Juice Like Wounds

Wayward Children #4.5

by Seanan McGuire

In the course of every great adventure there are multiple side-quests. All too often these go unreported—perhaps because the adventurers in question fail to return to the main narrative due to death or other distractions, and sometimes because the chronicler of the events decide to edit out that part of that particular history for reasons of their own (historians are never infallible)—but occasionally we get another window into our heroes' world.

In Juice Like Wounds we once again get to meet Lundy, and some of her companions. Lundy's main adventure is detailed in In an Absent Dream (which is nominated for a Hugo Award, this year!) and you should definitely read that. Before or after this tale is up to you. Remember: side quests are fun. For the reader, at least...

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Young Adult, Fiction, Novella, Ebooks, Magic

32 pages, ebook

First published July 13, 2020

About the author

Hi! I'm Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I'm also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.

Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).

I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of three girls who went into the woods together, and the two girls who came out the other side. I tell you this so that you will know, even from the beginning, that to become overly attached is only to do yourself a profound and primeval harm. Stories are weapons, you see. All stories. Some are swords and some are cudgels, but all of them can hurt you, if you allow it.

seanan mcguire can hurt me anytime she pleases.

every little bit of this story is a slash to the heart. it is alive, seething on the page. its words are as vibrant and full of life as its characters, and while we know the outcome from the very first line, its tragic ending is no less affecting for it.

its situation is similar to The Laws of the Skies, but the tone could not be more different. with Laws, there’s a gleeful nihilism at work, and the inevitable demise of all of its characters unfolds with cerebral detachment. here, even though you know you are being propelled straight into tragedy, you are powerless to resist falling in love with these girls.

it's beautiful, gutting stuff. even though it’s only a short story, this is unquestionably my all-time favorite work in the wayward children series.

definitely read In an Absent Dream first, to understand how lundy’s adopted world “works,” but do not miss out on this heartbreaking gem of a story.

on a personal note, before reading these books, given my predilections for candy and unicorns, i would have assumed i’d feel most at home with sumi in confection or with regan in the hooflands, but if i’m being honest, lundy’s goblin market is where i belong—this is the worldstructure that makes the most sense to me. high logic/high wicked? i am sure. bring it on.

****************************************

this might be the best story i have ever read, and maybe my favorite wayward children piece yet.
review to come. go read it NOW

https://www.tor.com/2020/07/13/juice-...

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hahahah the pub-time for this got pushed back from 9 am to 9:20 am. is this their way of gently requesting i stop refreshing the page every 2 seconds??

9:09 and counting...

9:21 update: now it's scheduled for 9:30.

I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!

9:35, they say.

I WILL WAIT FOREVER FOR YOU, STORY!! I'M YOUR DANIEL DAY-LEWIS

9:36 YYYYEEEEESSSSSSSSS

come to my blog!

[emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

this title is so horrifying, so disgusting, so disturbing to my brain...

i couldn't wait to read this.

even if it seems kinda silly to have an especially tiny installment of an already tiny series. and even if that insanity did make itself apparent constantly.

but this wasn't NOT fun.

even if the pacing was lame.

bottom line: i have no choice but to stan this series.

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars! Final review, first posted on FantasyLiterature.com: “Juice Like Wounds” is the story of a portentous event that takes place in what is probably my favorite book in Seanan McGuire’s WAYWARD CHILDREN series, In an Absent Dream. In the novella this event takes place offstage; in this shorter work we get the full story of this adventure.

Lundy is a young girl who has found her way from our mundane world through a magical portal to the Goblin Market — a wonderful, weird, and remarkable place that’s also rule-bound, based on the immutable concept of “fair value” in trade, and generally unforgiving of mistakes. Lundy and her two best friends, Moon and Mockery, enchanted by the idea of being heroes and taking back a place that has been wrongfully taken over by a person (literally) turned monster, and hopefully also getting some valuable pomegranates in the process to trade in the market, decide to try to reclaim a pomegranate grove from its monstrous possessor, despite the Archivist’s warnings to Lundy:

“They are the makers of monsters, and their workshops are their own hearts. Given time enough, they become terrible things, takers of children and stealers of dreams. But they never don the feathers they so feared, and they sometimes grow enough in strength to steal things that were never meant to belong to them, and so they feel themselves acquitted.” The sorrow on the Archivist’s face was painful to behold. “Good children should not sport with monsters. There are always costs.”

