This series is wonderful. The writing is lyrical and the story is enthralling. Seanan McGuire knows how to write a dark fairytale!

The perfect read for everyone, young and old alike, who has longed for something more than what life has given them.

"Children are not formless clay, to be shaped according to the sculptor's whim, nor are they blank but identical dolls, waiting to be slipped into the mode that suits them best."

The first book in the series, EVERY HEART A DOORWAY, asks the important, but rarely asked, question: what happens when these special, chosen children return from their adventures in other worlds? In that book, we met Jack and Jill, twin girls who had spent years in their own magical land. Like many others at the school, they each had their own struggles adjusting to life back in this reality. Here, in DOWN AMONG THE STICKS AND BONES, we get their backstory.

This series is SO special. The dreamy storytelling quality of this series is AMAZING. I really loved the exploration of gender roles and how there's no wrong way to be a girl. There is a f/f romance included which is always a huge bonus. I love how Seanan continues to challenge societal norms and is persistent at being inclusive. It's a creative, well-written fairy tale. I loved it so. Can't wait to read the next book in this series.

While I definitely enjoyed my experience reading this book, there are some issues with pacing and character development in the middle that left me wanting just a bit more.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

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.

*3.5 stars*

Earlier I had read the first novella in this series and wasn't overly impressed by a number of things. This story, on the other hand, seemed a little more focused and went some way to solidifying my belief in these stories.

This story tells the backstory of a brother and sister who appeared in the first story, Jack and Jill (Jacqueline and Jillian to their parents.) It was a smart move to gives us some history cos it helped fill in not just what happened to them but also to give us a little more understanding of what all the kids had been through at some point. Their parents, God love them (cos someone has to!), had ulterior motives for having children: dad wanted heirs to his business, mum wanted a status symbol to show off to her friends. Needless to say, love wasn't really a factor. So when the twins discover a whole new world through a doorway, there are lessons to be learned about belonging, consequences for actions and love.

All of this worked really well for me. It was "dark" when it needed to be, but the addition of Grandmother Louise added some necessary hope and balance for the twins. There was a range of emotions at play for me throughout this story and I did feel like I really connected with Jack, Jill & Louise.

However, as a novella it still feels a little empty. I think if it had been used as a basis for a novel, and bringing in the story from book one as some extra "grunt", I think it would have worked far better for me. 160 pages just wasn't really enough to give this story (or the previous one) any real depth.

Will I go on for the third one? Sure, this was an improvement on the first book so I am happy to see where the author takes then next one...


Paul
ARH

I could not put this book down. A must read. I can't recommend it enough.

This is where Jack and Jill from Every Heart A Doorway had their start. I liked delving more into the characters. Nice short read.

Four and a half stars: A dark, eerie, cautionary fairytale that warns against trying to force someone to be something they are not.

Jack and Jill are twins, born to parents with severe expectations for their girls. Jillian is her father’s substitute for the son he didn’t have. Jill is a tom-boy, who loves adventure, soccer and getting dirty. Jacqueline is her mother’s idea of the perfect girl. She is prim and proper, polite and nice. Her clothes are perfect, and Jacqueline never ever gets dirty. At twelve, the twins are resentful. They hate that they are forced to live their lives according to their parents’ desires. Each girl longs to be free and to do what she pleases. They each secretly envy the other, thus a rift has grown between the sisters. Everything changes one afternoon when the bored girls discover an impossible staircase in a trunk. The staircase leads to a dark and dangerous world filled with monsters and madness. There, each girl is forced to make choices that will alter her life forever. Each choice has consequences and life and death is on the line. Will Jack Jill finally get what their hearts desire?
What I Liked:
*Seanan McGuire is an author who possesses mad talent, especially when it comes to dark and creepy. This latest novella in her Wayward Children series doesn’t disappoint. McGuire delivers a deliciously dark and cautionary tale about the dangers of forcing girls to be something they are not. Don’t miss this one.
*The world building is outstanding. If you read the first book, Every Heart a Doorway, you are familiar with the strange worlds, you will also know Jack and Jill. This book is a prequel to the first book. It tells the story of how Jack and Jill stumble down a staircase to find a dark world with a foreboding, all seeing moon. In this world, there are many monsters, and some are wolves in sheep’s clothing. I loved the unique world building!
*I loved the fascinating mix of eclectic characters. The books starts with Jack and Jill’s parents. Two ignorant and demanding people who have terrible preconceived notions on how to rear children. The parents were plain awful, but I was intrigued by their ignorance. Jack and Jill are two girls forced into molds that don’t fit. Each girls longs to do things that are outside of her mold. In the new, dark world, each girl is given a choice, and not surprising, they both choose to live a life that was previously denied. It was a trip to watch the girls change and mature. Finally, there is the Master and the Scientist. The Master is cunning and cruel, jealous and terrifying, exactly what you expect of a monster masquerading as a man. The Scientist is quiet, good hearted, but demanding. The characters are all utterly enthralling.
*I liked the message of the book. Basically it is a book that rails against forcing girls to be a girl. There is no right or wrong way to be a girl as illustrated in this book. The bottom line, a girl should be free to choose the way she wants to live her life. It is also a story of betrayal, forgiveness and love.
*I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version of this book if you can as it is narrated by the author herself. Ms. McGuire does a brilliant job with the narration. Loved it.
And The Not So Much:
*The book ends abruptly, not quite a cliffhanger, but almost. I was left wanting to know so much more. Of course, I do know the fate of Jack and Jill since it is related in the first book, but still....
*I need more of this world and these books. I wish the author would write some full length books in this series because so far, the first two novellas have been bloody brilliant.
Down Among the Sticks and Stones is another exceptional installment in the fantastic Wayward Children Series. If you want a book with fascinating characters, outstanding world building, interesting story lines with a touch of dark and creepy, look no further. You need to be reading this series!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

If you follow my reviews at all you'll probably know that I think Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant is one of the best writers of urban fantasy currently writing/publishing. Her newer 'Wayward Children' series is a slight departure from the urban fantasy setting of her popular October Daye series but it is equally impressive and powerful.

The book/series is a dark look at the Jack and Jill fairy tale. Jack and Jill are twin sisters (Jacqueline and Jill) and the story is of their childhood (such as it was) up to the point where we see them in the previous book (<em>Every Heart a Doorway</em>) (meaning, of course, that this is a prequel).

Jack is the girly-girl. She was her mother's project to dress up in frill and lace, whereas Jill is the tomboy - the son her father wished for and tried to raise.

Like many siblings, they don't always get along, but when they discover a doorway to a strange, magical land, they will need each other (and each others' strengths) much more than they might expect.

Seanan McGuire not only writes lyrical prose that is haunting and beautiful and really holds a reader, but stories such as this reach further into social themes than one might ordinarily expect with an urban fantasy. Parenthood, gender identification, parent/child expectations are a few of the themes explored in this fairy tale and in McGuire's hands we can be sure that answers to questions won't be easily forthcoming (if at all).

The only downside to this book is that if you've read Every Heart a Doorway you will know how this ends. As such, for those just beginning to discover the magical words and worlds of Seanan McGuire, it might have been nice if the publisher listed this as book #.5 instead of book #2. But that's a pretty minor complaint. Read the books in whatever order you want, but do read them.

Looking for a good book? Down Among the Sticks and Bones is a short book by Seanan McGuire ... short in terms of page numbers, but full-bodied in terms of theme and story. It is a must-read for lovers of fantasy fiction.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

SPOILERS ALL OVER THE PLACE, BE WARNED!!!

Ok, the first book of this series brought me to hate Jillian. This book made me hate her twin sister Jack, ALMOST as much as I hate Jillian.

Why? Because Jack could have prevented the murders in the first book from happening AT ALL if she had just LISTENED to the doctor and a year later, killed Jillian, brought the body back and resurrected her. Same end result, only no one dead.

Instead, she waited a year and a half and only stopped Jillian when she HAD too, by realizing her sister was a sociopath.

Not to mention, Jillian SLAUGHTERED the woman Jack loved and she GOT AWAY WITH IT. There was no punishment really, other than her not going back home; which she decided to KILL to try to return home.

Seriously? Jillian just got away with all of those murders, including the first one that caused the need to leave home in the first place? She needs to either suffer horribly, which I suspect not being able to be the Master's daughter might do, OR realize that there are consequences to actions. Which maybe the whole resurrection result might do.

Which we don't get to see, but get to imagine. I imagine that the Master, denied Jillian, will just take Jack and turn her. Thereby making BOTH Jack AND Jillian ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE. MWAH HA HA HA HA!!!!

