Name: Emily C Peterson's review of Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
Item: Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Rating: 5
Author: Emily C Peterson

Seanan McGuire

Seanan McGuire returns to her popular Wayward Children series with Down Among the Sticks and Bones—a truly standalone story suitable for adult and young adult readers of urban fantasy, and the follow-up to the Alex Award-winning, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus finalist, Tiptree Honor List Every Heart a Doorway 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.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones

High Fidelity

I think the rules were different there. It was all about science, but the science was magical. It didn’t care about whether something could be done. It was about whether it should be done, and the answer was always, always yes. —JACK WOLCOTT

Identical twins were unsettling to much of the population: dressing them in matching outfits and treating them as one interchangeable being might seem appealing while they were young enough, but as they aged, they would start to unnerve people. Girls, especially, were subject to being viewed as alien or wrong when they seemed too alike. Blame science fiction, blame John Wyndham and Stephen King and Ira Levin. The fact remained that they needed to distinguish their daughters.

SOME ADVENTURES BEGIN EASILY. It is not hard, after all, to be sucked up by a tornado or pushed through a particularly porous mirror; there is no skill involved in being swept away by a great wave or pulled down a rabbit hole. Some adventures require nothing more than a willing heart and the ability to trip over the cracks in the world.Other adventures must be committed to before they have even properly begun. How else will they know the worthy from the unworthy, if they do not require a certain amount of effort on the part of the ones who would undertake them? Some adventures are cruel, because it is the only way they know to be kind.

Real places didn’t go away just because you’d had a nap.

The trouble with denying children the freedom to be themselves—with forcing them into an idea of what they should be, not allowing them to choose their own paths—is that all too often, the one drawing the design knows nothing of the desires of their model.

It was all nonsense. As if anyone could be offered an eternity of privilege and power and refuse it on a whim.

This, you see, is the true danger of children: they are ambushes, each and every one of them. A person may look at someone else’s child and see only the surface, the shiny shoes or the perfect curls. They do not see the tears and the tantrums, the late nights, the sleepless hours, the worry. They do not even see the love, not really. It can be easy, when looking at children from the outside, to believe that they are things, dolls designed and programmed by their parents to behave in one manner, following one set of rules. It can be easy, when standing on the lofty shores of adulthood, not to remember that every adult was once a child, with ideas and ambitions of their own.

Katheryn

This, you see, is the true danger of children: they are ambushes, each and every one of them. A person may look at someone else’s child and see only the surface, the shiny shoes or the perfect curls. They do not see the tears and the tantrums, the late nights, the sleepless hours, the worry. They do not even see the love, not really. It can be easy, when looking at children from the outside, to believe that they are things, dolls designed and programmed by their parents to behave in one manner, following one set of rules...It can be easy, in the end, to forget that children are people, and that people will do what people will do, the consequences be damned.

Beck Krystal

Winner: 2018 Alex Award Winner: 2018 ALA RUSA Fantasy Award Seanan McGuire returns to her popular Wayward Children series with Down Among the Sticks and Bones—a truly standalone story suitable for adult and young adult readers of urban fantasy, and the follow-up to the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning, World Fantasy Award finalist, Tiptree Honor List book Every Heart a Doorway 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. The Wayward Children Series Book 1: Every Heart a Doorway Book 2: Down Among the Sticks and Bones Book 3: Beneath the Sugar Sky Book 4: In an Absent Dream At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Madison Jones 

Emily C Peterson

Linara K.S

This book is way more entertaining in audio format. The omniscient narration threw me off at the beginning as i read it physically but then when i switched to audiobook i was thrilled and hooked! It felt like a story recounted at campfire. 
It's a quick read and it's vert entertaining so i might as well read the sequel.

(3.75) This was such a good prequel to the first book. I really liked the writing style. I loved the world and Jack and Jill. I would have liked to see more of the relationship between the Master and Jill. I also wish it was not so short. Anyway, I heard the next book was really good or was it the 4th one? Anyway, I will read them all.

Kellie Davis

Loved this so much more than the first one. Jack and Jill's story was so interesting. I only wish the book was longer. I couldn't put it down!

kelsey

“there were a hundred, a thousand, a million different ways to be a girl, and all of them were valid.”

i loved learning the background of the twins. seeing how jill turned out the way she was i loved it. 

also bonus jack and alexis were super cute :(

Chloé

These books are such wonderful quick reads. The wayward children books were on my tbr for ages im so glad im getting to them.

Maria

what a perfect read for this grey, rainy day i loved this so much more than the first book!

Zahra

I'm glad that we are given Jack and Jill's story as Jack is my favorite character from the universe. The story itself was quite fascinating, nearly as good as the first book. I really liked the writing style. But, ugh, I couldn't stand Jill.

