Mislaid in Parts Half-Known

Antsy is one of the newer students at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children and possesses a unique talent: the ability to find almost anything that has been lost. Her fellow students, all longing for the doorways that led them to their true homes, soon find out about this ability, and some of them will stop at nothing before they make her open doors against her will. When Antsy and her friends must escape, they find themselves traversing through various worlds, all leading back to the people who stole Antsy's childhood.

This was a thoroughly engaging and whimsical entry into the franchise, with McGuire's usual knack for balancing humor and emotion. There was a clear theme of breaking cycles of abuse, which is, of course, powerful and necessary. Still, I did feel that the action would often stop for various characters to monologue about both that and the feeling of belonging they found in their portal worlds. At this point in the series, we understand that the characters went where they felt most at home. This one is too steeped in lore from the other books to act as an entry point, so I'm not sure it was necessary. Overall, though, I was happy to revisit Antsy, and honestly, I want Kade to have a Good Day sometime in the very near future. 3.5 talking magpies out of 5.