It’s Seanan McGuire’s insightful narration that raises this story far above the norm. She sees right into the hearts of these characters, illuminating their flaws and foibles as well as their admirable qualities.
Read it free online here at Tor.com.

[Melanie (meltotheany)]

The way I had no idea this existed, but you can read it for free HERE!

1.) Every Heart a Doorway ★★★★★
2.) Down Among the Sticks and Bones ★★★★★
3.) Beneath the Sugar Sky ★★★★
4.) In an Absent Dream ★★★★★
5.) Come Tumbling Down ★★★

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[Hamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Heart a Doorway ★★★ 1/2
Down Among the Sticks and Bones ★★★ 3/4
Beneath the Sugar Sky ★★★★
In an Absent Dream ★★★★
Come Tumbling Down ★★★ 1/2
Across the Green Grass Fields ★★★ 1/2
Juice Like Wounds ★★★★

This is a short story, a sad one too. It is actually one of the best entries in the series despite the length. I just loved the prose in this one and it reminded me of why I loved this series to start with. If you got 20 mins or so, I encourage you to try this one, it is really good and will enhance the series! It is available to read online for free, just google it. I hope to get more stories like this in the future!

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be a side story for the Wayward Children series but all by itself, it happens to be one hell of a great story. No one truly needs to keep this out of their lives. Even if they never read the rest of the series, this one should be a must-read.

https://www.tor.com/2020/07/13/juice-...

Yes, it's a Sacred Grove story.
Yes, it's a story of sacrifice and Fair Value and the righting of old wrongs.
And yes, it's a heartwrenching tale.

But Seanan makes no bones about it. She warns us up front.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an Absent Dream is one of my favourite Wayward Children installments, so this short story that explains what really happened to Mockery was a welcome return to the world.

As usual I really enjoyed the writing, the atmosphere and the characters. The three girls are a great combination, described as McGuire as different flowing rivers, with different opinions and values in a world defined by fair value. It's an interesting, logical world that speaks to me a little bit. I can't deny Lundy's door would have been the same as my own, and I liked the small expansion on the way magic works here. Good children who make bad decisions turn into birds. Bad children in return turn into monsters. It's rather simple really.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Portal fantasy and a coming-of-age story, and about as good as they get. Read the publisher's blurb (above) for the background. This one is award-worthy too, in my judgment. You should read it. Masterful storytelling. https://www.tor.com/2020/07/13/juice-...

I'll be reading the companion-book, which is a Hugo nominee. I tried the first Wayward Children years ago and didn't care for it. Clearly she's gotten better at this. Or I'm on her wavelength now...

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who has known me for more than 5 minutes knows that I'm a fan of the Wayward Children series. So when I found out about there being a short story, I had to read it. Immediately. And Seanan McGuire did not disappoint.

Readers of the series know that book 4 was Lundy's story. Within Lundy's story, there was a side quest from her past hinted at. And it's that side quest between Moon, Lundy and Mockery that we are getting here now.

So yeah, despite the storyteller's warning, prepare to have your hearts ripped out.

The writing is as beautiful as it is cruel, heartwrenching and yet balm for the soul. In short: it is once again a thing of beauty (and it doesn't matter one bit that we already know how it ends).

You can read the story for free here: https://www.tor.com/2020/07/13/juice-...

[Theo Logos · Rating 5 out of 5]

”Stories are weapons, you see. All stories. Some are swords and some are cudgels, but all of them can hurt you, if you allow it…All stories are weapons, and children’s stories are doubly so, for children have not yet learned how to be careful.”

