*4.25 stars*

This book was beautiful and heavy. I appreciated the trigger warnings up front because the story really just dove into the trauma head first.

This was a incredible story about the ways that trauma steals from us especially at such a young age, and how finding yourself after you’ve been lost might still cost more. This was heartbreaking and healing at the same time. This story felt more well rounded than some of the others in the series which I really enjoyed.

Although this was a standalone in the series, I enjoyed the nods to the other books and worlds. I hope we might get to see more of Antsy again as she learns how to navigate her new reality.

I listened to the audio of this book and the narrator was excellent at making Antsy come alive as a young child and as she grew. I would definitely recommend the audio version!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance audio of this work. All of the opinions in this review are my own.

This is such a magical series. This is the first book I've listened to rather than read, and I must admit that I enjoyed it much more than expected - and more than I've enjoyed reading many of the books. The narrator does a marvelous job with pacing and tone, and it really added a depth to the telling.

There is a horrific aspect to the tale - all of the lost children in the series become lost as an escape and unfortunately sometimes escape is about running from rather than running to.... McGuire does an excellent job establishing a sense of menace and fear without ever being explicit about the threat poor Antsy faces. It made the dread and confusion of being a child suddenly and brutally forced into an adult world all the more horrifying and was masterfully managed. And I couldn't tell you the last time I cried as hard while reading as I did when Antsy's world first fell apart...

McGuire does a fabulous job at world building in all her writing, but never more so than in these books about the lost children.. She has a magnificent sense for the magic, tragedy, joy and bewildering consisting l confusion of childhood. This was a standalone that felt fully incorporated into the universe of the Wayward Children and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

I love this series. Every book ends up a 4 or 5 star. They are quick and fun, fantastical reads. This one however has some heavy, dark topics. Definitely the saddest in the series so far. This short novella is beautifully written and packs a powerful punch.

This series is written so that you don’t have to read them in order but I suggest you start with book 1 at least to learn about the doors (which we learn more about in this book!!) and to prevent some spoilers in the other books.

Only months after the death of her father, 6 year old Antoinette, or Ancy, has a stepfather. She doesn’t like Tyler, or the way he looks at her, but her mother now has a new baby and Tyler has managed to convince Ancy’s mother that she’s a liar. Now, Tyler has made his intentions clear to the little girl and she runs away before he can make good on his threat. She stumbles into an old thrift shop filled with fascinating things, that include, but aren’t limited to, a talking bird, a woman old as time and a doorway that opens on to different worlds every time it’s opened. McGuire creates a magical world where little girls are saved form the real monsters in our midst – humans. Beautifully written and guaranteed to make you cry

I wasn't familiar with the series going in but this was definitely fine as a standalone. This was a quick little listen with an audio done really well. I will likely be checking out the other books in the series. Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this one.

Reading experience: https://www.tiktok.com/@manda.lyn_reads/video/7185716858765462826?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

Review: https://www.tiktok.com/@manda.lyn_reads/video/7186381255318211886?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7186331371500521003

Overall great addition to the Wayward Children series. I had a great time reading it, felt that the themes really hit well, but the pacing was just a bit off. Reminded me mostly of In An Absent Dream or Where the Drowned Girls Go.

Thanks to Netgalley and TorDotCom/Macmillan Audio for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

2.75 - 3 stars
Thank you to Tor & Netgalley for the audiobook review copy!

1 | Every Heart a Doorway ★★★★☆
2 | Down Among the Sticks and Bones ★★★★☆
3 | Beneath the Sugar Sky ★★★★☆
4 | In an Absent Dream ★★★★☆
5 | Come Tumbling Down ★★★☆☆
6 | Across the Green Grass Fields ★★★★☆
7 | Where the Drowned Girls Go ★★☆☆☆
8 | Lost in the Moment and Found ★★★☆☆

This book felt a little heavier in than the previous books, with an extra content warning from the author in the beginning. I don't have too much to say about it except that I just don't feel connected to a lot of these worlds anymore. The last few reads have been disappointing for me, and I think that's just more of a me thing than anything. The writing is still lovely, beautiful, and whimsical, packed with plenty of metaphors, life lessons, and messages of acceptance. The content and meaning behind the books are always great! I just don't find myself really being drawn in. It's entirely possible that since I just really haven't been in a fantasy mood for the last few years, really, that I'm just not being enticed by the magic of the books and whimsy that these worlds bring. They're so quick that I'll likely keep reading them and maybe there will be characters that I'll connect with more in the future! I forgot that Antoinette was a part of the stories in the beginning (I only remembered because of the reviews) and since the books are so short, it was easy (for me) to forget. Maybe next time I'll do a quick refresher on who the main character is so I can try to feel some more connection!

Pros: I read Every Heart a Doorway several years ago after Anne Bogel raved about it on the What Should I Read Next podcast. I enjoyed it but did not know until recently that more novellas about the Wayward Children had been written. As these novellas do not have to be read in order, I was excited to be able to pick up this newest novella and jump back in.

I appreciated that the author began this book with a content warning and a small spoiler because it put the reader at ease that the main character would be okay . . . eventually. What I found most impactful was the portrayal and overarching metaphor of lost innocence.

Cons: This is not a con about the book but about the audiobook, which is the format I used to read the book. I really enjoyed the audiobook narration, except the voice used for the main character as a small child. This is not a unique con to this narration—it seems to be tricky to voice a child in a way that feels accurate and not annoying.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a much darker read than I was expecting, but I really loved it and I think it might be my new favorite in this series.

We’ve met Antsy briefly in previous books but this is her background, showing how she got to Eleanor West’s and it also gives some more insight into the Doors which I loved to see. But mostly this book is about childhood trauma and the loss of innocence and children being forced to grow up too quickly and the way time changes our perception of things. Overall, I thought it was incredible.

I listened to the audiobook and thought Jesse Vilinsky’s narration was excellent. I don’t believe I’ve listened to a book narrated by her before, but I will keep an eye out for more of her work because I thought she nailed all of the voices and the atmosphere.

I read a galley of this and wanted to test out the audiobook and as always, this was great. The audio gives off the perfect gothic whimsy we know and love from this series.