Apparently Over the Woodward Wall is a story-within-a-story from one of Seanan McGuire’s novels, and she fleshed it out into a full length novella? I didn’t know that when I requested it, just thought it looked like an interesting story. I’ve now read two of McGuire’s short works - the other being a story in The Book of Dragons - and loved both. Obviously she’s getting added to Mount Readmore. Any suggestions on where I should begin with her?
So for those of you (like me) who haven’t read Middlegame, it apparently refers to a story by an A. Deborah Baker called Over the Woodward Wall, presumably in a way not unlike the Fillory books in Lev Grossman’s Magicians trilogy. It’s a story in the long literary tradition of kids-ending-up-somewhere-strange-and-wonderful, whether they get there by going through a looking glass, falling down a rabbit hole, being swept up in a tornado, or out the back of a wardrobe. The kids in this case live on the same street, but have managed to never meet each other. They go to different schools, and in any case each family is the type of people the other family doesn’t associate with. Hepzibah (Zib) has wild hair, scabby knees, patched clothes, and a pocket full of acorns. Her parents are a bus driver and an artist, and though their house is full of warmth and love, her parents are very busy working hard to make never-enough money. Avery has starched shirts, shiny shoes, and carries a metal ruler he won in a spelling bee (why a ruler is the prize for a spelling bee is uncertain). His parents are a banker and a classically trained pianist, and though he is well-provided for and loved, the love is of a somewhat distant kind with lots of shoulder-patting.
Our story begins with both Zib and Avery having to take a detour on the way to their respective schools, and each finding the way blocked by a moss-covered stone wall that seems out of place in their quiet, safe suburban street. Zib is delighted by this, because it means an adventure. Avery is annoyed, because there’s not supposed to be a wall blocking his way, he’s supposed to be at school, and things should be what they are supposed to be. Both decide to climb the wall, and find themselves in a forest standing next to each other (remember, they’ve never met) with a large blue owl giving them a gentle scolding for being noisy when she wants to sleep, it’s really rather inconsiderate of them after all. There is no sign of the wall, or their quiet suburban street, or either of their schools.
Zib copes with this rather better than Avery.
This is a delightful story, and clearly doesn’t need any knowledge of Middlegame to enjoy. It’s told in that kind of old-man-telling-a-fairy-tale tone I associate with The Hobbit and the voice-overs from the Stardust movie. It’s certainly a children’s tale: I think it would be a great thing to give to a kid who is just starting to discover Narnia and Prydain. It does on a cliffhanger, be forewarned. Not in a “Mr. Worf - fire” kind of way, where it stops in the middle of a dramatic moment, but in a “this is clearly half of a story” kind of way. There’s no satisfying conclusion - hopefully McGuire is planning to write more. I’ll be really annoyed with her if she doesn’t.
Thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC. Also - holy crap this cover is absolutely beautiful.