A Man With An Agenda

The Wayward Children series explores the what-ifs and uncomfortable questions behind portal fantasies where children are brought to a magical other-land, save a kingdom or perhaps conquer their fears, only to wind up home again once the adventure is over. Classics of the genre include 'Alice in Wonderland', 'The Chronicles of Narnia', and 'Coraline'. McGuire is not the first person to ask these questions, sanity has always been a dubious virtue in many of the other-lands. I loved the concept of these books, I read 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' some time before this, but I seem to have misplaced that review somewhere on the internet.

This was the first book in the series and I suppose I expected more groundwork than from what I'd inferred or had been told outright in the exposition of the third book. That's the reason for my rating being less than perfect. This is a delightful slice of fantasy, I think I just want more. I'm not sure any of the characters had a chance to grow beyond their initial descriptions, which are repeated as they appear again in the next volumes. The series is a wonderful idea nonetheless, and I appreciated the small time I could spend with it.

Wayward Children

Next: 'Down Among the Sticks and Bones'