Seanan McGuire writes fictions dark and dangerous. That she writes them for children doubles the danger and deepens the darkness. She writes in the tradition of those original fairy tales — the ones where kids fully encounter wonders both deadly and delightful, not the safe, Disenyfied amusements for cherished innocents. McGuire’s Wayward Children series is filled with multiple wondrous worlds waiting for children who need to find them, but she constantly reminds us that not all wonders are safe.

Juice Like Wounds is a Lundy story, within the Goblin Market world where her door led her in In an Absent Dream. Lundy with her friends Moon and Mockery set off into the forest on a quest. Three go in, but only two return to the Market. That you know from the start. The magic and the horror unfolds from there.

This short story isn’t the door you should use to enter McGuire’s Wayward Children series. For that, read Every Heart a Doorway, then read the prequel In an Absent Dream to discover the Goblin Market. And then, if you dare, you can follow these remarkable children’s ill-advised quest after pomegranates and monsters.

[Carrot :3 (on a hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

We get to read about one of the adventures mentioned in the last book.

I was supposed to feel sad but I couldn’t care less and I’m liking this series less and less.

[Acqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, that hurt.
I did wonder who Mockery was during In An Absent Dream, because her story was oddly danced around and never really told, but I also understood that not everything can fit in a novella. And now I understand - this did deserve its own story, its own space as a sidequest.

Apart from how much I loved being back with Lundy and Moon, reading about the Goblin Market is such an interesting experience, because one thing I'm sure of is that it would be the wrong world for me (...a world in which people treat each other "fairly" - whose definition of fairness do you even use - because of magically enforced rules? No thank you.) but the characters in the world treat said not fitting in as a moral failing - is it? ...Now I want a whole story about the villain. There's always more to tell!

(...Is the pomegranate grove in any way tied to Nancy's world?)

[˗ˏˋ lia ˎˊ˗ · Rating 2 out of 5]

“there are some people for whom the only fair value is their own dominance over everyone around them. […] they can’t look at someone who is equal to themselves and see them clearly; they assume that for anyone else to be the same, they must be cheating, or that something must have been taken from the first and given to the second, for surely it can’t have been earned.”

to be fair i’m rather disappointed in this. yeah, it was short, so one can’t really expect to much. but this feel short even beneath those expectations and hopes. it was nice to read a bit about lundy again (considering her story is my favorite out of the wayward children series), but all in all it was pretty unnecessary and didn’t give me those feels that the rest of the books did.

→ 2 stars

[julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

a escrita dessa autora me deixa em choque toda vez 😭 não entendo como alguém pode misturar palavras de tal forma que se transformam em frases ASSIM!!! estou mto triste com essa short story, principalmente sabendo como a moon e a lundy sofreram dps desse evento trágico!!!

And we may leave them there, if you like. You know what happens; you know that three came and two left, and that the one who did not leave would never leave, not with her friends and not on her own. You know this story. You can go. You do not have to stay and see.

But while we have the luxury of leaving, they did not; they were trapped by the cage of their own choices, prisoned by the moment they had made.

[Jenny Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readathon: This is part of a readathon to help me lower my TBR to a reasonable number. I may have to continue this readathon for five years to achieve this goal.

Fans of the Wayward Children series will love this short story. You can read it here.

[leticia · Rating 4 out of 5]

essa short story entregou tudo que eu senti falta no livro 😭😭😭😭 perfeita!!! e de novo A ESCRITAAAAA DA SEANAN MCGUIRE!!!!!!

”Where there is a wood filled with monsters, there will be need for heroes; where there is need for heroes, there will be children who think their hands are perfectly shaped to hold a sword, that their throats are protected by the armor of their virtue, that the immortality every baby is born believing is theirs extends even to the dark places where serpents dwell.”

[Holly (The GrimDragon) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Stories are weapons, you see. All stories. Some are swords and some are cudgels, but all of them can hurt you, if you allow it. If you give them the space they need to twist and wriggle in your hands, becoming something other than friendly, becoming something other than tame. All stories are weapons, and children’s stories are doubly so, for children have not yet learned how to be careful."

