Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children, 2)

Winner: 2022 Hugo Award for Best Series
Winner: 2018 Alex Award
Winner: 2018 ALA RUSA Fantasy Award

Seanan McGuire returns to her popular Wayward Children series with Down Among the Sticks and Bones--a truly standalone story suitable for adult and young adult readers of urban fantasy, and the follow-up to the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning, World Fantasy Award finalist, Tiptree Honor List book Every Heart a Doorway

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.

The Wayward Children Series
Book 1: Every Heart a Doorway
Book 2: Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Book 3: Beneath the Sugar Sky
Book 4: In an Absent Dream

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192 pages

Average rating: 8.3

33 RATINGS

5 REVIEWS

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katietopp

Jan 01, 2025

10/10 stars

What a pallet cleanser! I enjoyed this one as much as the first. It was nice to get some background of Jaq and Jill. As well as to see how they ended up the way they are. My heart bleeds for Jaq and the burden she carries. Excited for the next installment in this world.

MsFirstEdition

Oct 03, 2024

8/10 stars

I can't not love this series! I hate "side quests" I really do because it always seems like such a money grab thing if it doesn't add to the progress of the story but I was dying to get Jack and Jill's story and may I say it did not disappoint! I love how different they were, how separate their thoughts were, especially as twins with such unique histories. I wish I could read it all over again; I don't think anyone else's story from the series will beat theirs. 10/10- GO READ THE BOOK

KBenoit

May 17, 2024

10/10 stars

I would recommend reading this book before "Every Heart a Doorway." This book is a prequel that explains the background of some of the main characters in the first book.

E Clou

May 10, 2023

6/10 stars

Fun YA-fantasy-horror book. More consistently good than the first one of the Wayward Children series. The main thing I find problematic with both in the series is the inexplicable way otherwise fairly normal people turn to murder without much compunction. That doesn't seem realistic to me. I get that the whole thing isn't realistic because it's a fantasy novel but I do still expect the characters to behave like actual people.

ammareadabook

Aug 05, 2022

Loved it! Now the ending of the first book makes so much sense! So excited for the next installment. My dislike of the Jill character brings the score. Second Read: listened to the audiobook and loved it. on to the next one.

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More books by this author

Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, 1)

Middlegame (Alchemical Journeys, 1)

Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children, 3)

In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children, 4)