In an Absent Dream
This is my favorite of the Wayward Children books so far. In general, I prefer the even-numbered ones, which take place in the various worlds rather than the school. They're a little more focused, and there's an air of tragedy that hangs around them that makes them so bittersweet.
This one follows Lundy, who died in the first book. Here we go back to her childhood, her encounter with the Goblin Market, and the actions that ultimately cursed her. The Goblin Market is all about rules, which appeals to Lundy (and honestly, to me, too. It's nice to know where you stand). One of those rules is that she has until her 18th birthday to choose to either stay in the Goblin Market or in her old life. Until then, she can travel back and forth as much as she wants. But then she has to choose one life and forsake the other.
For a world that prides itself on fairness, this is a supremely unfair condition. Especially because it gets more and more difficult to make as Lundy approaches her eighteenth birthday and finds herself torn between two worlds. She gets greedy and goes looking for a loophole. It doesn't end well for her.
None of this is a surprise; it's all laid out when we meet Lundy in the first book. She was expelled from the Goblin Market for her greed, and cursed besides. Knowing where the story ends makes it all the more tragic. It's an exquisite kind of pain. I saw her mistake coming a mile off, and I probably would have done the same thing.
I'm excited for the rest of this series, about misfits and finding your place and making sacrifices. Because you can't have everything, and sometimes you have to learn that the hard way.
This one follows Lundy, who died in the first book. Here we go back to her childhood, her encounter with the Goblin Market, and the actions that ultimately cursed her. The Goblin Market is all about rules, which appeals to Lundy (and honestly, to me, too. It's nice to know where you stand). One of those rules is that she has until her 18th birthday to choose to either stay in the Goblin Market or in her old life. Until then, she can travel back and forth as much as she wants. But then she has to choose one life and forsake the other.
For a world that prides itself on fairness, this is a supremely unfair condition. Especially because it gets more and more difficult to make as Lundy approaches her eighteenth birthday and finds herself torn between two worlds. She gets greedy and goes looking for a loophole. It doesn't end well for her.
None of this is a surprise; it's all laid out when we meet Lundy in the first book. She was expelled from the Goblin Market for her greed, and cursed besides. Knowing where the story ends makes it all the more tragic. It's an exquisite kind of pain. I saw her mistake coming a mile off, and I probably would have done the same thing.
I'm excited for the rest of this series, about misfits and finding your place and making sacrifices. Because you can't have everything, and sometimes you have to learn that the hard way.
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