This book was such a cool departure from my usual literary fiction. I went in without knowing much about the premise and found it to be amazingly creative fantasy. It's thoughtful, entertaining and super creepy. In addition to the excellent world building, McGuire has some searing observations in her writing:
"Call it irony, if you like, but we spend so much time waiting for our boys to stray that they never have the opportunity. We notice the silence of men. We depend upon the silence of women."
"Parents don't always like to admit that things have changed. They want the world to be exactly the way it was before their children went away on these life-changing adventures, and when the world doesn't oblige, they try to force it into the boxes they build for us."
Now that I have the lay of the land at this school for 'wayward children' I think I will most likely check out the other books in the series that give them some more back story. At only 173 pages, McGuire was able to create vivid characters that I want to get to know.