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A review by librarymouse
Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I believe Lost in the Moment and Found has the longest section of the book spent in our world, out of all the even numbered books in the series so far, with maybe the exception of In an Absent Dream. Regardless of reality, it feels like the longest continuous amount of time, very probably because of the well-formed sense of dread Antsy feels, being passed along to the reader. The death of Antsy's father, and the tying of her anxieties to the specific detail that is the Target toy aisle, points out in stark detail just how regular of a little girl she is. Antsy is a very real-feeling child who is dragged into an entirely different world while trying to escape the looming threat of sexual abuse from her step father.
This novel is the first time readers get to see a world within which the adults who feel as if they are supposed to be safe harbor for the traveling children actively take advantage of them. We catch glimpses of stories like Antsy's and worse with the false headmaster's story of his world and the revelation that Rowena's door only stole time from her with nothing in return, in Where the Drowned Girls Go. In Lost in the Moment and Found, the rules for visitors to be able to give informed consent to go galivanting through doors that appear in Shop Where Lost Things Go are actively and intentionally disregarded by Vineta and Hudson for the sake of their own greed. Antsy trades away her childhood, unbeknownst to herself. The days Vineta has Antsy open over a dozen doors, early on in the book are horrifying in retrospect.
By the end of the novel, though she should only be nine years old, Antsy is astoundingly responsible and mature in her actions. When she proves to herself that she cannot go home and that her family is safe, Antsy makes the decision not to try to force herself back into a role that no longer fits her as she has been made. She is kind to her mother, though I and so many other children her age would have screamed and cried, and begged their mother to recognize them. Instead, she is kind, and she finds herself a new home.
This novel is remarkably heavy for all that it is balanced out by lightness. It is a cohesive part of the series, but it also feels like something more. The other characters' worlds were unique in their own right, but Antsy's has a gravity to it beyond.
I greatly appreciated the content warning in the author's note, though that, paired with the dedication were enough to make me cry.
The dedication reads:
"For the child I was. I will spend my entire life trying to make up for the fact that when I was you, I didn't run soon enough. I'm sorry."
The author's note reads:
"While all the Wayward Children books have dealt with heavy themes and childhood traumas, this one addresses an all-too-familiar monster: the one that lives in your own home. Themes of grooming and adult gaslighting are present in the early text. As a survivor of something very similar, I would not want to be surprised by these elements where I didn't expect them.
I just want to offer you this reassurance: Antsy runs. Before anything can actually happen, Antsy runs."
This novel is the first time readers get to see a world within which the adults who feel as if they are supposed to be safe harbor for the traveling children actively take advantage of them. We catch glimpses of stories like Antsy's and worse with the false headmaster's story of his world and the revelation that Rowena's door only stole time from her with nothing in return, in Where the Drowned Girls Go. In Lost in the Moment and Found, the rules for visitors to be able to give informed consent to go galivanting through doors that appear in Shop Where Lost Things Go are actively and intentionally disregarded by Vineta and Hudson for the sake of their own greed. Antsy trades away her childhood, unbeknownst to herself. The days Vineta has Antsy open over a dozen doors, early on in the book are horrifying in retrospect.
By the end of the novel, though she should only be nine years old, Antsy is astoundingly responsible and mature in her actions. When she proves to herself that she cannot go home and that her family is safe, Antsy makes the decision not to try to force herself back into a role that no longer fits her as she has been made. She is kind to her mother, though I and so many other children her age would have screamed and cried, and begged their mother to recognize them. Instead, she is kind, and she finds herself a new home.
This novel is remarkably heavy for all that it is balanced out by lightness. It is a cohesive part of the series, but it also feels like something more. The other characters' worlds were unique in their own right, but Antsy's has a gravity to it beyond.
I greatly appreciated the content warning in the author's note, though that, paired with the dedication were enough to make me cry.
The dedication reads:
"For the child I was. I will spend my entire life trying to make up for the fact that when I was you, I didn't run soon enough. I'm sorry."
The author's note reads:
"While all the Wayward Children books have dealt with heavy themes and childhood traumas, this one addresses an all-too-familiar monster: the one that lives in your own home. Themes of grooming and adult gaslighting are present in the early text. As a survivor of something very similar, I would not want to be surprised by these elements where I didn't expect them.
I just want to offer you this reassurance: Antsy runs. Before anything can actually happen, Antsy runs."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Grief
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death