Antsy, short for Antoinette, was only five and running around the Target toy aisle on a typical daddy/daughter day with her beloved father when he experienced an unfortunate massive heart attack.  Such an incomprehensible event and such a life-changing event.  It was barely a year later when her mother decided to remarry.  Her new stepfather wasn't a replacement for her father; she knew that.  She tried, really tried, to like him for her mother's sake.  But he did and said incomprehensible things that made her terrified; of what she didn't know, but the terror was real.  The breaking point came when Tyler made it abundantly clear that both she and her mother were being groomed and there was nothing Antsy could do about any of it.  The little six-year-old carefully redressed in the clothes from earlier since cleaner clothes would have to come from squeaky drawers, her favorite doll and stuffed monkey went into her backpack along with the forgotten jar of peanut butter on the kitchen counter and some fruit in a bowl.  Still silent as a ghost, Antsy went out the door with an idea that her paternal grandmother would take her in.

After walking into town in the dark, she went up to the first shop with lights on to ask to use their phone.  It was a sort of odds-and-ends type store that was apparently run by a talking magpie.  It was a store of lost and found items; evidently Antsy was now one of the former.  And the door she came through disappeared.

The beginning totally grabbed me; it would take a hard heart to not be affected by Antsy's experience and perceptions.  The shop was fascinating; anyone would be hard-pressed not to enjoy the unique experiences afforded by the mysterious Doors that could open up to anywhere.  So she wasn't really to blame for what happened to her.  Perhaps if there had been an oversight committee to regulate Door trips; or at least a moral obligation to inform a new traveler of the…risks.  But there weren't.  Life is like that.

I am always impressed by an author's ability to write a story full of characters, emotion, consequences and action in a mere 146 pages.  It was, for this reader, just amazing.  I find myself looking fondly at the cover and wanting to hug Antsy.  It isn't necessarily a happy story; it's about lost innocence and lost chances.  It's everyone's story.  ~~ Catherine Book

For more titles in this series click here
For more titles by Seanan McGuire click here