Come Tumbling Down

By Seanan McGuire

Winner: 2022 Hugo Award for Best Series

A 2021 Hugo Award Finalist!

A 2021 Locus Award Finalist!

Amazon's Best of 2020 So Far

The fifth installment in New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire's award-winning Wayward Children series, Come Tumbling Down picks up the threads left dangling by Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones

When Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister—whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice—back to their home on the Moors.

But death in their adopted world isn't always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome.

Eleanor West's "No Quests" rule is about to be broken.

Again.

The Wayward Children Series
Book 1: Every Heart a Doorway
Book 2: Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Book 3: Beneath the Sugar Sky
Book 4: In an Absent Dream
Book 5: Come Tumbling Down

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Jan 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9780765399304

Seanan McGuire

Seanan McGuire is the author of Every Heart a Doorway, the October Daye urban fantasy series, the InCryptid series, and several other works, both standalone and in trilogies. She also writes darker fiction as Mira Grant. She was the winner of the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and in 2013 she became the first person ever to appear five times on the same Hugo ballot.

Book preview

1 WRAPPED IN LIGHTNING, WEEPING THUNDER

IT WAS OBVIOUS to anyone with a discerning eye that the school had started out as the country home of a family with more money than sense. The shape of the original architecture was still there, buried under newer construction. It had been a modest three-story home, once upon a renovation, but it had been embellished over the course of generations by widows and widowers who had handled their grief and their inheritance in the same manner: by picking up a hammer and setting to work.

The house had grown like a garden, sprouting wings and tower rooms and greenhouses as if they were nothing more consequential than mushrooms after a rain. What it had been was gone, reduced to nothing but a faint echo in the shape of a door or the structure of an awning. Its replacement was a delightfully rambling sprawl of porches and doors, dormer windows and inexplicable chimneys. Some of the tower rooms stood higher than the attic; some of the lower windows had been painted shut to keep them from flooding the halls every time it rained.

Still, lights could be seen at all levels of the school, both day and night, and the rooms were often filled with laughter. There were worse things for a house to hold.

The school stood alone in the middle of a vast, rolling field, which was dotted with copses of trees; there were no neighbors for miles in any direction. Eleanor had inherited the property upon the deaths of her parents, and had immediately tasked the family accountant with managing the bulk of her assets, giving him strict instructions to watch the land around hers for any signs of a sale. When he found those signs, he was to step in whenever possible to keep that land from going to market. No price was too dear to pay for privacy. Sometimes even she wasn’t sure how much of the surrounding countryside she owned.

That still wasn’t enough for some of her students. They sought deeper shadows, darker spaces, more privacy and freedom from the outside world. For those children, the basement was the most coveted real estate in the house, and its occupants defended it fiercely from suggestion of roommates or relocation.

On the hot summer night where we begin, the basement’s occupant was a boy named Christopher. He was in his late teens and knew that, one way or another, his tenure at the school was nearing its natural end. Either he’d graduate and go home to parents who expected him to be interested in college, a career, what they called the real world, or he’d find a door of latticed bone and butterfly wings, interlaced with marigold petals, and he’d disappear for a second, and final, time. He knew which ending he wanted.

He knew he didn’t get to choose.

Maybe that’s why he was stretched out on his bed like a corpse prepared for autopsy, with his hands folded across his chest and his fingers wrapped loosely around a flute carved from a single bone. There were no holes, only indentations etched into its surface, but something about its shape made its purpose perfectly clear.

The single small basement window was open, letting a breeze whisper through. The glass was dark and leaded, letting little light inside. Christopher didn’t mind. He could always go outside when he wanted to feel the sun on his face. Most of his free time was spent in the grove behind the school, perched in the high branches and playing silent songs on his flute.

Sometimes the skeletal bodies of local wildlife—squirrels and rats and, on one surprising occasion, a deer—would rise from their unmarked graves and dance for him. When that happened, Christopher would lead them away from the school and pipe them to their final rest in a place no one would stumble across by mistake. It was weird how much some of his fellow students disliked bones, but whatever. He wouldn’t have liked their worlds either, and it wasn’t like they went out of their way to cover his clothes with glitter or rainbows or other reminders of their lost fairytale dreams. Keeping the grounds free of skeletal surprises seemed like the least he could do.

Sometimes being the last person on campus whose door had led to a world most of the student body dismissed as creepy really sucked. It hadn’t been like that when he’d first arrived. Back then he’d shared the creepy designation with the Wolcott twins, who’d traveled together to the Moors—a world arguably even creepier than his own Mariposa—and had gone back to their heart’s chosen home the same way.

Jack would have appreciated his skeleton dancers. Jack had appreciated his skeleton dancers, on the rare occasions when she’d been able to take her eyes off Jill long enough to see what he was doing. Jill had always been the more dangerous, less predictable Wolcott, for all that she was the one who dressed in pastel colors and lace and sometimes remembered that people liked it when you smiled. Something about the way she’d wrapped her horror movie heart in ribbons and bows had reminded him of a corpse that hadn’t been properly embalmed, like she was pretty on the outside and rotten on the inside. Terrifying and subtly wrong.

Jack had been a monster, too: she’d just been more honest about it. She’d never tried to hide what she was, from anyone. The world they’d found on the other side of their door had made monsters of them both.

Jill had always talked about the Moors like a treasured toy, something she could polish and plunder as she saw fit. Jack had always talked about them with a wistful wildness in her eyes, like they were the most beautiful place she could imagine, so incredible she didn’t know quite how to put it into words. Jill had been terrifying. Jack had been … familiar.

Sometimes Christopher thought any chance he’d had of falling for a girl with ordinary things like skin and muscle tissue and a pulse had ended with the soft, moist sound of Jack driving a pair of scissors through her sister’s horrible heart. He could have loved her in that moment, had loved her when she’d pulled the scissors free and used them to cut a hole in the wall of the world. She’d called her door out of nothingness, out of sororicide and hope, and she’d carried her sister’s body through it, into the bleeding light of a crimson moon.

He’d seen the Moors spreading out around her like a mother’s arms, welcoming their wayward daughter home. Sometimes he still saw them when he closed his eyes at night. And then the door had slammed, and the Wolcott sisters had been gone, and he’d been left behind. He’d hated her for having the chance to go home, and he’d loved her for taking it without looking back or hesitating, and his fate, such as it was, had been sealed. If Jack could go home, so could he. All he had to do was figure out how.

He ran his fingers along the surface of his flute, caressing it. When he closed his eyes, he could almost see the Skeleton Girl sitting next to him, clapping her opaline hands, delighted by his artistry. He could almost touch her.

The overhead light flickered as he was raising the flute to his mouth. He paused, looking at it quizzically. It flickered again before spitting a great, uneven bolt of lightning that struck the concrete floor with a crack so loud it was like the whole world was being broken.

Christopher had survived quite a few things in his seventeen years, from public school to cancer to a stint in a world peopled entirely by sentient, animate skeletons. He rolled to the side before the echoes of the crack had faded, pressing himself against the wall and hopefully out of the path of any further impossible lightning strikes. Not that impossible meant much around here. One of his closest friends was a temporarily bipedal mermaid; another was the crown prince of a goblin kingdom, and yet another was technically a candy construct brought back to life by a sort of demigoddess with a really large oven. Judging things based on their possibility wasn’t a good way to stay

Reviews for Come Tumbling Down

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jack comes back to the school to get help from her fellow classmates. Jill has stolen her body in her quest to become a vampire and Jack is going slowly crazy. She needs all the help she can get in this world of darkness but it's the world she belongs to, it's the world she feels at home in. The decisions she has to make almost break her but the adventure shows her that there are some people who care for her.This one went some dark places.

[managedbybooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[jennybeast · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Where the heck did my review go? I read this book. I loved this book. I said a lot of pithy things about it and now my review has vanished. Boo. It's a good one, and it's great to return to the Moors and learn more about Jack's past. Excellent book!

[labfs39 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As always, the books about Jack (Jacqueline) Wolcott are my favorites. This book follows Down Among the Sticks and Bones. This time it is Jack who is carried through a doorway from the Moor into the school, and she's in Jill's body. Kade, Christopher, and Cora agree to go to the Moor and help Jack regain her body and preserve the balance in that world.

[kalliegrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is like the second half of the Jack and Jill story, so this didn't feel new as the last few books did. It was still an exciting story with a slightly different assortment of characters.

[fred_mouse · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I continue to love the Wayward Children series. I haven't loved all of the individual books, but this one I certainly did, sitting and reading in a single sitting. There are some subtle discussions about the tropes of horror movies, of portal fantasies, of hero and/or quest fantasies, but layered over that is a beat perfect b-grade horror movie in words. The world building of the Moors continues to delight -- the necessity for the different groups, the way that the ecosystem requires a balance of monsters, with Mad Scientist being just one of the many. Similarly, McGuire handles a complex cast of characters beautifully, giving them each such a depth and roundness of characters that I can love them all in their beauty and flaws. I loved that we got to learn more about the Moors, that we got to see the Cthulu mythos style fishing town and priests of the Sleeping Gods, and that these did not appear to come with the many drawbacks of the Lovecraftian writings.