What, me bitter? Naw Son, I'm SALTY!

So anywho, this only gets 3 stars from me, but because I hate both MCs. Which, again, is a testament to the awesome writing chops of the author. Setting is great, characters are real (I want to know more about Mary!) and I also want to see the fallout of them returning.

If you liked the first one, read this one, because it does fill a lot of backstory on those two characters in. The next book brings it back to not hating characters, so there is that to look forward to. YA on up I would say. Non-traditional sexual relationship is discussed in a positive light. Violence is also present, but not much.

My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an eARC copy of this to read and review.

Another absolutely great instalment! I think Seanan McGuire has really grown as a writer since Every Heart a Doorway. The plotting was tighter and the atmosphere was incredible. Admittedly Every Heart a Doorway holds a special place in my heart because it has an ace character but I thought the female/female relationship here was beautifully done. I am waiting with bated breath for the final book and the return of Nancy. I will link my video review when it is live.

Amazing follow-up to the breathtaking Every Heart a Doorway. This book was the gothic tale I wanted. I was super intrigued by the world of the Moors when it was first mentioned and am so excited we got to explore it in this book. It was very interesting to read about the twins finally becoming individuals and exploring their own identities separate from one another and their parents.

This is the origin story of Jack and Jill, two of the characters from "Every Heart a Doorway". It looks like the author is going to end up writing either short stories or novellas about each of those characters.

Origin stories are always tricky. You essentially know how things will end, so it's all about the journey. This journey didn't hold any surprises for me.

Jack and Jill were born so that their parents could get attention, essentially. Seanan Mcguire must have had an unpleasant childhood, because at least in these stories, she does not seem to care much for adults. They are the bad guys, plain and simple. The writing in this book exaggerates characters into caricatures, no nuance at all. Jack gets raised as Jacqueline- her mother's perfect princess. Jill is raised as Jillian the tomboy, and neither girl ever gets to decide if this is indeed what she wants to be. This lack of agency and the problems that it causes is the tragedy of the story.

If you've read "Every Heart a Doorway", you know it's partly a murder mystery and Jill is the culprit. It feels like the author's heart is really with Jack, who grows and changes in the Moors, while Jill allows her choice to be made for her and sets her course into darkness accordingly. It's too bad that the author couldn't muster much empathy for Jill, because it unbalances the story. But I've never known McGuire to be subtle. Don't expect subtlety here. It's a fairy tale, and a dark one, all about the tropes. If you don't mind just a hint of melodrama, it's nicely written.

Take a set of twin girls being raised by a set of parents who had them for status reasons, mix in stifled desires, a chest concealing a set of stairs, a magic land with werewolves, vampires, and mad scientists and you get Down Among the Sticks and Bones. Jack and Jill enter the world at the bottom of the stairs at age 12 and leave when 17. In this short tale, Jack learns to love and live while Jill develops a taste for power and desire above any rules which is why the twins end up dashing away from a mob in the end. The unanswered question is what will happen to them in the real world to which they return after five years.

A wonderful prequel that builds on the characters I found so intriguing in this trilogy's first installment. Can't wait for part three next year!

Knowing that Down Among the Sticks and Bones was a prequel, I took a chance on reading it even though I have not read the first book in the Wayward Children series. This is one chance that paid off big-time. Seanan McGuire writes amazing stories, no matter what name she uses for publication, and Down Among the Sticks and Bones is no different.

Everything about the story grabbed me from the first page. From the matter-of-fact manner in which she presents Jacqueline and Jillian's parents to the crisp dialogue and clear descriptions, the novel creeps into your imagination and takes over. The atmosphere is outstanding. Bordering on horror, it is deliciously sinister but with an undercurrent of hope that prevents it from diving into the macabre.

One of the best parts of the novella is the fact that it reads like a fable, complete with life lessons about relationships and warnings about paths not taken. It documents in real time how each decision has a lasting impact on the future. It informs about the two possible outcomes and lets you watch it all unfold. It is a cautionary tale without being preachy. More important than that, it shows you what could have been to help you understand what is.

There is no doubt that it is establishing certain characters' traits for the next book. Again, I read this out of sequence, so I finished the story anxious to find out what comes next and just what lessons the girls learned in their time Down Among the Sticks and Bones. Making this anxiety even worse is the fact that it ends on a cliffhanger. The character development is outstanding, especially because it is a shorter story, so you care quite a bit about Jack and Jill and their prospective fates. That there is still so much of their story left to tell is enticing; I cannot wait to immerse myself into their world again. There is a Neil Gaiman vibe to the novella that has me wanting more, much more.

