A more somber and sad story, this time, in the Wayward Children tales. We follow a young character who deals with death, major life changes, and abuse before embarking on one of the least adventurous adventures in the series. It is still a charming, touching story of life through a mysterious door, as readers are used to, but I have to admit that I didn't feel like the any of the characters were as full, developed, and understandable as they normally are. More importance was placed on the themes than on the people, which isn't my taste. I'm glad I read it, and will continue to avidly await each new book from Seanan McGuire, but I doubt I will return to this one.

Seanan McGuire can do no wrong, and I will fight for that. This is the latest installment in the Wayward Children series. You'll want to protect Antsy, but you'll also learn that she is perfectly capable of protecting herself. The story focuses on a balance of self preservation and self growth. Antsy gets to explore worlds, just like we have as we read through the series. She holds so much of us that have loved the series, even if (hopefully) not many of us have felt her same need to run.

I devoured this book whole in 2 days. This may be my favorite book yet of the Wayward Children series, and I do love them all. The writing kept me hooked, and I'm hoping to see more of Antsy in future books in the series!

In a series which uses portal fantasy and metaphor to explore all sorts of difficult subjects, LOST IN THE MOMENT AND FOUND is probably the most difficult read so far?

That’s not to say it’s not a marvellous story, but the content warning McGuire provides at the start is a good one – although no actual child abuse occurs, it’s only because Antsy runs, and the lead-up is uncomfortable to read – particularly for anyone triggered by child abuse or grooming. Antsy’s story also deals with gaslighting, parental death, lose of innocence and all sorts of grief.

LOST IN THE MOMENT AND FOUND is perhaps the least plot-heavy of the Wayward Children series. Although it presents Doors and new-worlds as all the others do, it feels like more of a character study, or a portrait of human nature, than the adventurous, plot-driven experiences in recent novels such as Across the Green Grass Fields or Where the Drowned Girls Go. That said, LOST IN THE MOMENT AND FOUND is hauntingly beautiful and will leave readers with much to think about regarding innocence, consent, and loss. It’s probably the most emotional and thought-provoking book in the series so far, if a little less grounded in the YA fantasy elements of previous instalments.

I would also consider this to be almost entirely readable as a standalone, or as a strong entry point to the series for new readers.

“Nothing comes free; ask them what it cost you.”

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my advanced readers copy of Lost in the Moment and Found.

Tigger Warnings: themes of grooming and gaslighting
Seanan McGuire assures the readers in the author’s note that Antsy runs before anything can actually happen to her.

Holy crap guys. This might be the best Wayward children book so far.

Our main character, Antsy, is a young girl who lives with her parents. One tragic day that changes, leading to a new life with a new dad. Antsy has a run in with her new step father that causes her to leave. This leads Antsy to a different kind of a door, that warns her to be sure before entering. Antsy finds amazing worlds, delights, and adventures. But what will it cost her in the end?

The writing was so poetic; it was hard to choose a quote for this review, because every sentence was just so beautiful written. I love poetic writing and writing that twist and turns. Seanan McGuire does not write words just to fill space. These words build emotions and mystery within the reader. You can never guess what is going to happen next.
The plot was tense. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Not only was the book engaging, it also made you care about the characters (and hate other ones).
I could talk about this book all day long; it was an amazing read. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a shorter story with meaningful themes, magic, and hope.

**Disclaimer: I recieved a free advanced reader's copy of Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity.

Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire is a fantasy novel in Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series.  This novel revolves around a character named Antsy whose life when severely downhill after her father died.  She ends up running away from home and finding herself in the shop where all the lost things go.  The novel is set to be published on January 10th, 2023.  I rated it 5 stars on Goodreads.


Here's the summary from Goodreads:

A young girl discovers an infinite variety of worlds in this standalone tale in the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire, Lost in the Moment and Found.
Welcome to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go.
If you ever lost a sock, you’ll find it here.
If you ever wondered about favorite toy from childhood... it’s probably sitting on a shelf in the back.
And the headphones that you swore that this time you’d keep safe? You guessed it….
Antoinette has lost her father. Metaphorically. He’s not in the shop, and she’ll never see him again. But when Antsy finds herself lost (literally, this time), she finds that however many doors open for her, leaving the Shop for good might not be as simple as it sounds.
And stepping through those doors exacts a price.
Lost in the Moment and Found tells us that childhood and innocence, once lost, can never be found.

I cannot tell you how excited I was when I got approved for this novel.  I am obsessed with Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series, and it is an automatic buy for me.  I think I've given almost all of them 5 stars.  When I saw that I was approved for this one, I had to throw my TBR out the window because I needed to read it next.   I'm so glad I did because I was absolutely not disappointed.

I really appreciated that the novel began with a trigger/content warning.  I'm not easily triggered by what I read, but I think it's really important that all books include at least a general trigger or content warning.  It's nice for people to be able to brace themselves and to know what they're getting into.  The way this one was written really left me prepared for what I was about to read.

I love the way that these novels are written.  The prose is always really lovely and descriptive.  I am always able to get a really clear picture of the world and how it is supposed to look.  I also really appreciate the pacing of them.  They're well developed and paced.  They're not overly long, and I feel the build up to the inciting incident wasn't over or under done. There was more than enough time to wrap up the story as well while still giving us a wonderful taste of different fantasy worlds.

I loved Antsy as a character.  She was really interesting and empathetic.  She was obviously quite young, but it was easy to understand her motivations and the reasons why she acted the way she did.  Her story absolutely made me cry as I watched her learn that adults were fallible and that she couldn't always trust the most important people in her life to have her best interests at heart.  

I really enjoyed exploring the premise of the shop as well.  It's a common question to ask where lost things go, and I appreciated that Seanan McGuire gave us an answer.  Now whenever I lose a sock I will have to imagine it in the shop somewhere.

Overall, I highly recommend this story, and the whole series.  It's easy to read and low-commitment because even though there are eight books in the series (this is the 8th), they're not all consecutive so you can kind of dip in and out as your interest dictates.

This book was everything I needed. Simultaneously so filled with sorrow and hope. I loved every moment from cover to cover and wanted more when it was over. I can't recommend the wayward children series enough, there is something for everyone in these books.

The latest installment in The Wayward Children series does not disappoint! Having read every book in the series, I enjoy the stories where the children are traveling into their door for the first time. Although this book hints at two popular characters from past installments, it takes you into the door of a type of thrift store with various odds and ends, but this story also takes you through so many other different doors in search of items to display in the shop, but there is always a price to pay in the end.
Throughly enjoyed this book and it is now among one of my favorites in the series.

This latest installment of the Wayward Children series is just as enchanting as the rest, though it does touch on some pretty dark subject matter. And it actually sheds a little bit of light on how the doors and worlds of the series work, which was interesting. I liked the protagonist, Antsy, a great deal, and I hope she appears in future installments. The book includes a trigger warning up front for the content that requires it, which I really appreciate. The things that happen are disturbing but thankfully Antsy runs away before things get bad.

CW: child abuse, psychological abuse, grooming, gaslighting

The Wayward Children series is one of my favourites - I was very glad to have been granted a copy of this book.

The writing and the worldbuilding was as touching and all consuming as it always is with Seanan McGuire's books. The universe of the series is well structured: there are rules that make sense and links between the books (I really enjoyed the teeny-tiny cameo of my favourite character). The writing, the effect of it is...difficult to describe, but I will try. Imagine you are playing dodgeball, and you're the last one left, right? Now, imagine dodging a ball: the feeling of relief, the adrenaline, the tiny celebratory feeling. Now, imagine that immediately upon turning around from successfully dodging you get hit in the face. That is the emotional equivalent of reading McGuire's writing.

Antsy was fine, she is not my favourite lead as I prefer the more gray ones. Antsy did have very understandable reactions to everything. This specific world is not my favourite either, but we get to find out more about the general structure of everything here so it balances out.

Overall, not my favourite in the series, but it's definitely not bad at all!

Children find doors for many reasons, but some barrel through them seeking safety. Antsy finds herself in the Place of Things that Are Lost and Found when she runs from a Very Bad Thing. There, she finds safety, and a home of sorts, but some places and some experiences come with an unexpected price, and you may not always know you're paying it until it's too late.

Another tale of Other Places and the children who need them. (Content warning: This one involves gaslighting and child grooming.)

Yet another delightful installment in McGuire's Wayward Children series. Works well as a standalone or even a series introduction, almost entirely self-contained. A little slight, perhaps, but as always very enjoyable.

First, I want to thank Netgalley and Tor publishing for giving me an arc copy of "Lost in the Moment and Found." I also want to thank Seanan McGuire for continuing to write this beautiful series!
I think this book has now tied for my favourite. Although a lot of the reasons it has become my favourite would be spoilers, so I can't say much right now. What I can say is that this is by far the darkest book of the Wayward children series, and that Antoinette might be my favourite protagonist along with Nancy.

This being a story set in another world instead of at the school, there aren't too many new characters but the ones who we meet are very compelling. You will fall in love with some, while others you will hate with a burning passion. Following Antsy on this journey felt so tense, while also fun and heartwarming to heartbreaking and nerve wracking. I believe Seanan Mcguire has said that she will continue writing these books for as long as people will keep loving them and let me tell you, my love for these stories will never end!

Again though, this book does deal with very dark and triggering themes. They are mentioned in the authors note at the start of the book so be sure to check them prior to reading.

Overall, five out of five stars and I am so sad I probably have another year to wait before the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.


Description from NetGalley:
Welcome to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go.

If you ever lost a sock, you’ll find it here.
If you ever wondered about favorite toy from childhood... it’s probably sitting on a shelf in the back.
And the headphones that you swore this time you’d keep safe? You guessed it….

Antoinette has lost her father. Metaphorically. He’s not in the shop, and she’ll never see him again. But when Antsy finds herself lost (literally, this time), she discovers that however many doors open for her, leaving the Shop for good might not be as simple as it sounds.

And stepping through those doors exacts a price.

Lost in the Moment and Found tells us that childhood and innocence, once lost, can never be found.

I have read most of the Wayward Children series. You need to read the first few but after that it is more of an anthology series. This is a good installment. Please do read the author’s note at the beginning, both for trigger warnings and just a general heads up for the rest of the book. I really like the peak at how the doors work, why, etc. It also gave me something to think about when it came to the consequences of the doors for the children that go through them. I held my breath for Antsy on a couple of occasions.

Overall: 4/5

The eight and latest in the Wayward Children series, this was really different from others in the series, but I still very much enjoyed it. 
*
This introduces a new character, Antsy (Antoinette), who runs away from home because her stepfather is starting to act inappropriately around her (definitely read the author's note for the full trigger warnings!), and finds herself in a shop for lost things. 
*
This spends a lot of time in the "real" world, and it doesn't have quite as magical a feel to it as some of the other books in the series did. But this brought a new dimension to the Doors, that really brought a lot of depth. The story is really very sad, throughout the entire thing. Antsy deals with things that a very young child should never have to, and she also has to come to terms with the realization that she has been deceived in a world where she had started to feel safe. 
*
For a short book, there's a lot to unpack, and it felt heavier than many of the others in the series. I very much enjoyed it, and recommend it, and am excited to see that another two books have been added to the series!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for the gift of an advanced copy. Below is my honest review.

This series is something special. It really delves deeply into the human experience - pain, belonging, family, loneliness, feeling an outcast, jealousy, anger, love, pride, courage - through the use of fantasy themes and amazingly well-constructed worlds. And it does it in such short tales, which makes it all the more impressive.

This one started with a warning from the author. I was a little taken aback, as that is perhaps bordering on spoiler territory. But as I read, I was glad for that warning. This story takes on some very dark, very traumatic things, and I believe that the warning was necessary and kind.

I absolutely love this series, and I love seeing this story lead one character to where she needed to be. One of the strongest in the series, backstory-wise.

Highly recommended, but please read the rest.

Lost in the Moment and Found is a bit darker in its backstory of what led Ansty to leave home and find her own door, and Seanan McGuire does a wonderful job of handling such a difficult topic, (Warnings are given at the beginning of the book)

Ansty's story had me by the throat and hit me in a way that was unexpected. I loved getting to delve deeper into her character and really experience why she needed to leave and find the door to all things lost. I loved the world, and Harold,.. not so much Vineta... I also really liked how it was divided up into different parts, and the illustrations are so beautiful and really add to the story, and the ending was perfect!

All the Wayward Children books can be read as standalone, but once you read one you'll want to read them all. It's amazing how much story Seanan McGuire packs into these novellas, and I think this one was the perfect length, and I hope we get to see much more of Ansty in future books!

Antsy's story is one of a girl learning what it means to be Lost and Found. And despite the heaviness, or maybe because of it and how well McGuire handles a difficult but very real topic, I thought it was an excellent read. We get a glimpse of one or two other characters from other Wayward Children books, which are fun easter eggs for those of use who've read the whole series. But this book can also stand alone as a portal fantasy novella, or serve as an entry point to the rest of the series.

Big fan of the Wayward Children series of novellas and this one is no different! A slightly heavier theme, I also felt this story delved deeper into the world of the Doors and psychologically explored its characters more. Our main character, Antsy didn't have an easy life but I feel Seanan's treatment of her story was so well done, (and I appreciated the author's note in the introduction for content warnings.) This story can easily be read as a stand-alone into the series, but I also feel that if you've read the previous entries it will be that much richer. Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire

Pros: psychologically astute, lyrical writing

Cons: packs a real emotional punch, may be distressing for some readers

When Antsy ran away from a bad situation at home she opened a Door. The Shop Where the Lost Things Go is a nexus connecting all the worlds and provides a new home for her. Antsy wants to return to her mother someday, but doesn’t realize what her adventure has already cost.

The book begins with a content warning from the author that Antsy runs before she is sexually abused. The first few chapters are difficult to read all the same. While she is a child, you know what’s happening and feel the tension and horror. The book also begins with the death of Antsy’s father. It’s a highly emotional scene that gut punched me harder than expected. This is a standalone story in the Wayward Children series, so if the content will distress you, you can skip it. If you can deal with the content, it’s an emotionally rewarding story.

In feel, the story has the same mixture of lyrical writing and keen psychological observation as the other books in the series, and Down Among the Sticks and Bones in particular.

Antsy’s a surprisingly astute child, who realizes something is wrong with her new stepfather but isn’t quite sure what. She has good instincts and follows them to positive effect in the story. She is a delight to read about.

Seeing through several doors was a lot of fun, as was learning more about the store.

As with most of the series the ending is a little bittersweet, but appropriate based on what happened.