If you're like me, you love a side quest. Juice Like Wounds is Lundy's side quest to her main journey in In an Absent Dream & what a glorious gut-punch it is! Brutally beautiful, haunting & gorgeously told. Oof.

[Fiona Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories are weapons, you see. All stories. Some are swords and some are cudgels, but all of them can hurt you, if you allow it. If you give them the space they need to twist and wriggle in your hands, becoming something other than friendly, becoming something other than tame. All stories are weapons, and children’s stories are doubly so, for children have not yet learned how to be careful.

[Carrie (brightbeautifulthings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flash Book Review: That was the sound of Seanan McGuire stabbing me in the heart with the machete she keeps under her bed.

[Courtney (bookplaces) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devastating and gorgeously written side quest😭 Highly recommend to fans of the Wayward Children, Lundy in particular, and side quests.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastating.

[Marnie (Enchanted Bibliophile) · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Time always runs out before anyone is ready, before every cup is full.”



A very short story continuing Lundy's tale. Beautiful writing that makes you think and re-think why we do certain things.
Reminded me how much I loved the goblin market. Might be time for a re-read.

[Isis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eu amei muito esse short story, no bookclub a gente tinha conversado que queria saber mais da amizade delas e o que tinha acontecido com elas.

“Stories are weapons, you see. All stories. Some are swords and some are cudgels, but all of them can hurt you, if you allow it. If you give them the space they need to twist and wriggle in your hands, becoming something other than friendly, becoming something other than tame. All stories are weapons, and children’s stories are doubly so, for children have not yet learned hot to be careful.”

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this was such a sad story. Going into this knowing Mockery's fate from In An Absent Dream, I'd always wondered what happened to her but never realized this short story existed until recently. I'm glad I read it, but it broke my heart a little and made it easier to understand why Lundy's grief drove her away from the Market for a time. At the end of it, I think what I expected the least was how much it devastated me for little Moon, left all alone. 💔

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[Manisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

“And where there are children who know, without a doubt, that the monsters exist, and that there must be a quest in the fullness of time.”

A short story, lyrically crafted, that expands on a moment mentioned in In An Absent Dream.

We follow the adventures of Moon, Mockery and Lundy as they enter the forest. Three enter, two leave, and this story tells us what happened within those fateful moments.

As always, I love McGuire’s writing. Her prose is lovely with a fairy tale flair to it. And even though the story is short, I enjoyed it.

It perfectly explained a moment in time for Lundy.

[Andria Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ow my heart.

*Sobs*

Seanan McGuire you are an evil, evil writer and I shall be pleased to read your grocery list.

This stung.

(Pun intended for those that read it, they know what this pun is.)

[Sky. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why wasn’t this added to book 4? 😅

[Sassy Sarah Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Juice Like Wounds by Seanan McGuire

Book 4.5 in the Wayward Children series

5 stars

DON'T READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IN AN ABSENT DREAM

This short story follows Lundy (the main character from In An Absent Dream), her friends, Moon and Mockery, as they travel into the woods and fight a monster. One of the most haunting aspects of In An Absent Dream was the death Mockery off scene and the impact that it had Lundy. This is their story and we see the brutal fallout of what the Goblin Market does to those who do not trade at fair value. In this world, good children who don't make fair value slowly become birds. In this story, we see what bad children who don't make fair value become. I loved every second of this story from the beginning to the end. The writing was filled with lyrical beauty and haunting sadness. The Goblin Market and these three young children as well as the Archivist have my heart and boy, was I wrecked to tears. Totally, wrecked and devastated even though I know Mockery dies because I have been told this before, but reading and seeing such a sad and innocent death of a heroine who wanted to be a hero and come back alive was heartbreaking. So, yeah, this story will crush you. Go explore it.

Whimsical Writing Scale: 5

Character Scale: 5

Plotastic Scale: 5

Cover Thoughts: A simple illustration.

[giuliaghoulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

seanan mcguire's writing >>>>

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

A beautiful yet sad tale about 3 girls, 4 rivers and 1 wood.

McGuire at her best!