Down Among the Sticks and Bones
by Seanan McGuire
(Wayward Children series #2)
Published by Tor
on June 13, 2017
Genre:
Young Adult, Fantasy, Horror
Synopsis:
Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children.
This is the story of what happened first...
Jacqueline was her mother's perfect daughter--polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it's because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.
Jillian was her father's perfect daughter--adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got.
They were five when they learned that grown-ups can't be trusted.
They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.
My Thoughts:
In Every Heart A Doorway, we were introduced to Eleanor West and her Home for Wayward Children which houses young people who have stepped through a magical door into another world at some point in their lives and then been spit back out into our normal world again. There we met the twin sisters, Jack and Jill, and were told they were from a dark world full of mad scientists and monsters.
In Down Among the Sticks and Bones we are immersed in Jack and Jill's story; how they were raised, how they found their door, and what happened in the world beyond it. This is a dark, gothic tale that I read just in time for autumn and the 'spooky season'.
"Some adventures require nothing more than a willing heart and the ability to trip over the cracks in the world."
When I read Every Heart A Doorway I enjoyed it but it was very short and I needed to know more of the story. I most wanted to know Jack and Jill's story so I'm glad their's was the first told in full. I love gothic tales and horror so their dark, creepy world was most intriguing.
I also really love the representation present in this series. There's a little of everything from diverse characters to LGBT representation to mental health issues.
This sequel in particular reads like a cautionary tale that children will be who they are despite what you might want them to be. Jack and Jill's parents want children for very shallow reasons and when they have twins, they force them into separate rolls, one a princess and the other a tomboy, which ultimately changes how they interact with each other.
"The trouble with denying children the freedom to be themselves--with forcing them into an idea of what they should be, not allowing them to choose their own paths--is that all too often, the one drawing the design knows nothing of the desires of their model. Children are not formless clay, to be shaped according to the sculptor's whim."
I loved the setup and back story for the twins but I really loved the world they traveled to. It was a dark, gothic place called the Moors that housed an ancient vampire lord, a mad scientist, werewolves, and even dangerous sea creatures. I loved that the author took the idea of magical doors like in Narnia or Wonderland and gave us a glimpse into something darker.
This ended up being the perfect read for this time of year!
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