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In An Absent Dream
Wayward Children #4
by Seanan McGuire
Tom Doherty Assoc, $17.99, 204pp
Published: January 2019

This is the fourth in this series and even though I’m reading them out of order, most of them stand well on its own once you understand the underpinnings of the universe.  This is Lundy’s story; we met her in the first story “Every Heart a Doorway.”

Katherine Lundy is a very ordinary girl in a very ordinary family.  She has an older brother and a baby sister and two parents who love her very much.  So it might seem remarkable that she doesn’t feel like she fits.  Her father is the Principal of her elementary school so she is always ostracized because of that.  He, of course, cannot see that his job is the reason for her lack of friends; blaming instead, her shyness.  He, of course, does not see that his own childhood experiences have contributed to Katherine’s current dilemma.  She is, in turn, patient, pretty and practical; but not usually lonely.  She was also content, happy even, to be within the pages of a book.  So when she was eight and school was out for the summer, she saw an impossibly long summer spent babysitting her sister while her favored brother did whatever he pleased.  To delay this as long as possible, she took out her book and let her feet find their own way home; which, surprisingly, they did not do.  They led her, instead, into the wood where she picked berries.  And to a rather large tree that stood on her path, which had never ever been there before; a large tree with a curious Door in it – and the words BE SURE above it.  She did feel an overwhelming curiosity to know what exactly she needed to “be sure” about as she was always sure about herself.  Feeling confident she had the answer, she didn’t hesitate about opening the Door and stepping through. On the other side was a hallway in someone’s house, apparently; and behind her there was no longer a Door or a tree. 

As she walked down the hallway, feeling like an intruder, she observed several frames with rules set on them.  The first was “Ask for nothing”, the second “Names have power”, the third “always give fair value”, the fourth was “Take what is offered and be grateful” and the last was “Remember the curfew.”  She couldn’t know at that point that these rules were going to define her future life on this side of the Door.  This world runs by these five rules and anyone who doesn’t obey, pays a penalty – which could end up losing them their humanity.  Katherine would understand this later; to her dismay.

Leaving the house, she found herself in an amazing market; the Goblin Market to be precise.  Although there were plenty of normal-appearing humans, there were also fantastical figures; some not exactly human. The first person she actually spoke to was a girl with orange eyes and feathers in her hair; her name was Moon and she would become the best friend that Katherine never thought she’d have.

Moon introduces her to the Archivist who is the only one suited to explaining her new world without causing her to incur debt she wasn’t prepared to pay.  Ignoring the rules can cause debt; some slight, some catastrophic when they pile up.  The market takes its debt by changing the person into a bird.  The changes can be slight and will reverse when the debt is paid.  But if the person doesn’t give fair value, the changes increase.

In this world, children are allowed to come and go as they please (through the Door) and some of the rules are ignored or charitably forgiven until they get a little older; then when they are eighteen (time for the curfew), they must make a choice.  Due to rule number two, Katherine gives her name as Lundy.  Once she has a decent comprehension of the rules, she and Moon become the best of friends flinging themselves into the world, regardless of consequences.  They have great adventures (which are not part of this story) which cements their friendship; so, when Lundy decides to go home after witnessing a traumatic death of another friend, it was difficult for Moon.  Lundy really believed she’d be right back but it took two years to realize where her true home was.  It was quite a shock to see the results of her absence on her friend, Moon. But as a more worldly ten-year-old, she is expected to accept more responsibility for her choices.  And since Moon was changed by debt that she took from Lundy; it was more than fair for Lundy to take the debt back.

Later Lundy returned home once more, after more adventures with Moon, with the intent of simply lining her pockets with trade goods (the market doesn’t do currency).  She bears the marks of debt owed to the Market but it’s not terribly evident; just a few feathers growing at the nape of her neck.  She didn’t think she’d stay long but she was so very tired and her old bed was so soft… What she didn’t count on was her father’s reaction.  As it happens, her father knew exactly where she’d been and he knew exactly what the feathers in her hair meant.  Her father had found a Door when he was younger.  But he rejected the Market and now, knowing that his daughter has a Door, he is adamant that he won’t allow the Door to take her again.  He all but imprisons her in a boarding school, where she would be watched all the time.  Eventually, she realizes that nothing means more to her than returning to the Market; even with all the eyes watching her, a clever girl will find a way.  But the bargain she has to make when she returns could change how she feels about living in the Goblin Market forever.

And when she turned fifteen, sure that she would accept the curfew when she turned eighteen, she decided the right thing to do was to return home to say goodbye. But what waited for her was unexpected and may prove just as important to Lundy as her freedom in the Market; something or someone who became important enough for Lundy to forget she owed the Market fair value.  But the punishment was completely unexpected; which is the reason she ended up in Miss Eleanor’s home eventually.

This story was just as charming as every other one I’ve read so far (I’m still a little behind).  There is never a point in any of these stories where the reader should want to argue about this logic or that reasoning.  The reader doesn’t control how these people choose to live their lives; I suspect the author doesn’t, either.  I do sort of resent how Lundy ended up; I feel like the Market didn’t give fair value when she didn’t get a full explanation.  But what an amazing life she had…   ~~ Catherine Book

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

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