This is my second read for this book. I DNF-ed with a two-star rating the first time but always felt I was maybe unfair in my opinions. I've seen a lot of people get frustrated with this book or the series in general for not being quite what they had hoped, and I tend to agree that the book is not at all what I expected. It suffers from a very interesting premise and pretty average writing. On the whole, I enjoyed it this time around, but I still feel like it could be improved on.

To begin with, I never much connected with Nancy as a main character. While I was interested in the world she had visited, she never had very much personality to speak of, and meanwhile, the surrounding cast of characters, even the minor ones, were infinitely more interesting. Second, there are parts of the story that are actually rather gruesome but the plot itself is very juvenile/obvious, so the confusion of tone makes it hard to determine what the author intended this book to be. Third, it was always going to be a meta concept, and that's alright. I enjoy meta. However, it was always stated so implicitly, and usually more than once in the exact same terms, that the meta lost meaning and just became annoying.

And I only list all of these faults Because the premise is so great, it's honestly hard to admit how mediocre the novella is in itself. I would like to continue reading this series to see if maybe the author manages to better develop some of the other characters, especially since the next one is Jack & Jill's story, and I am a big fan of Jack's character and would be very interested in seeing more of Jill. But now my expectations are tempered, so maybe I'll be able to enjoy it casually instead of the fanatic joy I was expecting when I first picked up this book.

3 stars seems right, less judgmental than 2 because it really isn't a bad book but it's still not able to climb over all that heavy-handed exposition and boring MC to reach a 4. ( )

Great story for anyone who feels lost or out of step with their world. ( )

4,5/5 Lo he devorado en una noche.

Me ha trasladado a cuando me encerraba en mi armario como si fuese la puerta a otro mundo o parte de una nave espacial. A cuando soñaba en aventuras cruzando un cuadro (normalmente de un castillo). Pero también me ha hablado de como encontrar tu hueco en el mundo, en como superar la perdida de tu hogar (ya sea porque se cierra una puerta o por algún otro evento) y a buscar tu propio hogar o al menos intentarlo.

Una maravilla de libro. ( )

4.5/5* ( )

This story is weird and delightful and wistful and I loved reading it. I've been seeing people rave about the Wayward Children series for a long time and I definitely understand why; it has familiar ideas and settings (like the hidden Narnia-ish lands and a boarding school) but McGuire twists them in her own unique way and makes this world really standout. I personally adored the blend of magical realism and murder mystery here- I don't think I've read anything quite like it before!
Part of me wishes the book has another couple hundred pages, but knowing there are plenty more books (plus 3 more unreleased ones) has me excited to keep reading. ( )