Down Among the Sticks and Bones

Series: Wayward Children, #2

Publication: June 13th 2017 by Tor.com

Goodreads Description:

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:

Down Among Sticks and Bones is just as amazing as Every Heart A Doorway. It's a prequel to Every Heart A Doorway but can easily be read as a standalone. I had such an enjoyable time reading it!

I found it so easy to fall into. I was reading for what felt like 5 minutes and I was already 20% into the book! It was such a quick read I read it in one sitting in a few hours.

I really appreciated how Seanan McGuire explored gender stereotypes and how parents can influence a child's identities. The girls make themselves fit into the mould parents made for them as babies and over the course of the story they challenge this. I loved the message of how there is no one right way to be a girl 

The setting of Down Among the Sticks and Bones is very different to Every Heart A Doorway. The twin's door is very different to Nancy's- so the setting of this one is dark and has a more paranormal feel to it, with the eerie moors and vampires and the like. 

The plot was not as mysterious and dark as Every Heart as it is more focused on the girls forming their identities and the difference between them.

I think the story was a perfect length at just under 200 pages but I think any longer it would have dragged out.

Highly recommend if you are looking for a quick fantasy read!

Thanks for reading,

A :)