Title: Come Tumbling Down
Series: Wayward Children, #5
Author: Seanan McGuire
Pages: 206
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, LGBTQ, Novella
Story Perspective: Third-Person Omniscient
Themes: Determination, Friendship, Love, Balance
Publication Date: January 7, 2020
Publisher: Tor.com
Jack is back in Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children and needs the assistance of her friends in the unknown and dark Moors world.
Can Sumi, Kade, Cora, and Christopher help both Jack and her lover, Alexis, regain something that Jack holds precious in the Moors?
This was a book that I read as part of an online read-a-long with two OBC members, as well the other four in the series. It was one that I enjoyed for the most part, but wouldn’t say it was my favorite.
I really enjoyed the character, Sumi, and the way she lightened the story with her wit and light-heartedness. However, Jack, as the protagonist, was one that I had a challenging time enjoying her throughout the book. There were times I felt she over-explained things and took too long to explain situations. This could have been because the author wanted someone to explain what is happening versus just stating in a non-dialogue way, however, it dragged the plot toward the middle a bit too much for me. Then, it was challenging to really connect with any other character. Partly because it’s a short book and partly because it’s been a while since I’ve read the other books in the series.
Speaking of the plot, there were times when I was highly interested in the plot and other times when it was uninteresting. I really liked seeing the characters who’ve never been to the Moors experience it for the first time. The Drowned Gods, skeletal horses, and resurrected people can make for an interesting tale. However, aside from Jack’s explanations, I also found the ending to be unsatisfying. Throughout the book, the lead-up to the ending made it seem as if we are gearing up for something rather difficult and frightening, however, the conflict was settled within a few short pages and it didn’t seem to be challenging at all. Taking a line from Screen Rant Pitch Meetings – “it was super easy, barely an inconvenience.” 😀
Overall, there were parts I enjoyed and others not as much. Therefore, this short book is a middle-of-the-road type of story for me.
I would perhaps recommend Come Tumbling Down to those who have enjoyed Seanan McGuire’s other works in the Wayward Children Series.
It’s so interesting that we have almost the exact opposite reaction to this book, and that’s what I absolutely LOVE about reading. xD I loved Jack and thought Sumi was too upbeat and pointed out the obvious too often haha. I definitely agree about the ending, though, and I thought it was too easy and a bit disappointed, too. I was all ready for a big showdown. Loved your review!
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Haha, that is sod interesting! I love seeing how different people read the same story and have different takes on it, so thank you for sharing! Oh, that ending. I was also ready for a big showdown, and then it was over…Thank you for stopping by and reading my review!
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