[renbedell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The novella series continues with a group of children at the School for Wayward Children joining Jack's quest to find Jill to get Jack's body back. It is fun portal fantasy, similar to the other books in the series. If you have enjoyed the past books, you will likely enjoy this book as well.

[wanderlustlover_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Summer 2021 (June);

Rating: 2.5

Read for the Hugo's. I'm glad I skipped the books between 3 and reading 5 for the Hugos. Even just listening through these four hours was such a boring, arduous task. Everything about this series (portal worlds, fairytales, classic novels, retellings, children in a school, adventures in supposedly non-adventuring lives) means that I should love it, and that people recced it hard knowing I should love it.

But every single books feels so 'blah' to me. An amazing concept simply done drolly. Which is the reason I ranked a a book I'd usually rank at 3 (not badly written in the classic linguistic sense, but also not enthralling at all), and rounded it down to a 2.5. Because to do this so consistently, without getting any better is just a hellish disappointment every Hugo Nomination Read round.

[tuusannuuska-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sadly not my favorite in the series. An okay read but didn't really make an impression or have much impact, which is pretty surprising considering how much I liked Down Among the Sticks and Bones.

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

audiobook fiction/fantasy with LGBTQAI characters
the narrator for this one is just a tad shrill sometimes, but I've enjoyed this series (in print) and I enjoyed this one too.

[montzaleew · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Come Tumbling Down(Wayward Children #5)by Seanan McGuireI loved this book! Jack is back and in Jill's body! The vampire is going to use Jack's body to turn Jill into a vampire. This is such an awesome story! Jack and her girlfriend show up at the Wayward Home through a doorway and seek help. The teens agree and follow Jack back through to the Moors where they have strange experiences, one after another! Loved it!Read these books in order!

[kittycunningh-815148 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I like this series. I would like to see more of the other children now that Jack and Jill seem to be situated.

[sarahlh-41506 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this just fine — I’ll always love a Jack and Jill centric story — but a lot of this book was buildup that just made me anxious for the inevitable action, a lot of the plot beats were very reminiscent of BENEATH THE SUGAR SKY, and I wish all the important, juicy moments hadn’t been delegated to the last third of the book. I still have a soft spot in my heart for these characters, and I did appreciate the world building in the opening chapters surrounding the school itself. So, a solid three star read.

PS: I’d kill for a Kade centric book after this; it’s about time he got the spotlight. And honestly, after this book, I think that’s what McGuire is setting the series up for next.

[lavaturtle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jack is one of my favorite characters in this series, and I'm glad we got to see her again. This is a good ending to her story. The Moors are nice and evocative, and the supporting cast of students is pretty great too. For a very unforgiving setting where unkind things happen, there's a kindness to this story.

[reading_fox · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My least favourite of the series, back with Jack and Jill finishing off their tale with help from Kade, Cora, Christopher and the revitalised Sumi, but somehow I just don't care for them as characters, nor the world in which they're at home - I guess is kind of the point of the series, everyone's different, but this is too different to be entertaining.Jill has managed to swap bodies with the fastidious Jack and so being in a body that hasn't died, can be imortalised by her Master the vampire lord of her part of the Moors world she finds comfortable. Jack fighting revulsion at every moment returns to the School for Wayward children to gather some allies and reclaim her body and humanity before it's too late.I just didn't care. Not even the Drowned Gods and Cora held my attention and she's my least worsat of the bunch.

[thedivineoomba · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jack and Jill are some of the best characters in the Wayward Children Series. Jack, with her can do, slightly psychotic attitude, and Jill, who is similar put together, but with a gothic sensibility.The world is fun as well, this book shows more of that world, and adds in a Lovecraftian vibe with the people of the sea. However, while the story is fun, it could have been longer. Everything happens in one night and that includes a war.

[poppyreads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Wayward Children series has been a favorite of mine since I finished the first book, so you can imagine my excitement when I was approved for this arc!

I devoured it as soon as possible and let me tell you - it did NOT disappoint. Although it didn't beat the 4th book in terms of my favorite in the series, it came close.

