Seanan McGuire

Antsy is safe at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward children -- at least until Seraphina, the school's resident Mean Girl, discovers that Antsy's gift for finding lost things might mean that she has the ability to find Doors. Kade, Cora, Christopher, and Sumi have been looking out for Antsy, expecting just such an issue to arise. They get her away from Seraphina for the moment, but when Antsy opens a door to get the whole group to safety, they end up in the last place that one of them wants to be...

Another solid ensemble/quest story, full of the delightful camaraderie that is the hallmark of this part of the series. It's always fun to see the characters interact, and now there are a few new additions to the pack. If you've enjoyed these books so far, keep going!… (mere)

Antsy wasn't safe in her own home -- in her own bedroom -- so she ran. Down the street and around the corner and through the door of a welcoming-looking thrift shop, where she thought she might be able to call her grandmother for help. Instead, she found herself in The Shop Where Lost Things Go, an impossible jumble of shelves full of objects, all lost by their owners. And among the shelves are Doors, all leading to other worlds. Antsy can open these Doors and go through, leaving them propped open so she can return to the Shop. An old woman and a talking magpie are the Shop's proprietors, and they make her welcome, teaching her the ways of this strange but comforting world and the markets that often appear through the Doors. However, all magic has a price -- and Antsy doesn't even know, yet, what she might be paying.

This is a heart-wrenching story of innocence and childhood lost, even more explicitly so than many of the other Wayward Children stories which focus on trauma and loss. It's also lovely and comforting in many ways. It's one of the relatively stand-alone volumes of the series, in that it explores Antsy's life before she reaches the safety of Miss West's, but I don't know that I would suggest it as an entry point to the series. Highly recommended to fans, though!… (mere)

Cora knows that there's another school beside Miss West's, one where the students who don't want to find their doors again go. After her recent adventures, she feels she can't return to the Trenches without bringing danger trailing behind her, so she asks for a transfer to Whitethorn Institute, and Miss West reluctantly allows it. At Whitethorn, the rules are strict and privacy is nonexistent, and nobody finds their doors. Is this really what Cora wants? And if it isn't, how can she get out?

This series just gets better and better. This is one of the books that relies on knowledge of what happened in previous books, particularly Come Tumbling Down, but it introduces a new setting and many new characters, and promises stories yet to come.… (mere)

Regan is 10, fleeing from school after a conflict with her ex-best-friend, when she stumbles through a door to a magical world. The Hooflands are populated with unicorns, centaurs, fauns, kelpies, and all manner of equine-like beings. Regan's love for horses ("What are horses?" inquires one of her centaur friends) helps her to accept her new circumstances, and the centaur herd that first finds her is kind and loving, adopting her as one of their own. There's just one problem: humans are only known to appear in the Hooflands when a big change is coming. Everyone seems to think it's Regan's destiny to be a hero . . . everyone except Regan, who doesn't believe in destiny.

This may be my favorite of the series so far, right up there with In an Absent Dream. I suspect I just want every permutation of portal fantasy that McGuire can cook up, though I do love the stories based at the school, too. At any rate, this is a true stand-alone, so if you are just intrigued by the Hooflands, read without fear of missing any key details. My only criticism of this book is that the ending was pretty abrupt, and I want to hear more about what happened after.… (mere)