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A review by rballenger
In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
3.0
Type of read: Commuter Read.
What made me pick it up: Continuing the Wayward Children series.
Overall rating: 'In an Absent Dream' was a good, quick read. As a prequel, there seem to be none of our favorite characters from previous books in the series; however, the story of Lundy gives another dimension to the Wayward Children and their adventures through different realms, worlds, and just trying to find their home. Additionally, the end of the book ties everything together in an absolutely perfect way. I have no huge complaints about the actual book itself. Some of the writing was a little 'eh' and there were a few points where I was like 'whhhhaaaa just happened' because it got a little far fetched (yes, even for a book about adventuring children who conquer the unknown in crazy worlds only accessed by doors that pop up only when they want to).
All that said, I did have a big struggle with 'In an Absent Dream.' I've read and performed Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market for high school speech competitions, and I could not get that poem and interpretation out of my mind when I read this book. Don't get me wrong, I love the original poem, I think it's absolutely beautifully tragic but the original poem portrays the Goblin Market as a magical place with extremely dark and dire consequences (potentially sexual assault, drug addiction, etc. depending on the interpretation you take) and I think that took away from a bit of the lightheartedness of 'In an Absent Dream' for me.
What made me pick it up: Continuing the Wayward Children series.
Overall rating: 'In an Absent Dream' was a good, quick read. As a prequel, there seem to be none of our favorite characters from previous books in the series; however, the story of Lundy gives another dimension to the Wayward Children and their adventures through different realms, worlds, and just trying to find their home. Additionally, the end of the book ties everything together in an absolutely perfect way. I have no huge complaints about the actual book itself. Some of the writing was a little 'eh' and there were a few points where I was like 'whhhhaaaa just happened' because it got a little far fetched (yes, even for a book about adventuring children who conquer the unknown in crazy worlds only accessed by doors that pop up only when they want to).
All that said, I did have a big struggle with 'In an Absent Dream.' I've read and performed Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market for high school speech competitions, and I could not get that poem and interpretation out of my mind when I read this book. Don't get me wrong, I love the original poem, I think it's absolutely beautifully tragic but the original poem portrays the Goblin Market as a magical place with extremely dark and dire consequences (potentially sexual assault, drug addiction, etc. depending on the interpretation you take) and I think that took away from a bit of the lightheartedness of 'In an Absent Dream' for me.