Welcome to Litsy!

"Be Sure" warns the door. The Wayward Children series is about kids who enter portals into worlds unknown.

#wickedwhispers @eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

The previous Wayward Children book (Where the Drowned Girls Go) was the first one in the series that didn‘t totally rock me, but book 8 corrected the wobble!

This series is kind of evolving into the ultimate treatise on Portal Fantasy as a whole, examining their internal rules, plotting them on an all-encompassing map, and examining why we respond to them the way we do.

Such a great series! Highly recommended.

This is such an amazing series! I don't think I've been disappointed in a single book. I wonder if there is an endgame in mind, because the last few books seem to be leading to something 🤔 Anywho, one more until I'm caught up, and they just revealed the cover for the next release in 2025!

Book 8 in the #WaywardChildren series (read in order for the best experience!) delivers a twist to an already fantastic (literally) portal fantasy series. More Doors, yes, but also amazing magical-world backstory to propel the series forward. Antsy‘s adventure and the revelations regarding the Shop Where the Lost Things Go make this one of the best installments to date. I can hardly wait to see what is next.
Speaking of…book 9 pubs this week 🙌🏻

Oh my goodness, I am ugly crying right now!!!
This book was recommended to me and I went into blindly without looking into what kind of story it is. It kind of reminded of Peter Pan's Lost Boys situation but with heartbreaking backstories.

The first part of the book was so agonizing that it triggered things in me that I thought were hidden. Because I did not know that this was part of a series, I was thrown off about the magical world aspect ⬇️

I am grateful to this book for renewing my enthusiasm for the series as a whole. As much as there were dark (I appreciated the content warning provided by the author) and painful moments among the whimsy, which is the series trademark, something about the hope and resilience and altruism of this character reminded me that it's not just escaping despair, but actually finding meaning that makes these books special; felt missing in the last two.

Note to self: look up more of Rovina Cai's artwork. 😍

Seanan McGuire doesn't miss especially with this series. Excited for the next one.

4✨

🎧
I have to start by saying I LOVE Jesse Vilinsky's narration!
She truly brought the story to life. Would love to get more of her work.

As for the story...
Antsy's is a tough one to tell, but McGuire does it great justice. And as always takes us to a place so wonderfully magical that you wish you could find your door.
I can't wait to see how Antsy will fit into the future of Wayward Children.

Bk6 of #20in4 #readathon & Bk11 of May is done. The last so far of the Wayward Children series & the darkest. The first few chapters had me feeling sick, big TW for child grooming. The authors foreword & dedication made me cry, it‘s very apparent why most of her books are so dark. Antsy father dies & she‘s left with a stepfather that makes her skin crawl. So she runs & goes thru a door into the Shop of Lost Things. #BookspinBingo #SeriesLove2023

I was a little disappointed by the last few additions to the Wayward Children series, so I am especially happy that this latest installment is so strong. It's the 8th book in the series but is a standalone, so it can be enjoyed by those who are new to the series.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#BacklistReadathon @clwojick @TheAromaofBooks

5th in my #BirthdayHaul is another Seanan McGuire novella, which is & isn‘t a Wayward Children one🤷🏻‍♀️ Apparently you can read it as a standalone too. Antsy has lost her Father but he‘s not in the Shop Where Lost Things Go. Then she loses herself through a series of doors. But leaving the shop behind can be harder than you think. It has TW for child grooming & abuse which the author herself has experienced. Therapy at the end of a pen✍🏼

Ufff. Right in the childhood trauma.

February 2023 Wrap Up
- Lost in the Moment and Found ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
- Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The One ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Drift⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Finna ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
- The Blood Trials ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
- We Spread ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- How to Sell a Haunted House ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another solid installment in the Wayward Children series!

It didn‘t have the same world building that my favorite books in the series have, but I LOVED Antsy. I also love the idea of a shop where lost things are found - kittens, socks, and maybe even children who have lost their faith in adults…

(Finished on my flight home.)

#serieslove2023
#bookspin

This one‘s a low pick from me. I love this series, and I love the portal stories more than the quest stories because they go deeper both with the character & the world they step into. The nature of this story meant I didn‘t get the world-depth I wanted. But I did love Antsy. So much.💔 Hoping to see more of her in later books. Important note: there‘s some super-difficult content early on. I really appreciated the author‘s note at the beginning!

I doubt I‘ll stick with it, but here are my plans for the first week of #middlegrademarch & #marchmadness. Lots of short books, and I‘m off until Thursday night. ☺️

Tagged is my most anticipated for the month! I just adore the series! ❤️

Planned out some of my reading challenges, and finalized my March #BookSpinBingo list this afternoon. 💚

Love this series so much. Like falling down a rabbit hole every time.

So excited.