This story is much darker than the rest, yet in the end I felt so peaceful. Jack and Jill's story ended tragically, of course, but in the best way possible.

As always, Seanan wrote with such beautiful imagery, making this trip back to the Moors one I won't soon forget!

In an attempt to avoid spoilers, I'll leave it at that. 5 stars! Not a bad way to start 2020.

[bookbrig-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There are so many things I enjoyed about this. Pony! Storming the castle! Sumi! Raising the dead! Anyway, as always I'm delighted and happily anticipating the next installment.

[milliehennessy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jack is one of my favorite characters and the Moors is my favorite place we’ve visited in the series so far, so I was very excited for this. I hate to say it, but I was a little let down This is still a great addition to the series, but it didn’t live up to how much I enjoyed Down Among the Sticks and Bones.I can’t really pinpoint why this book didn’t reach whatever diaphanous expectations I had. But I didn’t really get the atmosphere of the Moors again because the story was mostly about Jack’s thoughts and feelings on the situation she found herself in. I wanted more of the world and the creatures and people who inhabit it. I felt like overall, this book took place more in the kid’s heads and it wasn’t wholly successful for me. I also think the ending was anti-climactic.In all, I’m still glad this story exists and I’m still eager to see what other adventures McGuire brings us on. I’m hoping she continues to let her characters explore more worlds and I’d really love to take a trip through Eleanor West’s doorway! If you like the series, chances are you’ll enjoy this book.

[m_mozeleski · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Seanan, you take a piece of my heart, and wrap it all up in a bow, and then
You push it
Over
A
Cliff

[spaceandsorcery · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This new installment in McGuire’s Wayward Children series held the double incentive of following up on a previous story, Down Among the Sticks and Bones - one of my favorites - and I was eager to move back to the world of the Moors, its delightful Hammer Horror mood and the characters of twins Jack and Jill. The last time we saw them, Jack was carrying back to the Moors the body of her sister Jill, that she herself had killed (not that death is exactly final there…); now the novella opens on Eleanor West’s Home and the arrival, after a lightning storm, of Alexis (one of the Moors’ dwellers) with an unconscious Jill in her arms - only it’s not exactly Jill, since there has been an exchange of bodies between the two sisters. Jack-as-Jill asks her former schoolmates to follow her to her world and help her regain her body, one of the compelling reasons for it being that otherwise the carefully maintained balance in the Moors will be thoroughly upset.That’s as much as I feel entitled to share, since both the group’s journey and the quest’s final outcome must be explored without spoilers, so I prefer to concentrate on the story’s main components - and to get it all off my chest right away, I’m sorry to report that Come Tumbling Down ended being something of a disappointment. Don’t misunderstand me, I enjoyed reading it and I still look forward to the next novellas in the series, but in this case - not unlike what happened with Beneath the Sugar Sky - the overall result fell a little short of the mark. The writing was as good as ever, as was the world-building, but the characterization seemed to lack the in-depth look I’ve come to expect from Seanan McGuire: as was the case with the third novella of the series, this is a choral story and this choice seems to have diluted the strength in characterization that’s typical of this author when she concentrates on one or two individuals only.The writing style is as mesmerizing as expected, moving from weirdness to gallows humor to drama with seamless transitions, and it’s the true glue that keeps the various elements together. The further look into the world of the Moors is both fascinating and scary: we shift from the dual perspective of the main players - the vampire lord and the mad scientist - to see other parts of the realm, and learn that other kinds of monsters dwell here. The peek into the domain of the Drowned Gods and its human-inhabited village is truly horrifying and it carries some delightfully fearsome Lovecraftian vibes (Innsmouth, anyone? :-) ), that together with the march of resurrected skeletons at the height of the story makes for the highest point of the tale.The core concept of identity at the root of the series is still strong: the young people at Eleanor West’s academy share a feeling of alienation with our primary world and can find fulfillment and a sense of belonging only by crossing the magical doors leading them to the various alternate worlds they inhabit for a while. Here that quest for identity gains a new layer of meaning: the body exchange perpetrated by Jill and suffered by Jack might not look like such a tragedy from the outside, since they are identical twins, but through Jack’s own words we learn that what we do with out bodies, and how much our minds form connections with them, creates unique bonds that go way beyond simple muscle memory, and whose severing causes intense trauma. Where all of the above created a strong foundation for the story, the characters felt a little unsubstantial this time: I could not connect emotionally with any of them, not even when some truly horrifying things happened, and what’s worse I’m still puzzling over the need for the whole group to travel to the Moors, since their contribution to Jack’s “mission” was quite minimal, if any, especially during the final showdown - something that happened far too quickly and with the kind of ease that belied Jack’s passionate request for help.The other major point of contention comes from the concept that in the Moors death is not a permanent state: we go from Frankenstein-like electrically induced revivals, to the unexpected resurrection of people who seemed to tragically lose their lives, and what it all comes down to - at least for me - is the fundamental irrelevance of any dramatic turn of events. Granted, there is always a price to be paid for a return to life (or something approaching it), but in the end it removes personal stakes or any emotional impact attached to the loss of a given character.While somewhat frustrated by the way this much-looked-for installment turned out, I still hope that the next one will be more in keeping with the series’ overall tone and mood.

