Over the Woodward Wall

May 1, 2020

Writing as Baker, award-toppled Seanan Mcguire (AKA Mira Grant) sends rock-steady Avery and in-her-own-orbit Zeb across a wall on the way home from school, where they discover a land where trees chatter, queens entrance, and owls and mermaids threaten. With a 50,000-copy first printing; a companion to Middlegame.

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Starred review from June 22, 2020
Seanan McGuire, writing as Baker, crafts a delightful, fable-like portal fantasy that works as a charming standalone adventure and serves as a metafictional tie-in to her 2019 blockbuster Middlegame, which features Baker as a character. When two children climb over a mysterious wall, they’re transported to the realm of the Up-and-Under, a bizarre land where dangers abound and anything is possible. To return home, they must “walk the length of the improbable road, all the way to the Impossible City” to speak with its ruler, the Queen of Wands. It’s the adventure of a lifetime for bold Zib and methodical Avery, and along the way they brave elemental hazards, encounter confounding talking animals, and become best friends. McGuire embraces the nonsensical internal logic of the plot with glee. On the surface, this reads like a sophisticated contemporary take on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but the connection to Middlegame adds a complex, self-aware edge that elevates the story beyond the children’s fantasies that inspired it. Readers won’t have to have read Middlegame to enjoy this, but those who have will take pleasure in the multiple layers of meaning behind each scene. With lyrical prose and deep stores of emotion, this grown-up fairy tale works on every level.

August 15, 2020
What appears to be a typical children's quest fantasy is more than it seems. In Seanan McGuire's Hugo-nominated Middlegame, the early-20th-century alchemist Asphodel Baker uses the pen name A. Deborah Baker to write a series of children's books concealing coded messages to other radical alchemists. Now McGuire has taken on the Baker pen name and actually written the first book. Tangle-haired, adventurous Zib and obsessively tidy, rule-following Avery both climb over a mysterious wall and find themselves in the Up-and-Under, a dangerous and magical land populated by monsters, Crow Girls, giant talking owls, and other fabulous creatures. Their way home lies along the gleaming, elusive, improbable road to the Impossible City, where the Queen of Wands will surely be able to send them home...if the other kings and queens weren't so determined to strew obstacles in their way. The plot draws heavily on the tropes of a stock 20th-century children's fantasy, but the sharp and thoughtful perspective of the narrator transforms the book into a 21st-century commentary on such works. It also puts forth a deeply felt and carefully considered exploration of the foolish myths adults teach the next generation and the unpleasant consequences of parents trying to force their offspring to fit into a mold, with an emphasis on the negative effect on those children's relationships with their peers. These themes link the book to the author's Wayward Children portal fantasy series, which touches on similar issues. Middlegame readers searching for hidden alchemical meaning may not find it beyond the obvious naming of the Kings and Queens of the Up-and-Under after court cards in the tarot (often linked to alchemy). Selections from the text included in Middlegame also appear, but the author's history in that novel doesn't quite match up with what's presented here. Middlegame places Baker as a contemporary of L. Frank Baum and her books as commercial and alchemical rivals with Baum's Oz series. But numerous bits of context and reference within this children's fantasy (planned suburban communities, a woman working in a street repair crew, playgrounds with slides, etc.) place it considerably later than the dawn of the 20th century. Surely that is a deliberate choice on McGuire's part, but what does it portend? A peculiar but often profound piece of metafiction whose emotional landscape offers more riches than its physical one. (Fantasy)

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September 1, 2020
Baker, a pseudonym for the award-winning Seanan McGuire, offers a philosophical fairy tale reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz. Told in a poetic style embedded with wonderful wordplay, the novel follows two children on a fantastical adventure. Zib is a flighty, eccentric girl who loves to explore. Avery is a sharp, efficient boy not prone to physical activities. They are the same age and live on the same street, but attend different schools and have never met. One ordinary morning, Zib's and Avery's usual morning routines are disrupted, and when they divert from their normal paths, they end up facing a wall that should not even exist. Determined to get to school, both climb over and end up in the Up-and-Under, a magical place inhabited by numerous amazing creatures. To find their way home they must follow a shimmering, improbable road that leads to an impossible city ruled by the Queen of Wands. This to-be-continued tale will delight readers who remember the excitement and trials of making a new friend and going on an unexpected adventure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

November 1, 2020

Gr 8 Up-This book, written under a pseudonym, is a companion to Seanan McGuire's Middlegame-it's the protagonists' favorite novel-though it also stands alone. A master of fantasy and storytelling, McGuire departs from her previous urban fantasy fare to transport readers, along with young white neighbors Zib and Avery, from the earth they know and into a fantastical realm called the Up-And-Under, which is inhabited by a wide array of talking mythical creatures. Zib and Avery, who are opposite in almost every way, embark on an adventure to find a way home together, and must learn to trust each other in order to get back to Earth. Older teens will connect with classic bildungsroman elements, such as self-actualization, while enjoying the magical and mysterious setting. Like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland meets The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, McGuire weaves a whimsical world where it seems anything is possible, but mortal danger is around every corner. VERDICT With strong themes of self-discovery, friendship, and loyalty, this book will be enjoyed by teens of all ages. McGuire's lyrical prose is perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, and Madeleine L'Engle.-Melanie Leivers, Burnsville, MN

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