Book Review
Title: Down Among the Sticks and Bones RE-READ
Author: Seanan McGuire
Genre: YA/LGBT/Portal Fantasy
Rating: *****
Review: So, since I was approved for an ARC of In An Absent Dream the fourth book in the Wayward Children series, I am reading the entire series. I have already re-read Every Heart a Doorway (linked below) and now I am re-reading books 2 & 3. Down Among the Sticks and Bones is a prequel of sorts to Every Heart a Doorway as it follows Jack and Jill and explains how the events in the first book came to be.
If you’ve read my review of Every Heart a Doorway, then you know Jack is one of my favourite characters. I think one of the saddest parts of this story for me was seeing the kind of selfish, heartless people Jack and Jill’s parents were and how their grandmother understood them better as people than their parents ever did. The upbringing the twins had really affect the psychologically and plays a key factor in the decisions they make later on.
Before Jack and Jill even begin their adventures in another world, we see the emotional and psychological scars their parents have left on them through selfishness and neglect. These key factors are the main reasons the door appears to the girl to provide them love in ways they can understand and for them love is conditional, and these conditions have to be met to get what they need. When the girls arrive at the moor, it is wondrous and exciting, but this isn’t to last.
When the girls meet the master of the Moors, Jack immediately senses that something isn’t right about this person, but Jill seems drawn to him. When Dr. Bleak enters the picture and we learn of the agreement between him and the Master he is given his choice of the girls, but the girls also have a choice. Jack follows her instincts and chooses Dr. Bleak surprising him and the Master, but he doesn’t question her choice and takes her away from the Master and his castle leaving Jill to her fate.
As both girls settle into their new lives, we see that for them this is home is completely different ways, giving them the things they were never allowed back in their old world but something from the very beginning seems off about the Master and the closer Jill gets to him the worse this gets. This also explains the strange behaviours that both twins showed in Every Heart a Doorway and it definitely explains what lead to the ending of that novel.
Seeing the sisters grow into their new positions leaves me filled with more dread than my other readings of Down Among the Sticks and Bones because I know exactly what it was leading to. However, one thing I still haven’t figured out is why Jack still stuck by her sister after everything she did, I know I wouldn’t.
In the end, while I would not be able to do what Jack did, I understand why she did it. It was self-preservation and coming to realisation that even after everything they had gone through Jack still loved her sister. It also makes Jack’s return to the Moors all the more beautiful especially since the Master won’t want Jill anymore. However, it does make me question how happy Jill is going to be since she lived for the Master and him not wanting her may just leave her in a worse position than before.
Buy it here:
Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Also see: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
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