This book was yet again another amazing installation to a fantastic YA series. I wish this series would never end. This book introduces a new character to the wide arrange of characters in The Wayward Children series and McGuire does it with ease. This new introduction begun with a more sinister beginning, she effortlessly tackles a difficult subject while still being sensitive. I loved this novel so much!! I will always pick up any book in this series. I love going into these books without even looking at the synopsis. This is my favorite series and continues to be the top fantasy series I have ever read.

I enjoyed this little story in the Wayward Children world, though it felt disconnected from the rest of the series. I was hoping for some more information that would link everything together that we've seen thus far a la Where the Drowned Girls Go, and found the ending a little rushed. Overall, still a good read and I'm excited for the next book!

Lost In the Moment and Found is genuinely a fantastic installment in this series. Magical metaphors for abuse can be so fascinating when well done. Here, the use of Antsy's gaslighting via magic forgetting, and growing up too fast via magic, ties into her backstory as a survivor of abuse.

The story begins with Antsy witnessing the death of her father, and then deals with grooming and gaslighting. While she runs away (into another world of course) before anything serious can happen, it’s still disturbing to read. But I also think this is an important story to tell and I thought it was handled with the care it deserves. The author has been candid about her own experience with grooming and child sex abuse and it’s clear this was a story that meant a lot to her.

I really appreciated how this novella handled the abuse and gaslighting in this story. It was a really powerful narrative that created a good reason to escape into another world. I felt deeply for our young protagonist.

I was extremely impressed, as I often am, by the kindness with which McGuire treats Antsy, and the kindness with which she treats narratives of abuse. Being gaslit is an experience of alienation from the self: It is an experience, in its own way, of losing access to yourself. Antsy is lost from the real world both literally and figuratively, a barrier placed between her and the rest of the world. Any truth she tells will not be believed, so what does the truth matter? What is the real world, or is it lost forever?

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would highly recommend it to readers, even those who haven't read all the previous novellas in this series. I am now very interested in filling in the gaps by reading the previous books.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Picking up Seanan McGuire’s Lost in the Moment and Found, I wasn’t sure whether I’d love it. On paper, this series has so much that I love, but it goes some dark places at times, and the warning about the situation that Antsy ends up in made me wonder if this was going to be another one which cut too close to home.

For me, it wasn’t, but it’s worth knowing that Antsy ends up in a difficult situation where her step-father convinces her that her mother won’t believe her if she says anything against him, while making her feel deeply uncomfortable (and also involving an obvious threat of child sexual abuse). In addition, Antsy loses her father very young. So it’s important to know that going in, for some people; as McGuire’s initial note says, Antsy runs before the bad things really start happening, though.

There is a fair bit about that and the build-up to why Antsy runs away, and as such I suppose I’d be happy if the book spent a bit more time in the shop. It sounds like a fascinating world and I wanted Antsy to explore it a little more, and to explore some of the other worlds with her. Instead we turn to the price she’s paying for the joy — and as ever, it’s a harsh one.

Obviously, the end of the book tells us where the main plot thread that runs through the odd-numbered novellas is going next, or at least, that Antsy’s going to have something to do with it. Given that she brings a bit of fresh blood into the questing group, that could be interesting!

When her father dies, Antsy—too young and playful for her full name, Antoinette—faces a grim choice: to risk the increasingly creepy attentions of her stepfather, or to run away. Chance and fear drive her through a mysterious door—excuse me, Door—to a Shop of Lost Things. It’s a wondrous place, the epitome of the magical antique store, filled with strange objects from magical lands. Soon Antsy herself is visiting those places, beginning with a market where blue-furred people trade in luscious pastries. Soon Antsy suspects all is not benign in the Shop as she ages prematurely. There is a cost to going through a magical Door, a cost in time she can never get back.

With masterful skill, Seanan McGuire takes us on a point-of-view evolution from a bewildered young girl, struggling to come to terms with the loss of the father she adored and the increasingly creepy advances of her new stepfather; to the child adventurer, thrilled by the adventures and mysteries unfolding before her; to the too-soon-grownup, grappling with the loss of innocence and the impossibility of ever going home again. The continuity of voice comes across in perfect balance to its maturation. As usual, McGuire imbues her story with compassion, understanding, and rip-roaring action. And the twist at the end had me both teary-eyed and cheering.

Another completely lovely addition to the Wayward Children series! Simultaneously tender and dark, McGuire always writes unflinchingly and empathetically and this one was no exception. This one in particular hit really hard.

Seanan McGuire never misses with her doorway series, and this one is no exception as we learn more about the doorways themselves.

In this latest installment of McGuire's Wayward Children series, Antsy leaves home and ends up at The Shop Where the Lost Things Go. She has a talent for opening doors that allow the other shop residents to get supplies, but the Shop has secrets, too.

This is a terribly tragic coming-of-age story that underscores the vulnerability of children who are still learning to navigate the world, but it is also, ultimately, a hopeful one. I would caution potential readers that there is content that is, at the very least, uncomfortable, but the book is worth reading, especially if you like the series as a whole.

