Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children #2) Seanan McGuire
Synopsis
"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."
My Thoughts
The second book in the Wayward Children series shows Jack and Jill's backstory. Theirs and their parents' that is. The twins don't even find their door until their second half of the book which felt like it added to the wonderful balance of this book.
I found this book so intriguing with the juxtaposition of the two worlds. Which is really more monstrous? Because I know the one I had a visceral reaction to was not the one with death and vampires...
These kids need therapy. Badly. But I definitely recommend this one. You don't necessarily have to have read the first book in the series to know what's going on. But it is a really intriguing insight into important characters you meet in the first book, Every Heart a Doorway.
Genre: lgbtqia+, fantasy
Representation: lesbian
Content Warnings: gore, character death, murder