I loved, love, loved the setting of both this book and Every Heart a Doorway. The LGBT+ ties are smooth and don't feel like forced progressivism. The characters are quirky and charming. This was a good prequel to an already well established novel.

I gave this 4 instead of 5 stars because the first published book was a stronger story in my opinion. I quite enjoyed the backstory on the twins, but it didn't have the edge of mystery of the first book and there was a bit too much of breaking of the 3rd wall in the form of fairy-tale like foreshadowing and narration for me. I felt it could have been used in more moderation than exhibited here. That said if it was a book by another author that wasn't always such a strong writer it might have earned 5 stars. I'm so used to this author producing phenomenally good books that this one felt slightly less wonderful than others, in the complexity of the plot and pacing at least. The world-building was still superb though.

4.5 stars. Since Down Among the Sticks and Bones is a prequel to Every Heart a Doorway, and I was going into it already knowing where the story of Jack and Jill ends in this fantasy portal story, I was actually rather reluctant to pick it up. But Seanan McGuire tells this story so engagingly that I couldn’t help but savor it, despite some horrifying and heartbreaking aspects of it. I actually liked it better than Doorway … the story here made much more sense than the bizarre murder mystery in Doorway, and has a less timeworn plot.

Seanan McGuire spends the first quarter of the book relating how Jacqueline and Jillian are raised, or mis-raised, by their well-to-do parents, a story that could be painful and tedious if McGuire didn’t tell it with such relish. Their parents, Chester and Serena Wolcott, are caught up in their own concerns, and decide to have children only because they envy all of the attention their friends’ children get when their parents periodically bring them to work, dressed up and on best behavior. They have no idea what they’re getting into, and once they get into it, they do it with complete incompetence.

McGuire leavens the sad tale of the twins’ upbringing with her wry humor and insight, often offered up in parenthetical asides:

"(The thought that babies would become children, and children would become people, never occurred to them. The concept that perhaps biology was not destiny, and that not all little girls would be pretty princesses, and not all little boys would be brave soldiers, also never occurred to them. Things might have been easier if those ideas had ever slithered into their heads, unwanted but undeniably important. Alas, their minds were made up, and left no room for such revolutionary opinions.)"

Jacqueline becomes her mother’s project, always dolled up in frilly princess dresses, while Jillian is encouraged by her father to be a rough-and-tumble tomboy. But the girls don’t fit into these rigid molds quite as easily as their parents think.

One day, when the girls are twelve, they open an old trunk in an empty bedroom and find a long, impossible stairway that leads them to a fantastic land, where their love for each other (already strained) will be tested in terrible new ways, and they will be faced with choices that children shouldn’t have to make, and events and people that will divide them.

"There are worlds built on rainbows and worlds built on rain. There are worlds of pure mathematics, where every number chimes like crystal as it rolls into reality. There are worlds of light and worlds of darkness, worlds of rhyme and worlds of reason, and worlds where the only thing that matters is the goodness in a hero’s heart. The Moors are none of those things. The Moors exist in eternal twilight, in the pause between the lightning strike and the resurrection. They are a place of endless scientific experimentation, of monstrous beauty, and of terrible consequences."

The nicknames Jack and Jill ― which their parents refused to acknowledge ― are backwards from the roles the twins are given in their youth: Jack is the princess and Jill, the tomboy. I never did get used to that, though I applaud Down Among the Sticks and Bones for taking the unexpected route with their names. There’s a seismic shift, however, when the girls arrive in the Moors, where their characters develop in stunningly different ways than their parents had anticipated. Those unexpected developments nevertheless make sense, since McGuire has carefully laid the foundation in the way their younger personalities and characteristics were described.

The plot of Down Among the Sticks and Bones is intriguing, and it explores themes of parental expectations, gender roles (it may surprise you which of the girls is gay), and fraught sibling relationships with sharp perception. But it’s Seanan McGuire’s resonant writing that will particularly remain with me. The frequent humor and sarcasm lightens what might otherwise be an oppressively dark story, and the omniscient narrator’s insights into human motivations make for a compelling story.

