Come Tumbling Down

September 9, 2019
The dark, beguiling fifth entry in McGuire’s Wayward Children series, about a boarding school for visitors from portal worlds, continues the story of polar opposite twin sisters Jack and Jill Wolcott from the second book, 2017’s Down Among the Sticks and Bones. Back in their menacing home world, the Moors, sensible Jack has no higher ambition than to apprentice to the scientist Dr. Bleak and settle down with her reanimated fiancée, while deranged Jill dreams of being adopted by the vampire Master. Jill’s body, which died and was reanimated once before, is unable to become a vampire, so to achieve her dream Jill betrays her sister, forcing Jack to undergo a painful procedure to swap their bodies. For Jack, who has OCD, being trapped in another’s form is a nightmare. She enlists the help of her old friends at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children to get her body back before Jill and the Master destroy the Moors entirely. Themes of sacrifice, love, and hope weave through this grim yet achingly tender tale. New and returning readers alike will be enthralled.

Author Seanan McGuire narrates the fifth installment in her Wayward Children series, transporting listeners to a terrible world filled with monsters, vampires, and dark temptations. Jack's murderous sister, Jill, has hatched a chilling plan that may destroy their home world. Enlisting the support of her school friends, Jack embarks on a dangerous journey home, desperate to stop her sister before it is too late. McGuire's narration is serviceable, but she reads at such an accelerated pace that listeners may not be able to truly savor the lush beauty of her prose. She is most successful with dialogue, as she allows the characters' tenderness and tenacity to come through. Still, listeners may regret losing the opportunity to settle into this intoxicating and thought-provoking story. S.A.H. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine