Down Among the Sticks and Bones

by Seanan McGuire

Other authorsLee Harris (Editor), Rovina Cai (Illustrator)
Hardcover, 2017-06

Status

Available

Call number

PS3607.R36395 D69

Publication

Tor.com (New York, 2017). 1st edition, 1st printing. 190 pages. $17.99.

Description

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 ... Jacqueline was her mother's perfect daughter--polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it's because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline. Jillian was her father's perfect daughter--adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got. They were five when they learned that grown-ups can't be trusted. 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.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member readinggeek451
A prequel to Every Heart a Doorway, giving Jack and Jill's backstory. For someone who has read the first book, there are not a lot of surprises here; the pleasure is in the details of their lives before and after finding their way to the Moors. In some ways, their parents were bigger monsters than
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the vampire and mad scientist they were apprenticed to on the other side of the portal.

This can be enjoyed on its own terms, without having read the other book, but Every Heart a Doorway will read quite differently to someone who starts with this one.

Effective and affecting. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member Beammey
I really enjoyed this book! It's a solid edition to the series. And second in the series are usually hard to live up to. Learning Jack and Jill's backstory was great and I was so excited to read it. The pacing is good, the characters are good. My only complaint would be the use of the word
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'bracken' a lot, but hey, if that's all, it must be a great book, right?! I would recommend it and this series. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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LibraryThing member MickyFine
Jacqueline and Jillian Wolcott are identical twins whose parents have always wanted them to be the perfect children they imagined themselves having. But one day when they're twelve, the girls go up into the attic to play and discover that instead of the dress up clothes that have always been in the
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large trunk there is instead a set of stairs that go down for what seems ages. When the twins go down the stairs they enter a world that is far darker than anything they had ever imagined.

Labelled as a stand alone novel set in the world McGuire established in [Every Heart a Doorway], this is in many ways a prequel to that first novel. McGuire explores how Jacqueline and Jillian become Jack and Jill and once again takes a very dark twist on fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and those large cultural narratives that have permeated the general consciousness. The novel does include some rather dark and gruesome details although nothing beyond what one might find in a Grimm tale or something from Edgar Allan Poe. Recommended for those who like a dark twist on childhood tales.
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
An interesting contrast to Every Heart a Doorway - this one is rather more...abstract? Distant? This is partly because there's quite a long section at the beginning that explains the background, how Jacqueline and Jillian were molded by their parents and how that early shaping led to later events.
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But even the later parts, where we see their actions close up (close omniscient, I think - in everyone's head), they seem a little abstract. More like fairy tale characters than real people. Now I want to reread Every Heart, and see how they were written there - see if my new knowledge of them changes the meaning of what they do and say in the earlier book. By the end of Every Heart we knew _what_ had happened to them - the vampire lord and the mad scientist - but now we know a lot more.
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LibraryThing member fred_mouse
Dark fantasy novella that takes the twin sisters from the previous book in this world, and explores how it is that they came to be the people that we saw in the first book. A subtlety developed portrait of a dysfunctional family turns into a dark portal fantasy where each of the twins comes to
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serve a different master.
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LibraryThing member ladycato
I adored Every Heart a Doorway. I related strongly to it, and judge it to be one of the best novellas I have ever read. It's fair to say that straight up, because it would have been hard for Down Among the Sticks and Bones to live up to its predecessor. And it doesn't.

It's a good story, going deep
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into what happened to twin sisters Jack and Jill when they found their portal and entered the realm of the vampire called the Master. McGuire's writing, as always, is evocative, and the voice of the piece sets the mood so well. These are sisters raised in abusive circumstances, cultivated as props for their well-to-do parents, and when they enter this other-realm, they immediately rebel against the tight gender constraints they were raised under. But once they find their new roles, I found myself less engaged as the story falls into a good twin-bad twin dynamic and there's a major death that is easy to predict and a major trope.
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LibraryThing member bookczuk
This is the prequel to Hugo winning Every Heart a Doorway which I have still to read. But I was able to get my hands on this easily and was assured that it can stand alone, too went ahead. Wow. Seanan McGuire (by whichever pen name she chooses) sure can write. This had moments where I almost
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thought I was reading Neil Gaiman instead, which is a huge "good thing" in my mind since he is one of my FP(aa)OE*, and hopefully no author minds being likened to him. This is a short tale, but well drawn, with fantasy, creepiness, and hope all twined together.

*Favorite People(and authors) On Earth

From the publisher:
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.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got.

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.

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.
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LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
This book is amazing, but you read the first book, Every Heart a Doorway first. While this is a standalone book, I think that this book will give away some of the spontaneity of the first book.