A heartwrenching Fantasy standalone tale in Seanan McGuire's WAYWARD CHILDREN Series, LOST IN THE MOMENT AND FOUND is the story of a girl too young who loses too much too soon, and later discovers that rescue and safety might not always mean freedom from betrayal and greed. For some readers, this story will be particularly painful. Ms. McGuire possesses a special gift for arrowing straight to the Heart, and of delivering far more than just the words on the surface.

I love the story and premise, you can’t help but want to protect Antsy, and that ending—My Heart!
LOST IN THE MOMENT AND FOUND by Seanan McGuire is Book Eight in the Wayward Children’s Series, though it can be easily read as a stand-alone, the main issue I struggled with whilst reading was the slow pacing.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing, for providing me with an eBook of LOST IN THE MOMENT AND FOUND at the request of an honest review.

Well, I jumped in a series that is 8 books in. . .and so got what I deserved, I think. . . a bunch of confusion at the beginning of a short read. There was a warning, and troublesome trigger topics, and then *boom* we are in another world entirely.

From there my enjoyment of the read increased markedly. Powerful doors, helpful beings in many forms and phases of life, with stern messages about a price for every gain - no gift is without its cost. Ever a good message for humankind.

I'm intrigued, and will be checking out book #1 in this series.

*A sincere thank you to Seanan McGuire, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tordotcom, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.*

I can't believe it has taken me so long to review this one - It got "lost and found" in my netgalley list.

This was one of my absolute favorite of the Wayward children stories - and that is saying a lot because my love for this series runs DEEP. I loved the premise and the story of hiding from something and having it take time from you as a result. Superb as usual!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Another wonderful Wayward Children book. I started these years ago and I am finally caught up and am anxiously waiting for the next installment. This book was brought up so many emotions and was one of the more heavy hitting topic wise. I loved it. Side note - take a look at the content warnings before reading.

Another incredible story for this series. The way that Seanan McGuire crafts stories never ceases to impress me. I love the way she tells stories and I hope to continue reading things from her for a very long time.

Thank you, MacMillan-TOR/Forge publishers, and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I love the writing; it really sucked me into the novel.
But I know you're staring at my rating. It's rather difficult to read. I started this one without reading the others in the series and while I don't think that hindered my enjoyment, I wasn't expecting the heaviness of this novel. I also should note, I probably shouldn't have started this while on a Target run (IYKYK) but while the writing gripped me at the same time the topics that this character dealt with, I don't feel it's a novel I could've thoroughly enjoyed or attempt to reread at a later date. There's a lot of unhappy, possibly triggering for some readers (check the warnings), that I couldn't rate it higher.

I will look into other novels by this author because I do believe I'd like his writing style but this one was not a favorite of 2023.

You can never go wrong with Seanen McQuire - Truly any addition to her series is always one to watch out for. Lost in the Moment and Found incluided!

I love the Wayward Children series that Seanan McGuire writes. And this one is a great addition to the series. Born Antoinette and called Antsy, our main character loses her father and after about a year her mother finds someone else. Someone she doesn’t like, but at her young age she can’t find the words to say why. After he visits her room one night, she knows she needs to leave and packs a bag. She sneaks out the backdoor and runs to the local strip mall. She finds a door to a shop (Be Sure) and slips in. And, so her adventure begins. Visiting other worlds, meeting new people, and finding that the shop is bigger on the inside and changing. But she is also changing. The novella length of these books is wonderful, a perfect length for a weekend read. I look forward to them every year. Even if they are only slightly connected to Eleanor West’s school.

Thanks to Tor for the copy.

4.5 / 5
I LOVE this series so much. Lost in the Moment and Found is a really interesting instalment in the Wayward Children series since I feel it really cracks open so many possibilities for future characters and worlds. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next novella.

Eight books into the series I have to acknowledge I find the Wayward Children series to be incredibly inconsistent, or at least my enjoyment of it. This latest installment falls somewhere towards the back of the pack. It’s very much not one of the “journey” books that characterize some of the other additions to the series - particularly the ones in the Moors. And that doesn’t make for a disengaging plotline; my favorite book in the series is still In an Absent Dream, which is anything but a journey book.

But Lost in the Moment seems to lack a sense of purpose, or at least a clarity of the plotline if you can call it one. We spend a solid quarter of the book in the real world, as a very intentional way to depict the abuse in Antsy’s background she wants to run away from. The theming around this is the strongest part of the novel, but it doesn’t carry any of the rest of the story once Antsy finds her door. We circle back to it, eventually, but the rest of the book spent in the shop Antsy finds herself unintentionally employed feels a little disconnected.

I generally seem to buy into any story that centers around time slippage or mismatched timelines. I love anything that creates a fundamental disruption between “here” and “not here.” But I’ve just seen this plotpoint used more effectively, dramatically, emotionally that I didn’t really love it here. Ultimately this book’s strength lay in its exploration of real-world childhood trauma and the actual magical realism of the storyline outside of this was not the most striking piece.

Thank you to the publisher Tordotcom for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.