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nerdinthelibrary 's review for:
Down Among the Sticks and Bones
by Seanan McGuire
January 2025 Reread: With every reread I become even more of a Jill apologist, she did all that and I don't care <3
1) Every Heart a Doorway ★★★★
content warnings: violence, death, gore, necromancy
representation: sapphic main character, main f/f relationship, sapphic side character
This! Was! So! Good! Despite giving it the same rating, I enjoyed it more than the first book, mostly just because the atmospheric world of DAtSaB appealed to me more than the school-for-strange-children setting of the first book. Honestly, after reading this I want to go back and re-read EHaD so I can have more context for the character's of both Jack and Jill.
Jill especially was given so much more character in this, and though I don't sympathise with her or even really like her as a person, as a character I find her fascinating and this book puts her actions in EHaD into perspective. Also, Jack is my wife and I love her a whole ton. Her relationship with Dr. Beaker was so interesting in a way I didn't expect, and I loved her romance with Alexis. SpoilerI actually don't mind that she died, because first of all it's not bury your gays, STOP USING THAT PHRASE EVERY TIME A QUEER CHARACTER DIES, THAT'S NOT WHAT IT MEANS. But also I thought it worked really well within the narrative, being impactful but also not feeling cheap or like shock value. Jack and Jill's relationship and the way it develops from them as children until the end of the book was so interesting and one of my favourite aspects of the book. I loved the emphasis that their parents forcing them to be a certain way and almost pitting them against each other was incredibly damaging to them as individuals and twins.
The creepy and unsettling atmosphere of this book was so well done, and I'm going to partially credit this to the audiobook. Seanan McGuire narrates it herself, and while authors narrating their own fictional works usually ends really badly, here it's absolutely perfect. There's this real feeling of unease as you read most of the book, and it made this fantastical setting with vampires and necromancy feel like something that could exist in real life.
I can't wait until I finally get my hands on Beneath the Sugar Sky because this is shaping up to be one of my favourite series.
1) Every Heart a Doorway ★★★★
content warnings: violence, death, gore, necromancy
representation: sapphic main character, main f/f relationship, sapphic side character
This! Was! So! Good! Despite giving it the same rating, I enjoyed it more than the first book, mostly just because the atmospheric world of DAtSaB appealed to me more than the school-for-strange-children setting of the first book. Honestly, after reading this I want to go back and re-read EHaD so I can have more context for the character's of both Jack and Jill.
Jill especially was given so much more character in this, and though I don't sympathise with her or even really like her as a person, as a character I find her fascinating and this book puts her actions in EHaD into perspective. Also, Jack is my wife and I love her a whole ton. Her relationship with Dr. Beaker was so interesting in a way I didn't expect, and I loved her romance with Alexis. SpoilerI actually don't mind that she died, because first of all it's not bury your gays, STOP USING THAT PHRASE EVERY TIME A QUEER CHARACTER DIES, THAT'S NOT WHAT IT MEANS. But also I thought it worked really well within the narrative, being impactful but also not feeling cheap or like shock value. Jack and Jill's relationship and the way it develops from them as children until the end of the book was so interesting and one of my favourite aspects of the book. I loved the emphasis that their parents forcing them to be a certain way and almost pitting them against each other was incredibly damaging to them as individuals and twins.
The creepy and unsettling atmosphere of this book was so well done, and I'm going to partially credit this to the audiobook. Seanan McGuire narrates it herself, and while authors narrating their own fictional works usually ends really badly, here it's absolutely perfect. There's this real feeling of unease as you read most of the book, and it made this fantastical setting with vampires and necromancy feel like something that could exist in real life.
I can't wait until I finally get my hands on Beneath the Sugar Sky because this is shaping up to be one of my favourite series.