So, onto the review. I didn't know Every Heart a Doorway had a sequel, so when I saw this in the library,
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I immediately checked it out. And its an amazing story, in some ways better than the first, but definitely different. This is the story of Jack and Jill, characters from the first book, and their time in a nightmare world (werewolves, vampires, mad scientists, etc).

The characters were well developed, and felt like real kids - kids pigeon-holed into stereotypes of girlie girl, and tomboy, to the point that they aren't allowed to be anything else. So, in a fit of bored silliness brings them to their grandma's old room, they find a stairway, one that leads them to a world where a choice has to be made - and they have to make it mostly uninformed. Jack, being raised as a girlie girl who spends a lot of time listening and sitting still, understand the situation better her sister, Jill, and makes a choice for both of them, leaving Jill behind. Both girls are in a world that on the outside, seems unsuited for them, but being part of the other side of the stereotype, they both thrive, or so it seems.

This is a coming of age story, of expectation vs individuality. And it gets teenage girls - its not often a book manages to make two very believable teenagers, but manages to keep sterotypes.

The world itself is also interesting. It doesn't cover anything new and it will be familiar to most people. Where the book shines is the characters in that world - they are fully realized, even secondary characters like Alexis, Jack's Girlfriend. And outside of disappointed parents over grandchildren, this lesbian romance was done as part of the story. Not to make a statement, it was done naturally, and in the way of two teenagers in love.

I highly recommend this story - but please, read the first book first!
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LibraryThing member andreablythe
“There are worlds built on rainbows and worlds built on rain. There are worlds of pure mathematics, where every number chimes like crystal as it rolls into reality. There are worlds of light and worlds of darkness, worlds of rhyme and worlds of reason, and worlds where the only thing that matters
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is the goodness in a hero's heart.”

Jacqueline and Jillian are twins born to parents who never really understood or wanted children, parents who believe children are objects to be shaped to their desires. But the world is full of doors to other worlds and Jacqueline and Jillian find their way to a place of darkness and death, where they suddenly have the ability to choose.

Seanan McGuire seems to be getting better and better with every book she writes. The writing in this book is beautiful, often taking on the "fairy tale" tone of an outside narrator as a separate character relating the story.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones is a standalone story in the Wayward Children series, and as such, you can read the books in the series in any order. Although if you really want to know what happens to Jack and Jill, then I recommend reading Every Heart a Doorway, which chronologically comes after this one (even though its the first in the series).

In general, I'm hoping there are many, many more books in this series, because I'm loving it.
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LibraryThing member jmchshannon
Knowing that Down Among the Sticks and Bones was a prequel, I took a chance on reading it even though I have not read the first book in the Wayward Children series. This is one chance that paid off big-time. Seanan McGuire writes amazing stories, no matter what name she uses for publication, and
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Down Among the Sticks and Bones is no different.

Everything about the story grabbed me from the first page. From the matter-of-fact manner in which she presents Jacqueline and Jillian’s parents to the crisp dialogue and clear descriptions, the novel creeps into your imagination and takes over. The atmosphere is outstanding. Bordering on horror, it is deliciously sinister but with an undercurrent of hope that prevents it from diving into the macabre.

One of the best parts of the novella is the fact that it reads like a fable, complete with life lessons about relationships and warnings about paths not taken. It documents in real time how each decision has a lasting impact on the future. It informs about the two possible outcomes and lets you watch it all unfold. It is a cautionary tale without being preachy. More important than that, it shows you what could have been to help you understand what is.

There is no doubt that it is establishing certain characters’ traits for the next book. Again, I read this out of sequence, so I finished the story anxious to find out what comes next and just what lessons the girls learned in their time Down Among the Sticks and Bones. Making this anxiety even worse is the fact that it ends on a cliffhanger. The character development is outstanding, especially because it is a shorter story, so you care quite a bit about Jack and Jill and their prospective fates. That there is still so much of their story left to tell is enticing; I cannot wait to immerse myself into their world again. There is a Neil Gaiman vibe to the novella that has me wanting more, much more.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
Jacqueline and Jillian—never Jack and Jill—are raised by parents who see them as accessories, not people, and when they find a set of stairs where no stairs should be, they end up in a fairy-tale land of vampires and mad scientists. McGuire’s trademark repetition works for the fairy-tale
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morals and settings, and we learn more about the world from which Jack and Jill (met in a previous book) came, though I’d like to see more of them reentering mundane reality.
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LibraryThing member adamwolf
This is the story of Jack and Jill from the Wayward Children series. I liked this, but I do not think it would be very good if read on its own.

I loved Dr. Bleak.
LibraryThing member krau0098
This is the second book in the Wayward Children series and I enjoyed it quite a bit. This is a fairly short and quick read (~180 pages) and packs a lot of the story into that space. I actually liked this book a lot more than the first Wayward Children book; I just felt like I connected with the
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characters better and was drawn into the story faster.