[jpeterman-190606 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was good, but I think may be over the wayward children series. This is a short jaunt into Jack & Jill's door. Well-written, and it was an engaging story. I read it but just felt kind of meh afterwards. I've loved the stories up to now, so I may continue.

[flying_monkeys_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed finding out what happened after Jack took Jill back through their door in Every Heart a Doorway, and getting a bit more of the two sisters' stories. But I felt "the quest" and subsequent "battle" were over in the blink of an eye. Still, a satisfying ending... for this particular story.

[angelajmaher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An adventure the likes of which only the Wayward Children, who are growing up quite a bit, could have. Absorbing and darkly delightful.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rich and strange - like all the Jack and Jill stories in this series, rather grim and gory, and not my favorites. There's quite a lot of mental disturbance of one sort or another (and some physical disturbance, at that). But there's also love and friendship and alliance, and some vivid adventures. I quite like Bones - better than Pony, anyway. Jack does some neat maneuvering with the rules of her world. Definitely worth reading, and probably rereading.

[liscarey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children carrying the body of her twin sister, Jill, whom she had just killed in righteous rage at Jill's murders among the other residents of the school. She took Jill's body back to the Moors, the world their Door took them to--and where death is not quite so permanent as in ours.When a Door appears in the basement room that used to be Jack's and is now Christopher's he recognizes it as being from the Moors. He doesn't recognize the young woman who steps through, carrying what is either Jack or Jill, either unconscious or dead.The truth turns out to be more complicated, of course. The body is Jill's body, unconscious. The person inside that body is Jack. The young woman carrying her is Alexis, Jack's lover. Jill, still determined to become a vampire, can't do so in a body that has already died once, so she stole Jack's. Jack's OCD won't let her live indefinitely in Jill's body, especially knowing what Jill has done with it. Alexis has brought Jack back to the school to get help recovering Jack's own body.Eleanor West has a Rule: No Quests. Awkward, but rules are meant to be broken, right? Christopher, Cora, Kade, and Sumi let Eleanor know where they're going and head off to the Moors with Alexis and Jack. What follows is an adventure that makes sense in the Moor, and more broadly in the universe of the Wayward Children and the Doors that take them to the worlds that suit them. The Moors, like the other worlds we've seen in this universe, is complex, detailed, and very much lived-in. Jack and her friends need to make hard choices in a complicated situation, and there's little to no chance of them all coming out the other end alive. Yet there's real warmth and friendship and loyalty, and also humor.Recommended.I bought this audiobook.

[tapestry100 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Holy shit, Seanan McGuire doesn't disappoint in the fifth volume of her Wayward Children series. Picking up Jack and Jill's story from their introduction in Every Heart a Doorway and their backstory in Down Among the Sticks and Bones, we are returned to the Moors this time, and we are given a much wider view of this dark, terrifying, and beautiful world. This time out, there is another quest, even though Eleanor West continually forbids them, as Kade, Christopher, Cora, and Sumi help Jack take back something dear that Jill has stolen from her.The continuing beauty of McGuire's Wayward Children, apart from her always fantastic narrative, is her inclusiveness with her characters. She makes such an important part of what makes these characters themselves, yet it doesn't feel forced. Sometimes I feel like authors have a checklist that they use to make sure they tick off all the important or proper points to show representation, and while this is needed in so many ways, it still comes off clumsy. McGuire writes her characters with such ease and understanding, it simply feels natural.There is so much under the surface of Come Tumbling Down: what makes a person uniquely that person, and how devastating it can be when something happens to make that person not feel like themselves, however insignificant it may appear to others; how important it is to have people understand that every single person is unique, and surrounding yourself with people that understand you for who you are can make you so much stronger. It's OK to need help and to ask for it. These characters are so near and dear to my heart. Sumi is becoming a favorite; her no bullshit view on life hides such a powerful caring for those around her, I think she's become one of the strongest characters in the series. And of course, Jack and Jill... I adore these girls and their crazy duality. I want to always see more of Kade, he's just so interesting to me. As with all the books in this series, there is an overwhelming sense of hope throughout, but there is always a sense of sadness and loss that underlines this hope. We lose people in our lives, things are taken from us, life takes unexpected turns, but we can still find our way out of that loss.This will always be the series that I push on my friends. I have reread the entire series before the release of each book next year, so some of the earlier are like dear friends I'm catching up with after a while. Another part of the magic of McGuire's writing: even after multiple readings, these books have not lost any of their magic. I dearly hope that McGuire can continue writing these stories for years to come. There is so much potential, so many stories, so many characters that I want to learn more about: Kade & Christopher, Sumi's continuing story, more worlds to explore, Eleanor's finally going home. It will be a sad day when these stories come to their close, but it will also have been one hell of an adventure getting there.

