the conclusion, but that may be simply a side effect of having finished reading a much, much longer novel immediately prior to starting this.