This is a retelling of Jill and Jack and I enjoyed it a lot. The mysterious Doors feature in the story as well. Aside from the vampiric fairy tale themes in here, there is a also a theme of finding one’s identity and some LGBT themes as well.

My only complaint about this book is a small one, the ending felt really rushed and the story stopped abruptly without much resolution. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Overall this was an excellent addition to the Wayward Children series. I was sceptical that a whole book could be done as a Jack and Jill retelling; but this was beautifully done. I would recommend to those who enjoy dark fairy tale retellings. This was beautiful written and incredibly engaging. I definitely plan on continuing the Wayward Children series.
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LibraryThing member titania86
Twin sisters Jacqueline and Jillian have parents who never expected the messy reality of having children. They only wanted to compete with their friends. The facade of perfection and fulfilling social expectations are their only motivations. Their mother has no idea how to care for them and calls
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in their Grandma Louise, who stays as their caregiver for years. The two girls are stuck into two randomly chosen roles: her mother expected Jacqueline to wear frilly dresses, be the proper girl, sit quietly, and stay out of trouble and dirt. Her father, who wanted a boy, expected Jill to be a tomboy with an affinity for sports and less stereotypically girly things. Louise tries to tell the girls to be whoever they want to be, but they feel competition with each other and suffocated by their parents' expectations. One day at twelve years old, they play together in the attic and find a door to another world with more opportunity and more darkness than they ever imagined.

These twins were first seen in Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones tells the story of their lives before any doors and the world that Jill tried so hard to return to. The other world Jack and Jill travel to is called the Moors, which offers them a chance at a new life with a whole new set of problems. Jack (who was always Jacqueline) was jealous of her sister's freedom to be less feminine, get dirty, and run around. Jill was jealous of her sister's beautiful dresses, long hair, and refined nature. This jealousy keeps them from forming a true friendship and keeps them at odds. This new world gives them the chance to be who they truly want to be, but their relationship is no better. Jill chooses to stay with the Master, the cruel vampire ruler of the land, as his doll-like, pampered daughter. Jack chooses to become a mad scientist's apprentice, submitting herself to backbreaking work and science that would turn others' stomachs. Both girls' desire to go after their own interests whether it be stereotypically feminine or not is seen as completely valid. Especially in YA novels, there is a dismissive or outright hostile view towards feminine women and girls with an "I'm better than those other girls attitude." I'm so happy to see an author I especially respect giving validity to differing gender roles.

The latter part of the story focuses mostly on Jack, her coming of age, and her first love. She lives near a village of peasant people and loves every bit of her humble way of life. However, throughout everything, there's an undercurrent of threat. If someone offends her, they might suffer a painful, bloody fate at the hands of Jill or the Master. After one such incident, the people take care what they say around her and keep her at arms length. Everyone except for Alexis, who loves her deeply. They hide the extent of their relationship in public, but Alexis is the only person Jack can truly be herself with. Jill, on the other hand, aspires to become a vampire and be next in line to rule the Moors. Her heart withers until she becomes just as ruthless as the Master she is so obsessed with and views death as an amusement. Their journeys run parallel each other until they meet in a heartbreaking tragedy.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones isn't quite as good as Every Heart a Doorway, but it provides a context for the twins and their dynamic. It's a pretty short novella. Seanan McGuire imbues each page with such masterful writing and detail that it seems much longer. I am eager to read further stories in this series that allow us to get to know those memorable characters better.
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LibraryThing member Barbaralois
Good story a little weird but good
LibraryThing member DonnaMarieMerritt
This book starts slow and almost humorous (for an adult, not sure if a teen would think it's funny), but becomes increasingly darker. Maybe teens are so used to blood and vampires and evil in books that it won't bother them, but I'd still recommend it for more mature high schoolers. There's not a
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lot of action for readers who need page-turning thrillers. It's more introspective, seeming to comment on the human condition and the harm we can do to one another when raised to conform and raised without love. It's the second in a series and the way it ended makes me think there will be another.
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LibraryThing member lavaturtle
This fills in the backstory for two characters from Every Heart a Doorway, but it really stands on its own. A haunting fairytale featuring two girls who are more complicated than the world wants them to be.
LibraryThing member teknognome
I didn't enjoy it as much as Every Heart a Doorway. The writing style left me too removed from the characters and events, and knowing the endpoint didn't help.
LibraryThing member keristars
This is a story about what happens if you force a child into a specific gender role, not allowing for any variation from the performative platonic ideal, teach the child that love is only possible when conforming to those unrealistic and impossible standards, and then accidentally send the child to
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a magical realm where they have the opportunity to break out of the assigned role and reach for the things they felt they were missing.

