Review: Down Among the Sticks and Bones

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this! This was exactly what I wanted from the first book. I loved the focused attention to Jack and Jill's story. I was pretty hard on Every Heart a Doorway because I felt like there was too much going on. There were all these wonderful characters, but the main story line was kind of lost because there was a murder plot, and so many characters that you wanted to investigate.  I wanted to hear more about the main character and her experience.

I really loved getting Jack and Jill's backstory and learning about how they found their door. We learned about the world behind their door in such detail and how it shaped them into they ended up as as teens when we met them at the home for wayward children. Their characters make much more sense now that we know them so much better.  I want to go back and read Every Heart a Doorway now and see what I think.  I really loved getting to know Jack, the mad scientist's apprentice and Jill who longs to be accepted as a vampire. Their parents broke them and their bond as sisters and they are doing their best to find something to put themselves back together as individuals.  This book is dark and sometimes gruesome, but it is also kind of magical in a strange way.  I really enjoyed it.

Seanan McGuire's writing was beautiful and poetic and I read this book in one sitting. I can't wait for the next book.  I hope it is like this one where it is focused on one character and their adventures behind their door.

This is listed as young adult, but there is some content I would recommend for more mature YA readers.  There is also a horror element to the story which also adds to the more mature nature of the content.  It isn't overly graphic or grotesque, but just something to to consider.