[tsana_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire is the latest novella in the ongoing Wayward Children series. It’s another ensemble story, but as you can probably guess from the title, the story is mostly about Jack (and to a lesser degree, her sister Jill). While I have enjoyed all of the Wayward Children books, only a couple of the prequels are needed, in my opinion, to enjoy and make sense of Come Tumbling Down. The first Wayward Children novella, Every Heart A Doorway, can be thought of a direct prequel to Come Tumbling Down, and Down Among the Sticks and Bones is a prequel to both, giving the origin story of Jack and Jill. The other novellas are great and provide background on the side characters in Come Tumbling Down, but aren't as essential to following the story.This was a pretty dark story. But that's true of this entire series, so if you've come this far (even if you only read the prequels to this book), you should have some idea of what to expect. Come Tumbling Down engages more directly with what it means to be a monster and about becoming monstrous. As the blurb suggests, there is also a quest, which a band of heroes sets out on. Although Jack's story is the most central in this book, I enjoyed the way in which the narrative jumped around to follow different characters as they stepped into or out of the action. It was Jack's book, but Christopher and Kade and Cora and Sumi were important parts of it, and they all had a little bit of character development.It seems that this marks the end of Jack's story (for now, anyway), which seems fitting after playing a central role in three books. I have enjoyed the story of Jack and Jill, and I have also enjoyed the ensemble cast nature of this book (and also Beneath the Sugar Sky). Honestly, I will be happy to read either type of story (ensemble or single character focussed) set in the world of the Wayward Children.If you haven't read any Wayward Children books, I highly recommend them. In particular, I suggest starting with Every Heart A Doorway, both because it's the first book written and also because it's where we first meet Jack and Jill. It's not that Come Tumbling Down doesn't work standing alone... but I don't think it would be as enjoyable without at least some background on the characters and world building.4.5 / 5 starsYou can read more of my reviews on my blog.

[ladycato · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.I must preface my review saying that it's hard to review the Wayward Children novella series, in particular, because two of the previous volumes were SO GOOD. As in, top-favorite-stories-of-any-length-of-all-time kind of good. Those books being Every Heart a Doorway and In An Absent Dream. They set an incredibly high bar. The second novella of the five, though, faltered in a lot of ways for me as it followed twin sisters Jack and Jill. This new release, Come Tumbling Down continues Jack and Jill's story.Fortunately, I liked this much more that the first part of the story, perhaps in part because it also follows other students from the school as they help Jack save the Moors. The Moors are in a pretty dire condition, too--Jill, fully devoted to her vampire master, has stolen mad-scientist-Jack's body and prepares to become a vampire herself. As a person with OCD, I truly loved and appreciated how McGuire wrote about Jack's situation. Not only is Jack upset at being stuffed in her sister's body (twin or not, it's not hers), but she endures severe OCD; she knows she will lose all functionality if she is not returned to her own body soon.The novella feels slow to start, due to the amount of back story that must be addressed, but the characters are charming and the action soon picks up as the motley adventurers arrive in the horror realm of the Moors. For me, this didn't deliver the emotional resonance of the two previous volumes that I loved, but it's still a fun, enjoyable read, and a satisfying conclusion for Jack and Jill's story.

[readinggeek451 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The School for Wayward Children has a rule: No quests. When Jack returns to ask her friends to help with a looming disaster in the Moors, that rule is about to be broken. Again.A worthy continuation of a wonderful series.