Richly imagined, Seanan McGuire pens a clever, self-aware novella – the first in a series of adventures following Avery and Zib, two unknowing halves of the same whole – in Over the Woodward Wall, a closely guarded, adventurous work of metafiction originally seen in the coming-of-age science fiction novel, Middlegame.
A portal fantasy with hidden meaning, Over the Woodward Wall is the first in the Up-and-Under series, a whimsical fantasy fable penned by acclaimed alchemist, Asphodel Deborah Baker in an attempt to rival L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz while simultaneously indoctrinating children with alchemical properties and tinctures. Told through the eyes of Avery and Zib, polar opposite elementary school children, McGuire takes up the pen as Baker in a melodic, cautionary tale when an unexpected quest sends the duo spiraling for control. With lush, simple prose, McGuire writes with stunning precision to create something that is equal parts whimsical and eerie in the same vein as the short animated series, Over the Garden Wall.
There’s a promise hidden in the pages of Over the Woodward Wall, seen in the careful warnings of a self-aware narrator as Avery and Zib begin an ordinary day, both intent on making it to school on opposite sides of a quiet town. Despite living on the same street, the two children have never met; they attend different schools, walk different paths, and live very different lives: one organized, meticulous and safe, the other chaotic, messy and full of adventurous mishaps. In many ways, Avery and Zib are the incarnation of order and chaos, but their existence goes beyond that, as if by being together, they complete one another – an idea that will immediately resonate with readers of McGuire’s Middlegame.
What begins as something ordinary shifts subtly as a simple, straight-line path to school twists, altered by out of place construction projects that send the unlikely companions into one another’s orbit as they find themselves derailed, a peculiar brick wall blocking their path forward. Uninterested in going to school anyway, the never-before-seen wall represents adventure for Zib, but is an obstacle to overcome for the studious Avery, a meandering step on the path toward meeting the expectations of his parents by attending school. Little do the children know, however, that the wall is something else entirely, a portal to the Up-and-Under, an uncharted, mystical world that is as astounding as it is terrifying. While it may be an adventure, it is also a chilling awakening: a glimpse into the grand unknown, a quest bestowed upon them in the form of the Improbable Road: a thing that must be traveled if they want to make it back home.
The world is divided, after all, into possible and impossible, and something which is possible can happen whenever it sees fit, even if it is inconvenient or unwanted. Something which is impossible, however, is not supposed to happen at all, and when it does – for it would be improbable for the impossible to go away entirely – it tends to disrupt things rather conclusively.
– excerpt from A. Deborah Baker’s Over the Woodward Wall
Opposites turned enemies by their differences, Avery and Zib represent more than just two halves of a whole, as McGuire offers clever commentary on the unfair expectations placed on children in Avery, in particular. While his precise way of looking at the world, unabashed caution, and strong sense of morality help to balance out Zib’s reckless abandon and curious mind, he is trapped in a bubble of meticulous undertakings, forced to be in control at all times, unwilling to change until pushed to recognize that there is more to life than perfection and order, facts made obvious by the dangerous undertakings that await them in the unknown world that is the Up-and-Under.
As Avery and Zib navigate a world of talking animals influenced by the seasons with a murder of crows shaped like a girl for a companion, life takes on new meaning. As Avery comes to terms with chaos, Zib learns a harsh truth: adventure isn’t everything. Though Zib is quick to think outside of the box, she is also quick to act, often without thinking, which lands her in unfortunate circumstances as the duo navigate the dangerous territories of the Up-and-Under with nothing but the shifting iridescent rainbow of the Improbable Road – a fickle thing, at best – to guide them.
I think its probable that if you follow a road, you’ll wind up going where the road goes. So that means that if you don’t follow the road, it’s improbable that you’ll wind up going where the road goes. So that means that if you want to follow the improbable road, we can’t follow it at all.
– excerpt from A. Deborah Baker’s Over the Woodward Wall
While Avery and Zib navigate the wondrous Up-and-Under, seen in the vivid blues of unfamiliar foliage (and owls!) and kaleidoscopic, glittery mud falls, not to mention the delightful absurdity that is a fuzzy, tentacled fruit that tastes like all of your favorite things, danger lurks around every corner. From the frigid, bone-sharp rage of the Frozen Page of Frozen Waters to the chilling, overbearing presence of the watchful King of Cups, Avery and Zib experience a number of close encounters that push them to work together, opening the door for understanding and friendship that will allow them to walk the world freely on their quest to find the Impossible City, and the Queen of Wands that will send them home.
Alive and enchanting, McGuire pushes boundaries with a vivid, fantastical imagination in a series of season-inspired talking owls, a man made of quartz, and a drowned, frozen girl. Fear and fantasy go hand in hand to create a compelling portal fantasy that marks the beginning of an adventure without a clear end, offering readers a timeless fable full of harsh lessons, the first stop in a series of parabolic misadventures on a quest to find the missing Queen of Wands.
For the first time, Zib realized that “adventure” was not always another way of saying “an exciting new experience” but could also be a way of saying “bad things happening very quickly, with no way to make them stop.”
– excerpt from A. Deborah Baker’s Over the Woodward Wall
Perfect for every age, regardless of familiarity with its predecessor, Over the Woodward Wall is absolutely enchanting; a breathtaking take on a classic staple in children’s literature that is written with gorgeous, easy-to-read prose.
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