Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire | Book Review

Today Jen recommends DOWN AMONG THE STICKS AND BONES by Seanan McGuire. 

DOWN AMONG THE STICKS AND BONES by Seanan McGuire

"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."

Amazon | Goodreads 

Jen's Review

I didn't write a review the first time I read Down Among the Sticks and Bones, and I'm having the same struggle after rereading it. It's hard to put into words the things that Seanan McGuire is able to capture in the Wayward Children series.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones tells the story of Jacqueline and Jillian, twins who eventually find their doorway to the Moors after being born from horrible, self-serving parents and raised by their grandmother. We first meet Jack and Jill in Every Heart a Doorway (book #1 of the series), and Down Among the Sticks and Bones is their backstory.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones is a dark story in the dark world of the Moors, but the true beauty of Down Among the Sticks and Bones is the portrayal of gender roles. It's so heartbreakingly relatable. If you aren't reading this series, I really can't recommend it enough.

---

Thank you for joining us today! Please share your thoughts about DOWN AMONG THE STICKS AND BONES as well as any recent reads in the comments below.

We are currently accepting horror fiction and horror adjacent fiction written by diverse authors in print and epub format ONLY. If this is you, please visit our review submission page here.

---

Jen is one of our Horror Spotlight admins. Jen manages the technical side of the Horror Spotlight website. She also keeps a spotlight on new horror releases, middle grade horror, and young adult horror each month.

You can also find Jen on her blog Book Den, Twitter as @bookden, Instagram as @bookdenjen, on Goodreads, and Letterboxd.