Over the Woodward Wall

Avery and Zib are close in age and home address, but very different in personality. Zib finds joy in being daring and getting her hands dirty. Avery finds solace in predictability and good manners. On their respective walks to school, they hit a wall. On the other side awaits adventure, danger, a whole lot of birds, and an unlikely friendship.In the tradition of Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, The Phantom Tollbooth, and other classics of middle grade fantasy, Over the Woodward Wall is a story about strange dynasties, falling down holes, finding brick roads, cowardice and companionship, and how much things can change through quests to get back to normal.The tone and pacing both stand out; Baker/McGuire has a knack for quietly and beautifully describing terrible events. Several weighty themes are explored—autonomy, consent, and caring about people without knowing them well, even if you couldn't be more different in what you value most. How those we trust have their own blind spots and ignorance, and that doesn't make them dishonest. I'm torn on what to rate this. The writing was flowery, but it really resonated with me. I have a soft spot for almost every character introduced, and I like that there were two protagonists instead of one. But the pacing was strange, and I can see a lot of readers hating the ending. I don't think I feel that strongly, but it did feel like a last minute setup for a sequel that I don't know needs to exist. In general, I wish this author would write fewer books that are a little longer. I feel like we're just getting to the heart of a story right as it wraps up, and that's a pity. In all, Over the Woodward Wall is weird and charming, and I will begrudgingly but definitely read [b:Across the Saltwise Sea 56179349 Across the Saltwise Sea A. Deborah Baker https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png 87513137].