Series: Wayward Children #1
Release Date: April 5th 2016
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 176
Find it on: Goodreads. Amazon.
Source: I listened to this book on Scribd.

Synopsis

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

Review

The Wayward Children series is one that’s been on my radar for a while, and when I saw the audio books on Scribd I thought I would give them a go. I completely fell in love with this magical, fairy tale like story and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.

The story is set at Eleanor West’s home for Wayward Children – a place where children who have come back from other worlds can stay as they attempt to find the door back to the magical land they went to. Nancy is one such child, determined to find her way back as soon as possible. But not everything is as it seems at the school, and Nancy and her friends must uncover the darkness lurking in the heart of the school.

This unique and engaging tale completely captured my attention and I ended up listening to it all in one go. It’s a beautifully written tale, full of magic and whimsy. It also has plenty of darkness and gory moments too and the detail and complexity of the world building really shines through in McGuire’s writing. I’m not normally a big fan of novellas because I always feel like I want more, but this 200 page story is the perfect length, giving you a glimpse of other worlds that we will hopefully get to see more of in the subsequent books.

The characters in this book were so fascinating. Jack and Jill were definitely my favourites but for such a short book there’s an immense amount of depth in the characters we meet. There is a wonderful amount of diversity in the characters and I can’t wait to see the characters grow as the series continues.

This is an incredible start to the series and I can only hope that the rest of the books are as gripping and addictive as this one. If you haven’t started this series yet, now is definitely the time to do it.