Even though Every Heart a Doorway, to some extent, spoils the ending of this tale ― I still think it would work best to read Sticks and Bones before Doorway, if you haven’t read either yet ― it’s definitely worth stepping through the magic portal with Jack and Jill and tumbling down some (real and metaphorical) hills with them.

The nitty-gritty: Like all the best fairy tales, this story is both magical and foreboding, a cautionary tale of the pitfalls of gender stereotyping, told as only Seanan McGuire can.

Just as she did in Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire captures a mood of nostalgia and sadness in her follow-up, Down Among the Sticks and Bones. In the first novella, her theme was all about growing up and leaving childhood behind, but this time she tackles the more complicated ideas of how we, as adults, shape our children, and how that can either be beneficial or harmful. In this case, the parents of Jacqueline and Jillian (Jack and Jill from Every Heart a Doorway) do everything wrong.

This novella works perfectly as a standalone, as it’s actually a prequel to Every Heart a Doorway, and new readers can safely start the series with this book. Chester and Serena have never wanted children, until they begin to notice their friends' and co-workers' children, who seem to make parenthood more appealing. Sensing that something might be missing in their lives, they decide to become parents themselves. Serena dreams of a lovely girl who she can dress up and show off, and Chester secretly wishes for a son, strong and athletic. They are both surprised when Serena gives birth to twin girls, who they name Jacqueline and Jillian.

And no surprise to anyone, Serena quickly finds out that she’s unable to cope with real babies, who cry and are messy and don’t sleep. So into their suddenly chaotic household sweeps their grandmother, Louise Wolcott, the true heroine of the story (whose role is way too brief), a warm and loving woman who encourages the girls to be whatever they want. Louise was by far my favorite character, a brief shining star in Jacqueline’s and Jillian’s childhood.

As the girls grow up, it soon becomes clear that Jillian is more of a risk-taker and naturally athletic, while Jacqueline is timid and delicate. Serena sees Jacqueline as the daughter she dreamed of and begins dressing her in flowing, princess-like dresses, while Chester recognizes Jillian as the son he wished he had, and encourages her to play sports and cut her hair in a short pixie cut. You can see where this is going. Without the gentle guidance of Louise, the girls are more or less forced to become their parents’ vision of what they wanted in a child, one the girl and one the boy, while deep down the girls are immensely unhappy with the way things are turning out.

And this is when they stumble upon a secret doorway to another world, after which nothing will ever be the same. They find themselves in a strange world called the Moors, a place of “monstrous beauty and terrible consequences.” There Jack and Jill meet two men who will force them to make a decision that will further divide them.

McGuire has actually written two stories: the first is a detailed account of the girls growing up, and it basically serves to set up the second part, which is the real story: what happens to the girls during their years spent in the Moors. If you enjoyed Every Heart a Doorway, then you’ll love the quirky, otherworldliness of the sisters’ adventures in the Moors, which are odd and magical, frightening and sad, and sometimes just plain weird. Monsters are everywhere in this story—not only on the Moors, but in the oceans and mountains, where familiar creatures lurk. But the most monstrous beings are the two mysterious men who act as teachers to the sisters: one who calls himself the Master and takes Jill on as a “foundling,” while Dr. Bleak, a Frankenstein-like character who attempts to bring the dead back to life, accepts Jack as an apprentice. I found it interesting that the girls switch roles at this point. Jack now wears pants and does hard labor for Dr. Bleak, while Jill takes luxurious baths and lives a life of ease. (And they’ve both seemed to accept their new nicknames!)

A lot goes on in Down Among the Sticks and Bones, and the plot is rather haphazard, more like a series of “things that happen” than an overall, arching storyline. There is a growing sense of doom as the girls grow into their respective roles, and the wedge that their parents managed to drive between them years ago still exists, but on a larger scale. I found this to be a rather sad story, although McGuire gives us hope at the end as Jack and Jill finally join forces. The ending worked surprisingly well (although it’s very abrupt!) and nicely leads into Every Heart a Doorway (if you’ve read it then you’ll probably have an “ah ha!” moment like I did).

I loved McGuire’s messages about gender identity and raising children without pushing them into the clichéd roles that society inevitably forces them into. “Be yourself” is one of the best things you can tell a young child, and that message rings loud and clear in this story.

This is a dark and bleak tale that nonetheless feels magical and full of possibilities. McGuire has introduced us to plenty of characters that all deserve to tell their backstories, and I can hardly wait for the next one.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.