Ryan 

4.5 stars

jill needs a therapist. i'm serious

shru

she never fails to amaze me with her storytelling. this one was amazing, i love jack and this made me love her ever so much more. the dynamic of the twins being complete opposites, yet equals in a way was chilling, i loved it!

fatru tamzil

Jack and Jill story was harrowing and dark, and it will stay with me in a long, long, time.

I really enjoyed this one a lot more than the first book of the series. This one makes me want to continue reading the series.

Thought it was well written, kept me interested and loved how it all came together at the end to how in the end the first book tells their story. 

Samantha King

I really enjoyed this one a lot more than the first book of the series. This one makes me want to continue reading the series.

Thought it was well written, kept me interested and loved how it all came together at the end to how in the end the first book tells their story. 

Denaiir

Everybody agrees that this series is amazing and I can't add much, I just adored this installment and can't wait to read the next one. 
Jack and Jill's backstory was so interesting, the character development was amazing and the way the author pictured the Moor was fantastic.

Dustin Tinch

I am here to officially profess my undying love for Seanan McGuire's writing. 

Down Among the Sticks and Bones delivered more than enough to solidify my adoration for the whimsically dark world of the Wayward Children. As I was reading and tabbing I noticed that if I didn't stop I would run out of tabs. That's just how beautiful and impactful it was! I am so beyond excited to have more magical and poignant stories to jump back into with the rest of this bewitching series. I will simply leave you with this, READ IT!!!

Danny Werhane

It took me a bit to get into this, but once I did I really enjoyed it. The narration style was a bit confusing, it jumped between characters in third person with no warning. I also had trouble telling the different between Jack and Jill.

Alexa M

Leaning on 4.5 stars. I find Jack and Jill so interesting so i loved this!!

menna

My favorite things about this book is:

• The atmosphere, eerie and daunting and matches the story perfectly.
• How it discussed forced gender roles. i would love to have some stern talking with jack and jill's parents . Jack and Jill's obvious discomfort with their assigned roles from birth and how that affected their decision making in the moors.

This…was so perfect. I’m genuinely so obsessed with the writing in these novellas, how the story is told, how whimsical yet horribly dark they are at the same time?? Jack and Jill…I love you poor poor girls, I’m so excited for the rest of these!

jack

LEAN ESTOS LIBROS POR FAVOR NO SÉ QUÉ ESTÁN ESOERANDO

dija

I just finished this in my Chemistry course and i regret nothing. Am i doing university right?

Jamieson

“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.”


Down Among the Sticks and Bones is McGuire's second foray into the Wayward Children series and it is excellent. Seanan McGuire managed to hit this eerie, ominous tone she maintained throughout that made it tense, and the entire world was interesting, and endearing in it's creepiness. I should have liked this as much as book one, but it was missing one key ingredient that made me love book one: humour and charm. 

Here's the thing: I can see why people prefer this to book one. It's much more mature, explores it's characters much better, and overall presents a more interesting setting. Jack is a delightful character to follow, and Jill is unconventional despite being "traditionally" feminine. But I didn't like it as much. 

Despite this book having many amazing qualities (and don't get me wrong this is a very POSITIVE REVIEW) I really think going for this tone made it lose some of the things I loved about book one. I really wanted more fun, more charm, more humour. It's not this worlds style, but I missed it. I also think the ending of the f/f romance was disappointing and honestly I expected better from Seanan McGuire. (view spoiler)[ bury your gays has been done LETS LET THE LESBEANS LIVE (hide spoiler)]


  “I could give you children,” said Jack, sounding faintly affronted. “You’d have to tell me how many heads you wanted them to have, and what species you’d like them to be, but what’s the point of having all these graveyards if I can’t give you children when you ask for them?” 


But these criticisms aside - I loved this book. Following Jack was wonderful, she's my favourite character in this series beside Kade. She's a mad scientist and brave and COOL and just not your typical heroine? But she rocks and I love her. 

Jill is not followed as closely, but I did love her scenes. I especially loved the relationship between Jack and Jill and how it was shown to change, develop and eventually dissolve. The complex push and pull between the sisters and shifts in their relationship was well done, especially when you consider how short these books are. 

I simultaneously love and hate the length of these books. Love, because McGuire does so much with her page length. She gives her stories and her characters impact in a short page span and it works. Thse books have got spark and ooft factor without ever being tedious. 
On the other hand, this page length means some things need to be left out and I do wish they were longer sometimes. I'd like to see longer stories, more complete resolutions to stories, and more side character development. (Alexis was a shell, I wanted more.)



This is definitely worth reading after Every Heart a Doorway. It's feels so different to the first book, and yet is also a perfect companion. Jack, Jill and their world are incredibly interesting. The Moors has got to be some of my favourite worldbuilding ever. It's whimsy, weird, unrealistic and yet somehow so rich it feels it could be real. I also think Seanan McGuire really did something unique with the Moors - she took some tropes and things you'd never expect to go together - vampires, mad scientist, wind mill houses and castles and made it into this rich, ominous world that feels so real and so right.

