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‘Down Among the Sticks and Bones’ by Seanan McGuire

06 Aug 2022

Synopsis Twin sisters Jack and Jill were 17 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 was because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline. Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter – adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tomboy. 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 12 when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretence of love can never be enough to prepare you for a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists, death, and choices. About the book Childhood dreams are fun to return to, aren’t they? Until you remember that childhood isn’t always an easy walk through the wildflowers. Until you remember that some of those dreams can turn into nightmares as quickly as a flash. The second book in Seanan McGuire’s ‘Wayward Children’ series follows the twins Jack and Jill. This book may be short but it’s certainly not all sugar and spice – ‘Down Among the Sticks and Bones’ is lined with teeth for miles. Though it’s the second volume of the series and it could be easily read as a standalone, ‘Down Among the Sticks and Bones’ still retains the unsettling aura of its predecessor. This book is a story of choice – from the bad ones to the good ones, from the malicious ones to the innocent and naïve. The theme of choice is well defined throughout the story. Poor choices are illustrated primarily by the girls’ parents, who have children despite an innate selfishness that blocks their ability to nurture or parent the girls. In an effort to bolster their own reputations, Chester and Serena mould the girls into perfect little automatons who do only what is expected, even when those expectations are challenged by each girl. The parents’ inability to understand their children’s needs is established early in the novel. When the girls turn five, Chester and Serena make another questionable choice by sending away their grandmother, who has been caring for the girls since they were babies. The poor choices made by Chester and Serena make the twins’ choice to escape easier to bear. The idea of an exit from their lives, even at 12 years of age, is attractive because they have not been able to choose anything up to this point. Once on the moors, the girls are forced to make a variety of choices that will affect the rest of their lives. As they wander the new world, choosing the moors over the sea or the mountains, they experience free will. Their fate is further determined when a mysterious man takes them into his home, and the girls are forced to choose who will stay with the master of the castle and who will go with Dr. Bleak, the mad scientist of the moors. Other themes in the novel include characters discovering self-identity and navigating changing interpersonal relationships. Jack has been raised to be her mother’s favoured child – in fancy dresses – and prevented from getting dirty or playing rambunctiously. Jill, on the other hand, has been chosen by her father to replace the boy that he wanted, so she is encouraged in rough, loud play. However, Jack is the brave one who provides Jill with a support structure, while Jill is less adventurous than she seems. Their parents never fully understand this about the girls, and the girls sense it. This lack of emotional connection leads to the twins escaping through the portal. It is suggested that this lack of understanding of the girls’ personalities by their parents also undermines the relationships that could have given the girls happiness or stability. The girls’ own relationship with each other is also damaged, and by the time they are 12, “they are not twins who have been taught the importance of cleaving to each other, and the cracks between them are already beginning to show. It will not be long before they are separated.” Thus, it became easier for them to part ways when they chose between the master and Dr. Bleak. ‘Down Among the Sticks and Bones’ is both an eerie, dark fairy tale and a takedown of ideas about what it means to be a girl. Because, of course, in the end, there is no one way to be a girl. You can make a girl wear a dress, just as you can make a girl wear jeans and cut her hair, but that doesn’t change anything. Not really. Not where it counts. Though readers might be frustrated at the lack of character development, many would still love the consistency. Memorable quotes “Some adventures require nothing more than a willing heart and the ability to trip over the cracks in the world” “There are worlds built on rainbows and worlds built on rain. There are worlds of pure mathematics, where every number chimes like crystal as it rolls into reality. There are worlds of light and worlds of darkness, worlds of rhyme and worlds of reason, and worlds where the only thing that matters is the goodness in a hero’s heart” “A single revelation does not change a life. It is a start” “Every choice feeds every choice that comes after, whether we want those choices or not” “Some adventures begin easily. It is not hard, after all, to be sucked up by a tornado or pushed through a particularly porous mirror; there is no skill involved in being swept away by a great wave or pulled down a rabbit hole. Some adventures require nothing more than a willing heart and the ability to trip over the cracks in the world. Other adventures must be committed to before they have even properly begun. How else will they know the worthy from the unworthy, if they do not require a certain amount of effort on the part of the ones who would undertake them? Some adventures are cruel because it is the only way they know to be kind” “The moors exist in eternal twilight, in the pause between the lightning strike and the resurrection. They are a place of endless scientific experimentation, of monstrous beauty, and of terrible consequences”   PHOTOS © PINTEREST, BING  

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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!


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