Review Summary:

I could be wrong, but I get the strong sense that the author listened to some common critiques, and took a lot of measures to remediate those flaws in this installment. I’ll admit, I had my reservations because of how short the book was — not even 150 pages! — and was sure that Seanan McGuire would fall into the familiar pitfalls of lackluster climaxes.

I am glad to say I was wrong. I believe this book has some of the strongest plot structure and pacing since Down Among the Sticks and Bones. It completely revitalized my (eternal) love for the Wayward Children series, and I can’t wait to read Mislaid In Parts Half-known.

Lost in the Moment and Found revisits one of my favorite parts of Seanan McGuire’s writing. She has the uncanny ability to drop some of the most mind-blowing world-building in small, throwaway lines. We had only a few, scant pages of Elodina and Eider, experienced mostly through their journal entries, but we learned an incredible amount of information about their worlds. It’s not exposition, either — it’s the way they speak, the things they care about, the things they think to notice. The fact Seanan McGuire gave me a huge cosmic glimpse at a Library world with a circulation-themed religion is just… wow <3

I also gotta say, I appreciate the content warning at the beginning of the book. I didn’t expect it, given that the series is not shy in the least about dark topics, but it’s appreciated nonetheless.

Exhaustive Review (spoilers):

World/System/Premise
The setting/location/time, the magic system(s), story premise, etc
Examples: “London, 1881”, “magic utilizing tarot cards”, “a world ruled by necromancers”

Was it engaging / interesting?

Rating: 5 - The world/system/premise was fascinating and engaging the entire time with very few exceptions, if any.

I know the books are standalone, but one really does benefit the most from reading the whole series in order. Lost in the Moment makes several references to worlds we’ve already visited, and thickens the plot of what the Doors mean.

I was petty and almost took a star off because 50% through I felt like my favorite aspect of the Doors — that they suck in and spit out hero children — was defanged into some pseudo ~life works in mysterious ways~ bullshit. However, I was wrong. The book cements that while the doors may put wayward children where they need to be, that doesn’t stop the denizens of those worlds from exploiting children — even to death. As Vineta says, “Promises aren’t binding unless we agree to them.”

How fleshed-out was the worldbuilding?

Rating: 5 - The world/system/premise was strongly fleshed out, with a lot of thought put into how it works. Unanswered questions can typically be answered in text, or excused by an ongoing mystery/information not yet revealed.

I hope we revisit the categorization map from Every Heart A Doorway soon. I like the slowly building knowledge of the Doors and the worlds who understand them.

Writing Style / Prose
Sentence structure, vocabulary, style of prose, and overall accuracy and readability of the writing itself.

Spelling / grammar / formatting errors

Rating: 4 - One or two small slip-ups

There was a capitalization error on page 101. A few words that should have been plural were instead singular.

Vocabulary and Sentence Structure

Rating: 4 - Mostly mature and readable. A little too verbose / simplistic at times. Sentence structures are mostly easy to follow.

I want to eat Seanan McGuire’s prose with a fork and knife, chewing dutifully 20 times before swallowing. However, sometimes her sentences are a little clunky.

Internal / External Dialogue

Rating: 4 - Characters mostly talk like real people. You can tell who's talking and when. There was a reasonable amount of internal / external dialogue.

Characters in the WC series have a habit of suddenly becoming a vessel for exposition or preaching. It’s jarring, because people don’t really just talk like that, but it’s not book-ruining.

The internal dialogue and train-of-thought of our POV character was strong in Lost in the Moment. The beginning was a bit of a slog, but important for Antsy’s character. For only 150 pages, I got over it.

Emotional Impact

Rating: 5 - The prose consistently elicits strong emotions with appropriate impact.

Elodina’s diary was exquisitely beautiful.

Plot Flow
Pacing, plotline, scene structure, act structure, approach to climax, etc.

Pacing

Rating: 4 - Slow beginning / middle or too much action that does not affect enjoyment.

I’m not a fan of adults trying to write how six year olds think. Especially Antsy, who was maybe the youngest POV character yet in the series. The beginning was hard for me to get through, but it was fine.

Scene Structure

Rating: 5 - There is a clear path between scenes; if it’s unclear due to the complexity of the story, it can be cleared up upon a satisfying re-read.

Plot vs. Character Interaction

Rating: 5 - There is a balance between the characters affecting the plot and the plot affecting the characters. Every advancement to the plot is understandable and explained by character interaction.