It's a morality tale, basically, but also a fantasy story about identical twins and vampires and mad scientists. The first half explains the strictures forced on the girls, the second half shows what happens when they're given the option to change.

I found it a little slow reading at first because the narrative is told in a children's bedtime story tone, and while I often enjoy that style and I fully agreed with the lessons in the morality play, it was a little wearing. I may have just not been in the right mood for it. But in the second half, when Jack and Jill actually begin to choose and live for themselves, the pacing and interest picked up quite a bit, and I was disappointed to see the story end.

I really liked the queer rep and the weird Moors setting. This was the first book by Seanan McGuire that I have read, and I think I will try more of her stories.
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LibraryThing member BethYacoub
"SOME ADVENTURES BEGIN EASILY. It is not hard, after all, to be sucked up by a tornado or pushed through a particularly porous mirror; there is no skill involved in being swept away by a great wave or pulled down a rabbit hole. Some adventures require nothing more than a willing heart and the
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ability to trip over the cracks in the world."

This tale is not such an adventure...

This was one quick read that happened to be richly written, starring robust characters within world(s) that were expertly crafted!! It fits snuggly into Every Heart a Doorway... so neatly and effortlessly that I quite frankly was in a constant state of awe. This story is phenomenally molded and magically delicious."
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LibraryThing member SimplyKelina
DNF...I just can not get into the series and am finding myself getting into a slump trying to force something that is not happening for me
LibraryThing member jdifelice
I was really excited to read this book, I had heard so many great things, and a lot of people liked it more than Every Heart A Doorway. I found that I liked it just the same. It still had that slightly detached feel to it, I think because of the narration and writing style, but I liked it. It was
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interesting to see Jack and Jill's portal fantasy world. It was so twisted and yet it worked for them.

I liked seeing their home lives and the events leading up to their entrance into The Moors. I found the discussion of gender stereotyping well done, if not a little overdone. I felt like maybe if we had gotten into Jack and Jill's heads more it wouldn't have seemed this way. We may have gotten to see more of how they thought and how their parents' actions effected them.

Overall, I really enjoyed the world we got to see and getting to know the backstory of Jack and Jill, and really getting some clarification and an idea of what was going through Jill's head in Every Heart a Doorway
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LibraryThing member Strider66
Pros: brilliant characters, unique narrative style

Cons:

Chester and Serena Wolcott decided to have children after seeing the impeccably behaved offspring of his work peers and her social clubs. They were not prepared for the real thing. Which is why

Jacqueline and Jillian, their twin girls, are so
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rigidly forced into the roles their parents intended them to fill. So when the twelve year olds discover a strange doorway, they enter it, and find a strange world, one that finally allows them to be who they choose.

While this is the second Wayward Children novella, its events are a prequel to those of Every Heart a Doorway. I REALLy liked this story. The narrative style was unique, with the narrator occasionally addressing the reader during interludes of storytelling. I greatly enjoyed this and it gave a bit of distance from the text, which was helpful as the story went in dark directions. It doesn’t quite line up with the narrative of their history from Every Heart a Doorway, but most of the details carry through.

The world is really interesting, with just enough fleshing out to feel alive, but not enough to make you question how it all works in practice. I enjoyed the characters, who had a level of depth to them that was wonderful to read.

While it’s short it packs a punch. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member prettymucharock
Read it.

Every time I think Seanan can't write a character more perfectly aimed at me, she outdoes herself. If you liked the first one, or you like classic horror, or you know what it means to stumble into home long years after growing up with parents who don't see you, yes, read it.
LibraryThing member Stevil2001
Seanen McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway was one of those books that puts a clever spin on a genre, about a boarding school for children who had participated in portal fantasy stories and then returned to the real world and were having trouble adjusting. Down Among the Sticks and Bones is a prequel
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to Every Heart, about two of the characters and their adventures. As a result, I found it considerably less interesting-- Every Heart plays with the genre, but Down Among just is the genre, just is a portal fantasy. That's not necessarily bad, but it does mean the story has to do something else interesting instead, and I didn't really see that here. (Plus a lot of what happens we were already told in Every Heart.) I think portal fantasies work well as tantalizing backstories for the characters in the "Wayward Children" series, but I'm not sure I'm interested in actually seeing those backstories play out. I hope future installments of this series return to the school itself as a setting. The very self-conscious narrative voice McGuire uses eventually began to grate on me, as well. A bit too precious.
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Awards

Hugo Award (Nominee — Novella — 2018)
Locus Award (Finalist — Novella — 2018)
Alex Award (2018)
RUSA CODES Reading List (Winner — Fantasy — 2018)
ALA Rainbow Book List (Selection — 2018)
LibraryReads (Monthly Pick — June 2017)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2017-06-13

ISBN

9780765396105

Local notes

Signed (as purchased).
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