Book Review - Down among the sticks and bones by seanan mcguire

Bibliophiles of the internet, my name's Adriana and today I'm here to talk about "Down Among the Sticks and Bones" by Seanan McGuire. This book is set to be released on June 13th, and I just want to clarify that I was NOT sent this book for review by a publishing house or anyone else. My wonderful friend, Lourdes, from ChaptersWeLove was sent an ARC and then she passed it on to me. So really, it's thanks to her that I'm talking about this book today! "Down Among the Sticks and Bones" is a companion to "Every Heart A Doorway," which takes place in a sanatorium for children who've been transported to mystical, fairy tale worlds and then sent back. It's supposed to be a safe space where they can make peace with reality again. This story is very different in the sense that it doesn't focus on the Home for Wayward Children, doesn't take place there, but instead follows Jack and Jill as they discover their door into another world. It's about what happens to them BEFORE they're placed in Eleanor West's care. Jacqueline and Jillian were born to some very cruel, narrow-minded, privileged parents who never actually wanted kids, but instead liked the IDEA of kids. Well, at least they liked their very poor understanding of kids. What they really wanted was essentially a clone of themselves. Someone they could mold into something "ideal." Someone they could show off in high society or at the office. Their mother wanted a perfect pretty princess who she could preen and take to social functions while their father wanted a rough, down-and-dirty boy who was good at sports, but who would also have a mind for business. What they ended up with was Jacqueline and Jillian, twin daughters, and each parent just sort of chose one and made them into whatever they wanted. So that's how Jillian was forced into traditionally masculine roles and Jacqueline was forced to take on traditionally feminine roles—both of them to the extreme. Needless to say, neither child is free to do what they want. Their behavior and presentation is heavily policed and restricted, and they're deeply unhappy. One day, the two of them are playing together in the attic and they discover a staircase that was never there before. When they decide to descend together, they enter a dark, bitter world known as The Moors, which is riddled with death and impossible choices. For such a short book, there really is a lot here to unpack. First off, I really appreciate how this story explores gender roles and presentation, showing how these very strict roles and ideas are not only tiresome and cumbersome, but they can be debilitating. They can stifle a child's growth and their ability to express who they are and what they want. In the beginning, you definitely see Jack and Jill struggling beneath the weight of their parents' expectations, and being confused, more than anything else, about these unspoken rules dictating what one child can do and the other cannot. They don't understand why this is happening to them, and they've never been free to make their own decisions, which is why when they go to The Moors and they're faced with these choices about who they are and who they will become, they're desperate and they're ill-equipped to understand the consequences of those choices. But at the same time, once they have the chance to shed those previous roles, they're growth as people accelerates exponentially. For better or worse, they come into their own. Going into this, I was a bit afraid about how those gender roles would play out, and I was concerned that these portrayals of dramaticized masculine and feminine roles would just sit on the page and not be challenged, but that certainly wasn't the case. The narrator does a great job of challenging the perspective of the parents and pointing out that there are so many unique, valid ways to be a girl—to be a human— and all of them are beautiful and right. And I know moments like that are going to mean so much to so many readers. And the whole story is beautifully crafted. The writing is pitch perfect in capturing those dreamy, romantic, yet dark undertones painting The Moors. And there's a great balance of discovery and action throughout this book. In that way, reading this feels like an experience; it feels like a slowly-unfurling revelation. I'm just really impressed with how Seanan McGuire took these two characters who are most famous for going to fetch a pail of water, and imagined for them a completely new story with so much depth and so many layers. McGuire truly opens up a new world of possibilities. I also appreciate how this story acknowledges that wonderlands and fairy tale worlds are not just these breathtakingly beautiful places full of joy and laughter and whimsy and magic that will make all of your dreams and wishes come true. The Moors are so gloomy and bleak. They're dismal and melancholic, a place ruled by fear, darkness, and hatred, where everyone is just trying to survive no matter what the cost. And in that sense, this story shows how the worlds these children stumble into are not only tailored to their needs, but they embody the story these children were born into, the very stories for which they were built. Because Jack and Jill grew up in such an unhappy, unforgiving environment, because they're accustomed to adults who expect very rigid things from them, they were made to live in The Moors. It's a world they understand, a place they can survive. But more importantly, this setting and this story shows that growth and self discovery come at a price. Jack and Jill have to go through so many trials. Their journeys are rife with struggle and suffering. The road to freedom and self-acceptance—it isn't easy, it isn't pretty, it isn't always fun or palatable or elegant. Sometimes people have to claw their way to the surface and painfully, recklessly break down the barriers placed before them, and the choices they have to make along the way are damn near impossible to live with. In the genre of fairy tales, that's something I don't think we get to read about enough, and this story definitely sits in that place right between pain and redemption. Of course, one of the risks of having a book so short is that the ending might feel a little bit abrupt and might leave the audience wanting just a bit more from the characters, which is what I think happened in this case. I wanted more focus on Jack and Jill's relationship, because as twins they do share a unique bond, and I just wish there were more scenes in their childhood where they sought solace together or realized that they could lean on each other and ask each other for help. And then when they're living on The Moors for years and years, I would've liked to see them make an effort to at least visit each other. Because even though they're very different and they've made different choices, it still would've been beneficial to see them actively seeking out each other's humanity, because they know it's there. The story does a great job of showing how these two characters are different, but I kept waiting for them to get to a point where they realize that everything they've gone through, everything that's been done to them, has been done to BOTH of them, and that they've lived through it together. That's a really important emotional note that this story did not hit. I think that would've made a real difference and would've made the ending resonate even more, but even taking that into account, I still gave this book a huge 4 stars. Let me know in the comments below if you plan on reading "Down Among the Sticks and Bones" or "Every Heart a Doorway," because the great thing about this verse is that you don't have to have read one book to enjoy the other, because they each stand on their own, which I think is really neat. But that is everything I had for this review today. Thank you so much for watching this video. I really hope that you enjoyed it, and I will catch YOU on the flip-side of the page. Bye! [♫ snazzy end screen music ♫]