In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children, 4)

Winner: 2022 Hugo Award for Best Series
A stand-alone fantasy tale from Seanan McGuire's Alex award-winning Wayward Children series, which began in the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning, World Fantasy Award finalist, Tiptree Honor List Every Heart a Doorway
This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.
When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.
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
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
A
4.5 I have devoured this series over the past few days. I will definitely be rereading them - so many brilliant gems in each that I know I will pick up on more next time. This was a great way to end the year!! Can’t wait for book #5 📚
I honestly don’t know if I liked this or not. It felt very incomplete and rather than feeling like it was about a very fair and rule-based world, it felt very arbitrary. Possibly 2 stars. The first book has been, and remains, my favorite. In other words, the school from book one seems better to me than the worlds that the children prefer.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.