Published: 24 March 2015 (print)/ 13 June 2017 (audio) 
Publisher: Macmillan Australia/Macmillan Audio
Pages: 187/4 hrs and 4 mins
Narrator: Seanan McGuire
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Fantasy
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars
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.
I adored Jack and Jill in book one so seeing them have their own origin book was delightful. This dark story is probably a smidge horror, a bit gothic. Elements of stories like Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein, and those from Poe are evident, the dark science and magic combination and testing the realm of possibility. I was surprised I loved it so much given the slight gross moments and how much I hate horror, but the writing is captivating and you’re drawn in by the moors and the politics of those who live there.
From the discovery of their door and their journey into the strange land I loved every second of this book. I adored the eerie feel this story envelops you in right away. The moors are dangerous and fascinating places and seeing the twins find their place among the monsters was wonderful. I loved the darkness and the way McGuire doesn’t make it a bad thing, it’s good to have morbidity in a story, especially with how she’s established the types of people and where their true selves lie in the first book.
The best part is we know where Jack and Jill end up, we know they leave their land. So between devouring their story and seeing them blossom on the moors, you’re also keen to see how they could possibly ever leave a land so perfectly suited to them. Seeing Jack become her true self was divine and I loved their escape from their parents and how they were being moulded into what each parent wanted.
Having the knowledge of book one behind you, it is a bittersweet read too knowing what happens and seeing signs and the strain it places on the sisters, especially given how long they got to be in their world. If it’s a bit too dark you probably could skip it, but it’s a beautiful exploration of the way the doors work and an example of the various worlds that I can’t imagine ever not experiencing it, even with the tiny horror factor. It’s also a gorgeous story of falling in love and what it means to be alive and discovering the beauty of the world.
You can purchase Down Among the Sticks and Bones via the following
Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson
Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible
This new book is a clever way to introduce young readers to non-binary and gender-fluid people. As Ms. Reeves’ class produces a play about a farm, the entire class comes to understand about being true to who you are, as classmate Ari expresses their identity as they, which prompts Jacob to look more deeply about what it means to be who he is, and how others identify. Explaining the use of pronouns of one’s own choosing to kids, while all along reinforcing that an individual is much more layered and unique then how others may see him, her or them, is a developmentally important milestone to help foster respect of one’s self and one’s peers.
Sophie Chi is in her first year of college (though her parents wish she’d attend a “real” university rather than a liberal arts school) and has long accepted her aroace (aromantic and asexual) identity. She knows she’ll never fall in love, but she enjoys running an Instagram account that offers relationship advice to students at her school. No one except her roommate can know that she’s behind the incredibly popular “Dear Wendy” account.
Winnie is living her best fat girl life and is on her way to the best place on earth. No, not Disneyland–her Granny’s diner, Goldeen’s, in the small town of Misty Haven. While there, she works in her fabulous 50’s inspired uniform, twirling around the diner floor and earning an obscene amount of tips. With her family and ungirlfriend at her side, she has everything she needs for one last perfect summer before starting college in the fall. 
School’s out.
