Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

This is book nine in the Wayward Children Series, a series of books about children who have found portals into alternate worlds that can be the stuff of nightmares or dreams, depending on the child. 

A good thing about this series is that you could probably read the books out of order, since they deal with different children and worlds. But there are recurring characters and themes throughout, which might be lost by going out of order.

This book is about Antsy, who has a knack for finding lost things, which, as you can imagine, may include doors to secret worlds. Antsy finds herself and a group of friends, including a land-bound mermaid, a boy from a skeleton world, and a girl who died in a previous book, on a quest. They jump from door to door in order to avoid the wrath of Sarafina, a student with the ability to make people do anything for her. 

Eventually they land in Antsy's world, where lost things go. It's a nexus world, with a store for travelers. She worked at the Store of Lost Things, where people can open a multitude of doors and explore different worlds. In her case, Antsy used the doors for trips to buy supplies or opened doors for her employer to make visits to other worlds. Antsy eventually learned with every door opened, there is a cost, and she wants to hold the store owner accountable for not telling kids what that cost is.

This lore about the doors is interesting because it applies to all the books. We also get to see multiple worlds, including Prism, which is Cade's world, that he doesn't like to talk about (although I don't think this book does much to help in that understanding). While this is a great overall book for the series, with a lot of relevant information, I found it meandering in execution.

Once again, I am torn about these books. I know I'm not their target audience, as the series skews younger. But I appreciate the concept. The books are so short, however, you don't get a lot of world-building. And they deal with heavy topics like death, sexuality, and belonging in such short packages, that sometimes I feel it's not enough to really dig in. But I also am not engaged enough to want a longer book. I keep picking them up thinking, "this will be the one I truly love" and it hasn't happened yet. But I think they're great for junior high or high schoolers because they are so short and sweet, but still heavily packed with relevant topics.

So while I keep feeling meh about these books, there's something that keeps me coming back because they are so creative, if not fully fleshed out. 

In An Absent Dream (Wayward Children #4) by Seanan McGuire

If you aren't familiar with this series, it begins with Every Heart a Doorway, a novella about Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. West runs a boarding school for children who have been to other worlds and returned unable to readjust to regular life. Every Heart a Doorway introduces a lot of children who have traveled to these worlds, but doesn't really flesh out individual stories.

McGuire's subsequent books explore these individual stories. One of the great things about this series is that you don't really have to go in order. While there are some threads between books, you really can read them as stand-a-lone books.

In an Absent Dream is the story of Katherine. She's a rule-following girl who always listens to adults and does what is expected of her. Her father is her elementary school's Principal. And because of this, Katherine finds it hard to make and keep friends and feels disconnected with her family. One day, she strays from her normal path home and finds a door in the trunk of a tree. Of course she decides to see what is inside.

Beyond this door, Katherine discovers the Market, which has rules that must be followed based largely on fair value and making and keeping agreements. As a young child, she is given leeway in the agreements she makes and others are allowed to take on debt she incurs. She develops a friendship with another girl and is mentored by a mother-like figure during her visit, which eventually ends.

Upon returning to the normal world, Katherine, who now goes by her surname, Lundy, tries to adjust to normal life. The mystery of her disappearance is an open secret by those around her, except to maybe her father, who seems to know something about her experience. 

As she grows older, Lundy travels back and forth between worlds, learning more about the Market and the importance of paying back debts, including those her dear friend took on during Lundy's first visit. But Lundy also develops a deeper relationship with her sister, and subsequent visits to the market are interrupted as Lundy travels back to keep commitments to her family.  Lundy knows however, that the flexibility given children by the Market will soon fade and she will eventually be forced to decide between the two worlds.  

In An Absent Dream is a short story about another world that might not be perfect, but might be just what Lundy is looking for. It's interesting and dark and fun to read about, but I feel that there is a certain spark that is missing that could elevate this book to a higher level. I'm not sure what exactly it is: that the books are too short to dig deeper, or that the Market isn't a world that speaks to me. 

One of my criticisms about Every Heart a Doorway was that the individual stories weren't fleshed out enough so I appreciate these individual stories. While I feel there could be a lot more said about Lundy's world, I think what we got was just enough to get the point across in this short story.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

This is a YA novella that debuted with much acclaim and has won many awards. So of course, I didn't like it.

It was the premise that reeled me in. It's about students at a boarding school for kids who have entered and then returned from fantasy worlds. They are obsessed with returning, but have to wait for the doorway to their world to reappear. When and where it appears is different for everyone.

I like the idea that everyone has a magical door, an opportunity at some point in their lives to shed their "real" existence. For some, the door is large and obvious. For others, it's small and inconspicuous. No one knows when it will appear, or for how long. Some people never see their door. Others, like these kids, do and go through them. The world that awaits them could be one of their deepest desires, or worst nightmares. It might be a world of war or chaos. And depending on the child, that could be the best, or worst thing for them.

Some kids return from their worlds and want to forget about their experience altogether. And there are special schools for them. But others want nothing more than to return. And these are the kids at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children.

Do you want to know more? Me too! Do you want to know what each child's fantasy world is like? So do I! And that's the main problem I have with this book. We only catch snippets of each child's world. The entirety of the story takes place in the "real" world. And any flashbacks or descriptions McGuire gives us of someone's fantasy realm is seriously lacking.

The main mystery is that students are ending up dead at the school. So we are trying to figure out who the killer is. But I wasn't really interested in that. I guess I too, was obsessed like the kids. I just felt McGuire could have focused more on the fantasy, rather than the reality. THAT'S what I signed up for. Silly me.

I think this is one that is better in theory than execution. But plenty of people disagree with me about that. So maybe check it out? It's short at least. And it's a series. Maybe it gets better?