8th book in the Wayward Children series. Love visting the endless worlds in this series. Wish the book had been longer. 3 🌟 #52bookclub23 #lastinseries @LauraReads @KarenUK @britt_brooke @CarolynM @Smarkies @LeeRHarry @Read4life @Bluebird @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB @ravenlee @Deblovestoread @jlhammar @MicheleinPhilly @Clwojick @BookBelle84 @jennifer80 @Librarybelle @triplem80 @AshleyHoss820

#SeriesLove2023 @TheSpineView @Andrew65

The newest book in the Wayward Children series broke my heart into a million pieces. 😭

I love this series and how McGuire addresses difficult issues and situations children face by giving them doors that let them escape to a place where they are accepted as their true selves and feel safe.

Antsy was a great character and as usual with this series there's a balance between the magic and darkness.

Read this in bed as the light disappeared from the sky. It felt like a fever dream.

I wait so long for these — & then they‘re so short! I think their length contributes to the whole vibe of the series (the time you get is never time enough; everything is fleeting). The message here is powerful. I think McGuire is really sharpening her knife. But I‘ll be honest: the shop didn‘t scratch my “new world” itch.

TW: grooming. But Antsy runs — & early!

Quickest library trip ever. I think I was in and out the door in 60 seconds flat…and I didn‘t even have these on-hold!

It‘s definitely going to take me longer to decide which one to read than it did to pick them up.

Another solid entry in the Wayward Children series. I appreciated the overall themes of informed consent throughout the book, and fans of the series will appreciate the references to other worlds and characters Antsy encounters while opening doors from the Shop of the Lost Things.

TW: grooming

Y‘all, read the warning on this one (it‘s in the book) before you read but also? I love Seanan‘s writing so much and Antsy‘s book is no exception I love this series so much and I love this book and this girl and this story so much y‘all.

Well, shit.
Why are these books so perfect?
Why are they so short?
Why do I have to wait for the next one?

If you love the other Wayward Children books you'll enjoy this one. It's a heavier book (I'll put warnings in the comments), but Antsy is such a lovable character. I hope we'll get to see more of her. I enjoyed the few little glimpses of other characters and worlds we're familiar with, and I'm fascinated by this shop for lost things.

An enjoyable read.

Read for the Wayward Children readathon
Read for ATY 2023

4/5

When Antsy‘s home becomes unsafe, she finds a door to the Land of Lost Things. Will she stay as lost as she feels?

This broke my heart. It took me so long to get through the first hour, even with the CW at the beginning because the narration was exactly what the story needed. McGuire is excellent at packing a punch in such a short book, & this stands on its own pretty well. A story of lost childhood & innocence, & a satisfying ending. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

Read this while doing laundry this morning, always happy to revisit this series.

I love this series so much.

This one is a stand alone, though we get a few glimpses of other characters and worlds you‘ll recognize if you‘ve read the whole series.

I wish it wouldn‘t be another year before the next Door appears!

I realized this morning how many series I‘m looking forward to continuing with this year, so I‘m joining #SeriesLove2023. 😁📚💕
#SleepySietje

Every January I look forward to the next book in the Wayward Children series. This one was dark. Her author‘s note in the beginning was nice reassurance that it wouldn‘t get too dark because I can‘t read truly disturbing books. This one really sucked me in and I read it all in 2 sittings, which is quick considering I‘m generally a slow reader with a deteriorating attention span.

I had myself a craving for crinkle cookies, but I ran out of kisses. 😂 So the nibling helped me hunt down some Reese‘s cups for the last few cookies.

And letting Seanan break my heart all over again. ❤️

I can't seem to stop reading this! It's so good! 💕📚💕

Working today definitely had its upside - TWO REALLY EXCITING HOLDS CAME IN FOR ME TODAY! 😱💕📚💕

Great addition to the series. There are now a couple lose threads that I hope get tied together in the next school story!

I love this series so incredibly much. Seanan McGuire does portal fantasy right. Her characters are wonderful, her stories both heartbreaking & uplifing. The narrative is beautifully written & atmospheric. There is some gut-wrenching & potentially triggering content at the introduction of the story, but it is gracefully handled. The plot is full of wonder & magic, but also contains her trademark nature of allegory & life lessons. Perfection.

This is the 8th book in the Wayward Children Series, but it can be read as a stand alone. It touches on dark subjects and is not a happy story, but it is a fascinating and thought provoking one. I enjoyed it and it left me wanting more, so I will have to check out the rest of the series. I found the scenes where a young girl is set up to be not believed by her mother particularly creepy as it was so effective. 4/5 stars.

Sitting out back with Miss Gatsby reading this one. I‘m starting to regret it because it‘s making my stomach hurt.

The powerful combination of otherworldly magic with this world‘s grit gets me every time! This one‘s for anyone who experienced loss as a kid, been a lost kid, or lost their innocence. For Antsy, it‘s the loss of her father and all the loss in its wake— then she finds the Shop Where the Lost Things Go and a series of doors to unusual places—but it‘s easy to lose track of yourself when you‘re busy finding new things, new people, and new worlds…

*le gasp* I am vibrating with excitement!

#CoverReveal