God — the ways the adults around Antsy exploited her, even in minor ways that were hard to notice until it was too late, was so well done. The way they were so quick to put her to work, the parallel between the merchant protecting Antsy and protecting her from getting ripped off to Antsy finding out how much Vineta and Hudson were exploiting her childhood… this was a great example of a compelling interpersonal plot that isn’t about moving mountains. Even Antsy’s failure to stop the exploitation was thematic at its core.

Approach to Climax

Rating: 5 - Easy to identify rising action and climax. The plot drums up anticipation for the resolution.

The little mysteries of what, exactly, Antsy was forgetting, were so satisfying once the pre-climax began.

However, one improvement I would have done to the plot would be to include any sort of moth foreshadowing whatsoever. That would have had a strong payoff when it came time to introduce Elodina.

The Ending
The conclusion of the story, including climax, post-climax, and epilogue.

Satisfaction

Rating: 5 - Extremely satisfying; elicits strong emotions.

I’m gonna lay down and stare at the ceiling for a while.

Loose Ends

Rating: 5 - Ties up all loose ends. Unresolved conflicts are purposeful to generate excitement for the next installment.

I wouldn’t say that Antsy failing to stop the exploitation was a loose end. It was thematic to the ongoing abuse of children in the door worlds.

Characterization

The handling of characters, their personalities, motivations, and relationships to each other

Personality, Goals, and Motivations

Rating: 5 - The characters’ goals, motivations, and personal feelings are clear. Readers get a strong image of who each character is.

Oh I got a strong image of what kind of character(s) Hudson and Vineta were, alright. Antsy’s motivations could have been stronger, but honestly, she was a traumatized grieving 7 year old. She wasn’t even really a whole person yet. Since that was part of the tragedy, I didn’t take any points off for it.

Relationships

Rating: 4 - The relationships between the characters are a strong point but are sometimes fumbled / not utilized to full potential.

I feel like Antsy missing her mom and, perhaps, worrying about her baby sister who was left behind to be (presumably) raised by a pedophile could have been utilized by the book more. But, again, she was a 7 year old who’d basically been dissociating since she was 5, and then shaken like a piggy bank the other 2 (8?) years. I’m not holding that against her.

~Vibes~
The atmosphere of the book, that je ne sais quoi.

Connection To Readers

Rating: 4 - Resonant at many parts with readers.

I’m being unfair, I suppose, but I can’t pick a 5 for a WC unless it captures the magic of the first or second books for me. Lost in the Moment was strong, though, especially for readers who lost their childhood to something or other.

Originality

Rating: 5 - Feels very unique, in a way that’s rarely, if ever, done.

The Itch

Rating: 4 - Only somewhat scratches an “Itch”, but is overall satisfying.

I keep craving the magic of Every Heart a Doorway, and I am always looking for it, like a squirrel looking for nuts.

Score: 4.59

There’s No Accounting For Taste!
The bonus round where I arbitrarily add or take away points based on my own personal preferences ;3

Pros:
Strong focus on platonic (non-romantic, non familial) relationships — +1

I liked the connection Antsy formed across time with Elodina and Eider.

Sorting fiction (sorry-not-story, I want to know what Warrior Cat clan I’d be in) — +1

It’s not sorting fiction, per se, but I do like to imagine what kind of world would have sucked me in when I was 11.

Cons:
Unrepresented Representation — -2

Seanan McGuire doesn’t have a lot of characters of colors in her Wayward Children series, and there’s yet to be a main character of color. Vineta was not a main character, but it was nice to have a South Asian woman … until it was revealed that she was callously siphoning children’s youth, and there was an illustration where her hair picks were replaced by literal sticks with leaves. Sad to say, however, that this is actually the most normal character of color. Other COC seem to want to remind the reader once per page of all the demographics they represent.

2 for, 2 against. No change in rating :)

Content Warnings

mrossow's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Content Warnings

aaaugello's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

bear_ridge_tarot's review

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Reading this one brought the dark joy back to the series for me. While each of the Wayward Children go to the worlds that feel like Home to them, this one is twisted in just the right way that it was almost wrong. This world is a glorious mix of whimsy and shadow that lives in the hearts of every person, and Seanan McGuire does not shy away from shining a light on those darker subjects.

Read the trigger warnings and proceed with caution. This is a dark cozy novella and dives deeper into the darker parts of the human soul than any of the other books in this series. As always, Seanan's writing is beauty.

Content Warnings

elke_go_read's review

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Book 8 in the Wayward Children series (read them in order for the best experience!) brings a new twist to an already fantastic (literally) portal fantasy series. Antsy’s adventure and the revelations of the Shop Where the Lost Things Go is one of the best installments to date. I can hardly wait to see what is next.

Content Warnings

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