Over the Woodward Wall

This deserves to be an instant classic of children's literature. The story is so fun, the scenes full of an Alice in Wonderland like surreal beauty, and the characters so fully realized. On top of that, it layers subtle things that are so important to learn—messages of understanding and honoring our emotions, of identity being more than what people see, of inequality and unfairness being something to fight against. I love how deep and meaningful everything is. I can't wait for the sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor.com for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest review.

Over The Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker is a complicated book to review. A. Deborah Baker is the newest pseudonym of prolific author Seanan McGuire and goes hand in hand with one of her other works, Middlegame. It is meta, Over the Woodward Wall was mentioned in Middlegame, and now we have the full children's book to go with it.
Honestly, I wasn't even aware of the connection until I had an a-ha moment about halfway through the story. You don't need to have read Middlegame to appreciate Over The Woodward Wall. Still, I think readers will have a fuller appreciation and understanding of the story if they have read Middlegame.

“Humans always look the same to me once they're old enough to leave the nest. Hatchling humans are one thing, but the rest of you? Pssh.”

The story is about two children who are polar opposites of each other in almost every way. Avery, who is calm, collected, systematic, and rule-abiding, is half the duo. While Zib, who is loud, frizzy, wild, and free-spirited, is the other half of the pair. Together they balance each other and cancel each others strongest tendencies. The only thing Zib and Avery have in common is their age. That is... until a chance meeting while on a wall to the Up and Under intertwined their destinies. Now, in a land completely different than our own, the two of them have to work together because they will never escape otherwise.

Seanan McGuire is a master storyteller. If you haven't had a chance to check out the myriad of her novels, series, and short stories, you should. She has a way about writing that is lyrical enough to dance across the pages, but substantial enough that a reader does not get lost in the words. All that being said, I don't think this is her best work. That is a relative thing. Even on McGuire's worst days, she still is a fabulous writer.

But, Over the Woodward Wall was missing something.

The story has a lot of good. The worldbuilding is well done. There are giant talking blue owls, waterfalls made of mud, a crow girl, and so many other fantastical things. It is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland and McGuire's Wayward Children series. The world is an elaborate creation, and it is believable and whimsical at the same time. I can see two children getting lost in all this.

“Neither of them could see the cliff they fell past, but if they had, they would have understood the mud a little better, for the stone was banded in pink and blue and purple, stripes of one color sitting atop the next, like something from a storybook.”

Avery and Zib are fun lead characters that balance each other well but learn to adapt to the situations as they arise. It is a good lesson for kids because, technically, this is written for children. But I think the lessons were too heavy-handed; every character Avery and Zib crossed had something to teach them, some lesson. That is generally important in a fable; it seems too much. Even fables and children's stories have subtleties. Because it was apparent what each of the characters was doing, I could not get engaged in it as much as I would have liked to.

On the flip side, the story did not seem long enough. It felt incomplete. I wanted more. Maybe that will be realized in future books, but I ended this story slightly dissatisfied. It was a weird combination of too much info in one part of the story and not enough in another.

“A piece can represent the whole,” said Meadowsweet. “If the human child wants to hold up a branch and say it means the entire tree, I don't see where it's another human child's place to stop it. Representative symbols are an essential piece of making so many things. Without them, we wouldn't have maps, or books, or paintings. Peace, human child. Let your fellow be.”

Of course, even with slight criticism of the plot, this is a fun story. The children's voices are engaging, and its meandering manner is thematic. You are meandering with the kids as they make their way through the world. And, even though this isn't McGuire's best work, it is still a fun read. Besides, I loved Middlegame. It was one of the best books I read last year, and the meta quality of Over the Woodward Wall adds another layer to the story and makes me appreciate Middlegame all the more.

If you are a fan of McGuire's work, you will undoubtedly appreciate this. And, even though it wasn't as engaging as I had hoped, this is still a very good story and worth the time it takes to read it.

3.5/5 stars rounded to 4

Well that was beautiful! I love Seanan McGuire so much, her books always have that quality where I just want to keep reading because the words sound so nice. It took a friend mentioning Middlegame for me to actually remember why I know this title-before that, I'd assumed she just decided to play with another pseudonym.