In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children #4) by Seanan McGuire
Every time I get scared that the next installment in this Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire is going to be the one that tanks, I am shocked all over again that it is just as perfect as the last. Although not my favorite so far of the series, In An Absent Dream is still a beautiful fairy tale that truly captivated me from beginning to end.
Similar to the other books in the series, In an Absent Dream gives us the full story of a character we've already met but requires so many new characters as well. Here, we read about Lundy's childhood story. In the other books, Lundy is an eighty-year-old therapist for the children who arrive at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, but she looks more like a ten-year-old. Although you don't have to read the other books in order to understand this one, I do believe first reading the mystery surrounding Lundy's past in the other book gave an added attachment to the character when reading this book.
The world in In an Absent Dream is based on the poem Goblin Market but here, everything must receive its fair value. This was an interesting critique an a world where people have lost the meaning of what is fair, just and right. In this Goblin Market, fair value differs from individual to individual and thus everyone is going through a series of checks and balances so that it is a fair world with rules.
Like the other stories in this series, although the doorways open to worlds that the main characters find acceptance and love, there is always something they must give up as well. Lundy finds the power of love between siblings, both by blood and choice, and due to the fact she is travels back and forth between worlds multiple times it changes the sacrifice more for her. It is a wonderful, quick little story that packs a hard punch to your emotions and thoughts and I am so excited to see what McGuire gives us next.
Synopsis: This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.
When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well .