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A review by peggychecksitout
Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Since absolutely inhaling the Wayward Children series back in 2021, I’ve really come to look forward to this time of year when we we get the next installment in the series.
This latest addition follows Antsy, who runs away from a home that has become unsafe for her, when she stumbles across a Door that leads her to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go. It’s a strange nexus world, where anything lost finds its way to the Shop (So Many Socks), and where many mysterious Doors that lead to fantastic worlds come to rest. Antsy meets some new companions, who teach her how the Shop is run, and who explore the mysterious Door worlds with her. But as time goes on, it becomes apparent that maybe not everything at the Shop is as it should be…
I really loved this book. I loved the idea of the Shop, I thought the book raised some interesting questions surrounding the Doors and why/how they exist, I loved the couple of callbacks to previous books and characters, and above all, I loved Antsy. McGuire’s writing continues to be absolutely sublime, and the way she is able to balance the bitter and the sweet, the heartbreaking and the magical, and the poignant with the enchanting, really shows how phenomenal of a writer Seanan McGuire is.
I want to take a moment to touch on the events surrounding Antsy’s home life at the beginning of the book, in regards to her experiences with loss, grief, and a very specific and distressing childhood trauma. I want to stress how important it is to check the content warnings for this book, and to read the authors note at the beginning of the book. I think McGuire’s note, and really the way she wrote Antsy’s story throughout the entire book, handled an incredibly important but incredibly heavy topic with a lot of grace and compassion.
I’m so fond of the world/s that McGuire has crafted throughout the series. I wish these books were not novellas, but instead 400+ page books, because whenever I am reading one, I never want to leave the worlds, and I never want the book to end! But I will read this series for as long as Seanan wants to keep writing it.
This latest addition follows Antsy, who runs away from a home that has become unsafe for her, when she stumbles across a Door that leads her to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go. It’s a strange nexus world, where anything lost finds its way to the Shop (So Many Socks), and where many mysterious Doors that lead to fantastic worlds come to rest. Antsy meets some new companions, who teach her how the Shop is run, and who explore the mysterious Door worlds with her. But as time goes on, it becomes apparent that maybe not everything at the Shop is as it should be…
I really loved this book. I loved the idea of the Shop, I thought the book raised some interesting questions surrounding the Doors and why/how they exist, I loved the couple of callbacks to previous books and characters, and above all, I loved Antsy. McGuire’s writing continues to be absolutely sublime, and the way she is able to balance the bitter and the sweet, the heartbreaking and the magical, and the poignant with the enchanting, really shows how phenomenal of a writer Seanan McGuire is.
I want to take a moment to touch on the events surrounding Antsy’s home life at the beginning of the book, in regards to her experiences with loss, grief, and a very specific and distressing childhood trauma. I want to stress how important it is to check the content warnings for this book, and to read the authors note at the beginning of the book. I think McGuire’s note, and really the way she wrote Antsy’s story throughout the entire book, handled an incredibly important but incredibly heavy topic with a lot of grace and compassion.
I’m so fond of the world/s that McGuire has crafted throughout the series. I wish these books were not novellas, but instead 400+ page books, because whenever I am reading one, I never want to leave the worlds, and I never want the book to end! But I will read this series for as long as Seanan wants to keep writing it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Grief, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, and Pregnancy