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 … 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.
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So this is the story about Jacqueline and Jillian and the world where they crossed to, through a door or portal, it’s a really quick and entertaining read.
On one hand, I did think this book was a lot better written in terms of structure and how well integrated the theme was compared to the previous and subsequent books in the series (at the time I’m writing this, there are three books in the series and an announcement of a fourth- I have read all that are currently available). It’s styled as a fable or parable, which is perhaps the best genre for McGuire’s tendency to assert strong morals or political points.
My main complaint is that this book follows a fanfiction sort of aesthetic (and I know the author has been involved in fanfiction- she has a blog on Tumblr and has mentioned it) where it is assumed that readers are happy to read entire stories just for a few more little details about the characters. The entire story in this book is contained within the previous book of the series as backstory. Maybe if you read this one first, then the backstory of Every Heart A Doorway would be just a refresher on the plot, but then I think having read this book would make some of the clues and read herrings of the murder mystery of Every Heart A Doorway too obvious. If you have read Every Heart A Doorway and want to read basically a fanfic by the actual author, then I suppose you’ll like this. If you hope for mostly new information in subsequent books of a series, then you might find this to be a waste of your time.
I’m sure some readers will find this to be too preachy. As I mentioned before, the author is on Tumblr, where teenagers and young adults have a weird relationship with literary criticism and political purity such that they’re crying out for what basically amounts to progressive morality tales. There’s an audience for this sort of thing that the author clearly knows about. For those of us who prefer themes to be subtle and/or nuanced (or nonexistant?) the morals will come off as heavy handed. If you’re a Tumblr person, well, you’ll probably like it I guess.
Interesting cautionary tale. I liked it a lot more than the first book. You really get to dig into the lives of Jack and Jill. Definitely recommend it. I would maybe read it first before Every Heart a Doorway to be able to appreciate the first book more.
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“Every choice feeds every choice that comes after, whether we want those choices or no.”
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I do NOT know how Seanan McGuire does it – she writes numerous series (as well as individual stand-alone books), each with numerous books/novellas/short stories (that come out with extraordinary frequency), under her own name AND a pseudonym, and each of them feels like it was written by someone different… On top of that, each of them is uniquely strong in its distinct category. She must never sleep!
This series intrigued me SO much: I loved the concept and couldn’t wait to read the first book (Every Heart a Doorway). I was a little disappointed – it felt like there were a lot of loose ends and half-explanations, which is somewhat unusual for the start of a series, particularly by a talented series writer. Then I read this second installment. So much is starting to come together already, and this is only book two. I sort of wish I’d read this one first; I have requested the EHaD from my local library so I can reread it, but from what I remember, this one might have been a better start to the series in a logical sense, even if EHaD was an infinitely better choice in a “pull you in by setting out the premise” one… Regardless, reading both together fleshes things out a lot and really pulled me into the series such that I cannot wait for the next book to come out, because there are so many directions that she can go and also because now I know that I should trust her choices because the stories will, eventually, come full circle.
The story of Jack and Jill – AND that of Jacqueline and Jillian – is dark, twisty, tragic, and full of dark, don’t-look-back magic that flows over and through the pages like the mist over the book’s Moors… These are Grimm-type childhoods; you should expect no less from McGuire. Knowing that doesn’t in any way lessen the shock of reading the tales though; rather, it allows you to savor the darkness, rolling it on your tongue like summer wine. This series is full of decadence and consequences, and both are often completely – and disconcertingly – disproportional. The reading, however, is always a thoroughly proportional delight.
You gotta love a good prequel! And this is a good one! It was so smart to concentrate on these two characters, they were a large part of what I loved from Every Heart A Doorway. I am completely satisfied with this story arc, I wanted to know what turned Jack and Jill into what they are. It was brilliant to include the bits about their parents, how Jack and Jill were raised. Rebelling against the stereotypes they were forced into, warping their personalities so they accepted the world they entered into with little fuss. For such a slim novel there was a lot to digest. I think you could read this book first, if chronology matters a lot to you, I may read #1 again with this better understanding of the twins, but I think Every Heart A Doorway sets the reader up to want more of a taste of the backstories of the characters. I am fervently hoping to hear that McGuire is going to follow up with more prequels, one for every child, one for every adult in the Wayward Children universe!