There are times when I know that it's less that the books I'm reading aren't good, and it's more that I'm reading them badly. This is the fourth book in the Wayward Children series, and the second one that focuses on one character's experience before they make it to the school. The main character in the story is Lundy, and the world she found the door to is the Goblin Market.
The entire system of the Goblin Market is built around the concept of fair value - if you ask something of someone, you need to provide them fair value in exchange, and if you're unable to, you are in their debt. The debt in this world (and in our world, if you leave) is a physical change; once you are too far in debt, you lose your humanity and become a bird. Lundy tries desperately to have her life in the Goblin Market without giving up her life at home, especially for her younger sister. But she is unable to properly calibrate the fair value required for such a thing. It is a sad story that feels extremely unfair, perhaps especially because it is a world that presents itself as being completely in balance, and I had a hard time with it emotionally.
Grade: B
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