Also - lets talk Audiobook. I always listen to these on Audio. Seanan McGuire narrates this song and I did not like it as much as the original narrator (Sorry Seanan). I think this also may have impacted my choice to knock a star. HER NARRATION IS STILL GREAT. Just not the perfection that was book one. 

Overall, I adore this series. Down Among the Sticks and Bones wasn't my favourite, but it's good. It's got some really great themes and concept and incredible tone - and if these keys are gonna hit you then you'd probably like it more than book one.

Shay

Atmospheric, Creepy, Terrifying - I loved it. 

This was so messed up. The broken bond between the sisters, the world they went to, the rules and monsters and murder, the entire town?? It was creepy and spooky, a dark fairy tale perfectly executed. I absolutely loved every page. 

I'm starting to think Seanan McGuire is a master of atmospheric prose because this series is delightfully uncanny.


  

  

  Content Warnings for abandonment, blood, bullying, cannibalism? (kinda,) child death, confinement, regular death, eating disorder, emotional abuse, gaslighting, grief, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, murder, toxic relationship, and voilence.

Rachel Kanyid

I liked this WAY more than book one. I guess I just love the fairytale style format so much more than contemporary magical realism. Definitely a great addition to the series.

Kelsey Joëlle

This book was better than the first one. Jack is a goddess and I hope we see more of her.

"Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their w ay home and were packed off to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children ... 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"--Amazon.com.

Janice Hopper

Not every author appeals to every reader, alas. That seems to be the case with Seanan McGuire and me. I know she's got a HUGE posse of fans. I just don't think I can be one of them.

With this book, I may be falling into the error of criticizing the author because she didn't write the book about twin sisters that *I* wanted to read. That's not the author's fault, obviously. I bow to her fans and wish them well.

What I liked: the setting, mostly. It's a mysterious land accessed by a mysterious staircase which appears, and disappears after use. The land contains vampires, werewolves, mysterious creatures of the deep, and more or less ordinary people. It appears to be populated only by children who wander down the steps into the land. There's a giant red moon that lours over the land. 

Two twin sisters, Jacqueline and Jillian, are the ones who descend the staircase. They're not much loved at home, so they don't mind missing home as much. Jacqueline ("Jack") and Jillian ("Jill") have parents who are pushing them into tightly defined gender roles. Jack's the designated "girl". She's the pretty precious princess her mom wanted. "Jill" is her dad's son-surrogate: pushed into sports and other relatively masculine pursuits. Both tend to acquiesce to this manipulation, because it's hard to fight parental pressure. But once they go down the stairs, they're no longer bound by their previous roles. Each can do something different now. So far, okay. I guess.

What bugged me: "Jack" and "Jill". Seriously????? I can't tell you how much I HATED that the author used those names. 

At this point, I better put in spoiler tags.

(view spoiler)[
Sure, she switches things up. "Jack" goes from Pretty Precious Princess to pants-and-cravat wearing apprentice to a Mad Scientist. "Jill" goes from tomboy to essentially one of Dracula's The Master's (the vampire - shades of Buffy season one, jeezopete) girl toys, or his "daughter", as he wants to call her, complete with filmy, flowing nightgowns dresses and aspires to be nothing more than the Next Hot Vampire In The Castle. Each becomes the complete opposite of what she was back home.

Reader, I didn't buy it. It's too plot-convenient. The author is using a bludgeon to make her point here. This may be the part where I'm telling you that I really wanted to read a DIFFERENT book on this theme. If so, that's on me rather than the author. But this book before me? Didn't work for me.

Sure, the author made it heavy-handedly obvious that these girls had never had a choice before. Here, Jack chose first. Jill was left to make the best of The Master. And she throws herself into it with a vengeance.

I could never decide if the sisters really liked each other or not. A lot of times it seemed like they didn't, but the next moment they'd be running hand-in-hand through the fields in the other world. We're told that Jill walks the battlements of the castle and can see the villagers from there, but in 4 or 5 years only sees her sister ONCE, and only decided to contact her ONCE? Likewise, Jack knows where Jill is, but she never seeks her out. Until she absolutely has to rescue her at the end.

Also, the Master rejecting Jill after she brutally killed Jack's girlfriend? Didn't buy it. And the fact that the Mad Scientist had a magic jar of lightning that he could use to conjure a door back to Our World at the exact moment they needed it? Too plot-convenient.  (hide spoiler)]

Y'all, I just have Opinions. I get that McGuire wanted to make a statement about gender roles and love and having choices. I just think this was a particularly heavy-handed way to do it, and it didn't work for me. Her writing style doesn't work for me either. It's a little too florid in some places, a little too reader-look-at-this in others. I skimmed a fair amount so I wouldn't have to read it word by word, because annoying.

If you loved the book, more power to you! I always feel kinda bad about negatively reviewing something most folks love. But there it is. I didn't love it.

Emily C Peterson &
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

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Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire