Starred Review McGuire's latest Wayward Children book (after Down among the Sticks and Bones, 2017) laces the threads of time into an impossible knot. Eleanor West's pupils are disrupted by the arrival of newcomer Rini. She claims to be the child of murdered Sumi, who somehow grew older and had a family in the Nonsense world of Confection. Rini is literally running out of time e is physically disintegrating, as she logically should not exist. Classmates Christopher, Kade, Cora, and Nadya agree to break the cardinal rule of No Quests to help Rini save her world. The true standout of this story is Cora, who longs to return to her watery world, but her keen sense of observation and quiet bravery are vital to the quest. As the motley crew travels through worlds, readers will thrill to encounter familiar characters and marvel at the sugar-studded landscape of Confection. McGuire suggests entire universes in a few spare sentences, and the delightfully diverse cast of characters is similarly conjured. We're told some doors open only once, but readers will beg McGuire to keep the door open to these worlds in perpetuity. Phenomenal.

McGuire-s delicious third book (after 2017-s Down Among the Sticks and Bones) to feature the teens of Eleanor West-s Home for Wayward Children-kids who have found doors to fantastical worlds and are desperate to return to them-opens with a girl falling from the sky into a pond on school grounds, causing quite a stir. Rini Onishi has come from a world called Confection to get back her mother, Sumi. Inconveniently, Sumi is dead, and she-ll need to be rebuilt from the bones up so that Rini-s life won-t be undone. Several of the strange children at the home offer to help Rini, but when they get to Confection, they-re captured by the fearsome Queen of Cakes. What follows is a lush, darkly whimsical adventure full of wonders such as a pink soda sea, candy corn fields, and a castle made of gingerbread, all made grim by the characters- desperation to get Rini-s mother back before it-s too late. Readers will be thrilled to see old friends and meet new ones in this scrumptious tale that emphasizes acceptance, kindness, and the enduring value of friendship. Agent: Diana Fox, Fox Literary. (Jan.)