Cover Image: Lost in the Moment and Found

Lost in the Moment and Found

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Member Reviews

In this latest installment of McGuire's Wayward Children series, Antsy leaves home and ends up at The Shop Where the Lost Things Go. She has a talent for opening doors that allow the other shop residents to get supplies, but the Shop has secrets, too.

This is a terribly tragic coming-of-age story that underscores the vulnerability of children who are still learning to navigate the world, but it is also, ultimately, a hopeful one. I would caution potential readers that there is content that is, at the very least, uncomfortable, but the book is worth reading, especially if you like the series as a whole.

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This is a lot darker than the usual offerings in this series and I was honestly surprised that it took on the topics of child abuse as I thought Seanan had said that wasn’t going to be something the would write in this series, but I guess the abuse is only suggested on page.
I’m very much in the camp of preferring the school setting rather than the other world books, but this is my favourite of the worlds. It was so well developed and a really interesting idea that allowed for a great exploration of the harm these worlds can cause and how vulnerable the children are when there’s no one to help them and give them the information needed to live safely.
I would recommend checking content warnings before reading this.

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A heartwrenching Fantasy standalone tale in Seanan McGuire's WAYWARD CHILDREN Series, LOST IN THE MOMENT AND FOUND is the story of a girl too young who loses too much too soon, and later discovers that rescue and safety might not always mean freedom from betrayal and greed. For some readers, this story will be particularly painful. Ms. McGuire possesses a special gift for arrowing straight to the Heart, and of delivering far more than just the words on the surface.

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I love the story and premise, you can’t help but want to protect Antsy, and that ending—My Heart!
LOST IN THE MOMENT AND FOUND by Seanan McGuire is Book Eight in the Wayward Children’s Series, though it can be easily read as a stand-alone, the main issue I struggled with whilst reading was the slow pacing.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing, for providing me with an eBook of LOST IN THE MOMENT AND FOUND at the request of an honest review.

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Well, I jumped in a series that is 8 books in. . .and so got what I deserved, I think. . . a bunch of confusion at the beginning of a short read. There was a warning, and troublesome trigger topics, and then *boom* we are in another world entirely.

From there my enjoyment of the read increased markedly. Powerful doors, helpful beings in many forms and phases of life, with stern messages about a price for every gain - no gift is without its cost. Ever a good message for humankind.

I'm intrigued, and will be checking out book #1 in this series.

*A sincere thank you to Seanan McGuire, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tordotcom, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.*

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I can't believe it has taken me so long to review this one - It got "lost and found" in my netgalley list.

This was one of my absolute favorite of the Wayward children stories - and that is saying a lot because my love for this series runs DEEP. I loved the premise and the story of hiding from something and having it take time from you as a result. Superb as usual!!

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

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Another wonderful Wayward Children book. I started these years ago and I am finally caught up and am anxiously waiting for the next installment. This book was brought up so many emotions and was one of the more heavy hitting topic wise. I loved it. Side note - take a look at the content warnings before reading.

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Another incredible story for this series. The way that Seanan McGuire crafts stories never ceases to impress me. I love the way she tells stories and I hope to continue reading things from her for a very long time.

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Thank you, MacMillan-TOR/Forge publishers, and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I love the writing; it really sucked me into the novel.
But I know you're staring at my rating. It's rather difficult to read. I started this one without reading the others in the series and while I don't think that hindered my enjoyment, I wasn't expecting the heaviness of this novel. I also should note, I probably shouldn't have started this while on a Target run (IYKYK) but while the writing gripped me at the same time the topics that this character dealt with, I don't feel it's a novel I could've thoroughly enjoyed or attempt to reread at a later date. There's a lot of unhappy, possibly triggering for some readers (check the warnings), that I couldn't rate it higher.

I will look into other novels by this author because I do believe I'd like his writing style but this one was not a favorite of 2023.

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You can never go wrong with Seanen McQuire - Truly any addition to her series is always one to watch out for. Lost in the Moment and Found incluided!

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I love the Wayward Children series that Seanan McGuire writes. And this one is a great addition to the series. Born Antoinette and called Antsy, our main character loses her father and after about a year her mother finds someone else. Someone she doesn’t like, but at her young age she can’t find the words to say why. After he visits her room one night, she knows she needs to leave and packs a bag. She sneaks out the backdoor and runs to the local strip mall. She finds a door to a shop (Be Sure) and slips in. And, so her adventure begins. Visiting other worlds, meeting new people, and finding that the shop is bigger on the inside and changing. But she is also changing. The novella length of these books is wonderful, a perfect length for a weekend read. I look forward to them every year. Even if they are only slightly connected to Eleanor West’s school.

Thanks to Tor for the copy.

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4.5 / 5
I LOVE this series so much. Lost in the Moment and Found is a really interesting instalment in the Wayward Children series since I feel it really cracks open so many possibilities for future characters and worlds. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next novella.

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Eight books into the series I have to acknowledge I find the Wayward Children series to be incredibly inconsistent, or at least my enjoyment of it. This latest installment falls somewhere towards the back of the pack. It’s very much not one of the “journey” books that characterize some of the other additions to the series - particularly the ones in the Moors. And that doesn’t make for a disengaging plotline; my favorite book in the series is still In an Absent Dream, which is anything but a journey book.

But Lost in the Moment seems to lack a sense of purpose, or at least a clarity of the plotline if you can call it one. We spend a solid quarter of the book in the real world, as a very intentional way to depict the abuse in Antsy’s background she wants to run away from. The theming around this is the strongest part of the novel, but it doesn’t carry any of the rest of the story once Antsy finds her door. We circle back to it, eventually, but the rest of the book spent in the shop Antsy finds herself unintentionally employed feels a little disconnected.

I generally seem to buy into any story that centers around time slippage or mismatched timelines. I love anything that creates a fundamental disruption between “here” and “not here.” But I’ve just seen this plotpoint used more effectively, dramatically, emotionally that I didn’t really love it here. Ultimately this book’s strength lay in its exploration of real-world childhood trauma and the actual magical realism of the storyline outside of this was not the most striking piece.

Thank you to the publisher Tordotcom for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

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I really liked the writing style of this book. It kept me engrossed in it. I look forward to reading Seanan McGuire's next books! Highly recommend it

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I liked but didn't love this one. I did like the discussions on family in here and the darker tone, but I wish we'd had a more developed world. That's one of my favorite parts of these novellas, but there just wasn't really much of it in this one sadly.

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I love this series and look forward to each new installment. This one was on of my favourites, albeit it was the hardest for me to read, personally. The topic of child gaslighting is an important subject, but still it was heartbreaking to read.

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. I liked the first part of the story with our heroine, Ansty. It deals with heavy topics, starting from the death of her father to the gaslighting and grooming done by her stepfather. But it was very well-written. You definitely can argue that Ansty is a bit too introspective for a six year-old, but it's written for an adult audience who is rooting for the character to overcome the abuse thrown at her. The introspection gives the heavier topics a more hopeful tone in that maybe Ansty will be smart enough to get out.

The later half of the book deals with Ansty in her portal world. While she escapes the life she was facing in the mortal world, this portal world is also dark in another way. There's a price to pay to stay here. I wasn't quite as engaged with this second half. I appreciated how this world was connecting the portal worlds of the previous books together in an interesting way, and there was a talking bird character, which I'll always be a sucker for. But this half was a bit lost in building the tension of the danger of this world like the first part of the book did for the mortal realm. Fans of the series will still enjoy this installment, but it's not a favorite for me. And while all of these books are billed as a standalone, I definitely do not recommend starting here.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a free eARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

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I’ve never read a series that just kept getting better, but this one does. My Januarys are so much brighter because I know the new Wayward Children arrives.

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Of all of author Seanan McGuire’s different series, I think I am enjoying this one the most. The underlying tone that traverses the books is really intoxicating.

This book, like most in this series, can be read as an individual book (there’s a beginning, middle, and an end … no cliffhangers to goad you into buying more books [no, the writing will do that]). Those familiar with the series will have some additional background that will prove helpful.

This book is particularly dark and a lot of reviewers are using the word ‘triggering’. McGuire does give us an author’s note at the start, warning readers about what’s ahead and that to bear with the story as it will work out. In other words, fully aware of the potential triggering effect. When you have a story about children which includes grooming, abuse, and exploitation, even though it’s not a book for children, some readers are bound to have strong, visceral reactions.

Antoinette (“Antsy”) witnesses her father’s death and then becomes prey for adults looking to take advantage of her. She manages to run away before anything too terrible actually happens, but the threats and plans for what was to happen to her seem explicit and troubling.

Antsy escapes through a Door (readers of the series will understand the difference between a door and a Door) and finds herself in a shop for Lost Things. Appropriate, of course, being a lost thing herself.

Lost and confused, she stays there, interacting with customers in the shop and learning more about the Doors before making a decision for herself – taking control in a way that child normally wouldn’t have the strength or determination to do.

Along the way, we also learn a little more about the Doors and Antsy will make her decision to leave the shop – not an easy decision to make – knowing that this will be for good.

Looking for a good book? If you like fantasy or dark fantasy, you really should read Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire. If you haven’t read the series, do yourself a favor and go go back and start at the beginning.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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