Katherine Lundy has always been a serious, bookish little girl, the kind who doesn't quite fit in. When she wanders through a door in the woods, she finds herself in the Goblin Market, where the rules are everything, and everything she's ever wanted can be hers, if she's willing to pay the price. Over the years, she goes from that world to this one and back, grappling with what fair value means in each world, and if she can somehow have the best parts of both.

I read the first book in the Wayward Children series a few years ago, long enough that I didn't remember a lot of the details. This book is billed as a stand-alone, but serves chronologically as a prequel, in that it focuses on the character of Lundy and the story of how she found and lost her door. I really loved this story, as it focuses on the Goblin Market and its denizens. A delightful read for fans of the series -- and if you haven't found your way into it yet, this might be your door. ( )

In the 1960s, six-year old Katherine Lundy absentmindedly wanders into the woods and finds a tree with a door in it. When she walks through it, she enters the world of the Goblin Market where the rules are simple but have great repercussions. Over the next few years, Lundy goes back and forth between the Goblin Market and the real world but a deadline is coming when she'll have to choose where she belongs and it won't be easy.

This entry in the Wayward Children series is largely a standalone and I adored it. McGuire narrates the tale exquisitely, with a fairy tale-esque tone that evokes the world she has created so beautifully. A brief and utterly entrancing tale that I highly recommend. ( )

Along with "Every Heart a Doorway", this is my favorite book in the series so far! Nearly every aspect of it was spot-on for me: the beautiful, insightful writing, the world of the Goblin Market, and Lundy herself. Although the ending was slightly too rushed in my opinion, I think it actually fit in well with other themes in the story, so it also worked on another level. I seriously can't wait for the next book to come out! ( )

I loved this book! The world was interesting, Lundy was fun to follow, and it just felt so cozy. I would love to spend more time exploring the Goblin Market. ( )

Marketed as a standalone novel, it is the fourth in publication order of the Wayward Children series. Katherine Lundy was a minor character in the first novel, a teacher at Miss West's school for children who have been through portals to other worlds. In this novel, we learn her backstory.

Katherine, never Katie or Kitty, is an utterly average child, ostracized by other students because her father is principal. She strives to blend in and be invisible. One day she finds a rather unique doorway, one that allows her to travel back and forth between the world of her birth and the Goblin Market, pretty much at will. On the other side she makes close friends, fights battles, and is happy with the strict rules of fairness that govern that world. Her trips back and forth, however, can only last until her 18th birthday, when she must decide which side of the door she will make her permanent home.

I liked this story, although I was a bit slow and didn't make the connection between Katherine and the Miss Lundy of the first book until embarrassingly late. I found it a nice solid return to reason after the last book, which takes place in Confection, and I appreciated the more thought-provoking premise than the quest-format of the last book as well. ( )