Book Review: Down Among The Sticks & Bones

Down Among The Sticks & Bones 

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Title: Down Among The Sticks & Bones
Author: Seanan McGuire
Year Published: 2017
Publisher: Tor
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

Plot: ♥♥♥♥♥
Characters: ♥♥♥♥
World Building: ♥♥♥♥♥
Flow: ♥♥♥♥♥


Synopsis:
Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got.

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.

They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

The very much spoiler-y Review:

  This is very different than both the first and third book in this series, mostly in formatting, however it is by far my favorite. If you've read any of the other books, they are set at the school/group home and there are mentions or trips to the 'doorway words'. This is actually set and takes place mostly in the doorway world, and could be read completely on its own or as a fairy tale retelling.

  Jack and Jill are two ladies we met in Every Heart a Door Way that are twins who have contrasting personalities. We learn a little bit about their back story, however there aren't great details. Mostly that Jill misses her master and loves rare meat and Jack loves science and hates getting her hands dirty. However these characteristics are blown out withing Down Among The Sticks & Bones (DMTSAB's for reference). \

  What ties this book back to the entire series is the beginning. We are introduced to Jack & Jill's parents when they decide that they would like to have children. For any of you that may have strained relationships with your parents due to unfair or unrealistic expectations placed on you during your childhood, this will really hit home.

  The twin’s parents are very aware of their ego’s, to the point that it starts to cripple their family dynamic. By the time the girls find their doorway at age 12, they aren’t very close and are pinned to be the opposite of one another. Jack is dressed as a doll and mommy’s perfect little girl, Jill is athletic and daddy’s perfect tom-boy; and the comments from the parents’ peers feed that affirmation that what they are doing is correct but not understanding any repercussions on their children. We see how that affects the girls when the twins are met with a choice in doorway world, or in this specific case the Moor.

  There isn’t much world building in this book, though you could argue that none of these books have a lot of world building. Technically, it’s a series of nonsensical and nonlogical vs. the complete opposite and how each doorway world is different. In this aspect alone, I would suggest reading Every Heart a Doorway prior to any of the rest of the books, especially this one, just because it explains it a little bit better. Moor, which is the land that the twin’s door led them to, is a cornucopia of traditional horror monsters. There are vampires, werewolves, and Frankenstein; though they each have their own territory. I believe it was Dr. Bleak specifically that mentioned that monsters like Master also came through a doorway to Moor.

  When we get into the doorway world, the first character the girls meet is Master, a vampire who takes these lost children and keeps them in his castle. Dr. Bleak, our Frankenstein, and Master have an agreement that the next lost child to show up is meant to be Dr. Bleak’s apprentice. However, the fact that there are two girls means Master will keep the other, Dr. Bleak is meant to have the first pick. What ends up happening is the girls actually kind of pick their poison if they are to be stuck in this world.

  At this point, I think the damage caused by the girls’ parents is brought to light a little more than the slight snark in the dialect. Jack is very much aware that Jill is already getting attached to the life of living in a castle, especially because Jill has not been allowed to be girly up until this point. With that knowledge, due to her version of their upbringing, Master would prefer Jack due to her already going through life as a doll. Jack cares enough for her sister in at this point to not want to see her harmed or heartbroken and seeks out Dr. Bleak to choose him before she no longer has the power to.

  During this specific scene is also the first we get to see of the twin’s differing personalities and traits. Jack does not like grime, especially on her hands and is the more observing of the two. Jill is all action, choosing to chow down on the food presented rather than question if it’s tainted like Jack does.

  The girls separate and lead different lives. Jill comes off super childish in still believing in her fairy-tale princess life and taunting others. Her selfish acts of harming those she finds out are in contact with her sister is gross and clearly an issue of jealousy bred by her parents and Master. Jack seems to be the story we focus a little more on, how she’s grown smarter as an apprentice and developed a relationship with a girl in town.

  Once the girls get close to the age of 18, the story moves a bit more quickly, almost as if it knows it needs to be under 200 pages to match the rest of the series. It could certainly have more detail, but at the same time I feel like McGuire was able to paint this almost traditional horror story very well. The ending where Jill kills Jack’s girlfriend and hides her heart, then Jill is met with the repercussion of murdering her, and how Jack saves her sister from her impending doom could almost be a movie plot. In fact, if someone out in the universe is looking to do a reboot of a Frankenstein/Dracula mash up, this would be a great script.

  I can’t find much more else to express about this book, but at the same time I think any reader looking to discuss could find themselves in a rabbit hole by diving into the psychological damage done to these girls. Insecurities in our adolescent years is something Seanan has really pinpointed in this series and by doing so makes those of us that can reflect back on this age realize that we weren’t truly alone in feeling the way we did. Somebody even wrote a book about it.