In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children #4) by Seanan McGuire
Synopsis
"This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.
When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well."
My Thoughts
This was such a fascinating installment of the Wayward Children series! It didn't feel like as much happened in this one as it has in the others, but I still really loved learning about what happened to Lundy. The Goblin Market is unique in that it willingly lets it's travelers go back and forth in a way that other doors to other worlds don't really, which leads Lundy on a long adventure to figure out where she belonged.
I loved the mechanic of this world, where literally the world keeps track of things and knows what's actually fair to keep everyone on the up and up. And the discussion of what is fair isn't always the same from one person to the next was fantastic. This book really has one of the best descriptions of equity I've heard in a while. This book was also a little heartbreaking knowing the events from the first book.
“She was ordinary. She was remarkable. Of such commonplace contradictions are weapons made.”
― Seanan McGuire, In an Absent Dream
I would definitely recommend reading the first book in this series before taking this one on, so at least you know the characters, but you also don't have to. That's kind of the beauty of this series, every book is its own, contained story. Definitely recommend!
Genre: fantasy, ya
Representation: N/A
Content Warnings: loss of a loved one, death, abandonment
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