Mislaid in Parts Half-Known: 02/02/24

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire is the ninth book in the Wayward Children series and serves as a sequel / conclusion to events laid out in Lost in the Moment and Found.

Antsy has found her way to Eleanor's school and realizes straightaway that she doesn't belong. She has been total and utterly misunderstood and miscategorized by Eleanor. In fact, Antsy's better qualified to map and categorize the words through the doors.

Of course the other residents figure out that Antsy can find anything that is legitimately lost. That includes doors. In a desire to keep Seraphina from finding her door, Antsy and some other students leave the school through a path of doorways only Antsy can find.

The second half of the book ultimately settles on Antsy's desire to go back to the Shop at the Nexus. The woman still running the shop is continuing to prey on children, spending their lives through frivolous door opening. Antsy realizes she must go back and take over as caretaker to keep future children safe when they invariably arrive.

Although the book is just as short as all the previous novellas, I found it a tedious read. I think I've read enough of McGuire's books to realize how often what her characters say and think are little more than platitudes dressed up in complex language. There's minimal character growth and minimal plot. Instead there are hollow attempts at philosophical explorations of the human condition.

As with the rest of the series, this book sits on the Road Narrative Spectrum. Antsy and the other students are marginalized travelers (66). They are trying to get home (either back to school, or to the Store in Antsy's case) (66). Their route there is the labyrinth (99) of doors (99).

There's a tenth book planned but at this time I'm not expecting to purchase it.

Three stars

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