So if you plan to read both, I’d stick with publication order. Down Among the Sticks and Bones is designed to be read with knowledge of the ending, and Every Heart a Doorway is not. Down Among the Sticks and Bones and Every Heart a Doorway mutually spoil-the prequel plot is sketched almost entirely in the series-opener, but the ending of the prequel foreshadows the series-opener so thoroughly that I actually find it to be more of a spoiler to read them in in-story chronological order instead of publication order. So, after only a little bit of reading order confusion, I dived in and found a gem.īut before I dive into the review, I would like to take a moment to discuss reading order, for anyone who has not yet started this series. Seanan McGuire’s Come Tumbling Down -the fifth Wayward Children novella and a direct sequel to the series-opening Every Heart a Doorway ( reviewed here) -was nominated, but I was advised by some bookish friends to ensure that I also read Down Among the Sticks and Bones, which serves as a prequel to both, before proceeding to the finalist novella. 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.Part of working through this year’s Hugo Award finalists meant catching up on some backstory. They were five when they learned that grown-ups can't be trusted. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got. Jillian was her father's perfect daughter-adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it's because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline. Jacqueline was her mother's perfect daughter-polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. This is the story of what happened first. 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. New York Times bestselling author 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

Among the sticks and bones