This is perhaps the darkest book in the Wayward Children series. There is a personal note from McGuire at the beginning to reassure readers who have experienced similar trauma. She makes it quite clear that she is writing from personal history here. I would even speculate that she has been writing this entire series just to get here, where she could tell her own story with a better outcome.
This is the book in which we get to see behind the curtain so to speak. We learn about the nature of the Doors, how and why they work, plus the price of using them. When Antoinette (Antsy) runs away from home and opens a Door incautiously, she finds herself in the Shop of Lost Things. She meets an older woman and a talking magpie who introduce her to the rhythm of the Shop world. From this safe base, she can open many doors and explore many worlds with assistance to return to the shop.
But, as Robert A. Heinlein was fond of saying, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Antsy does her best to avoid this lesson, but some things just cannot be ignored. She would also probably agree with the sentiment that ‘you can't go home again.’ These are short little novellas, but each packs a punch. Even at number eight and despite their distressing subject matter, I find them irresistible.
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