I received an ARC of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program. 
 I'm super late getting this review up, the book is available now. Perils of life with a young child. :) 
 In most stories, a child finds a path to another world and has an amazing adventure, somehow returns home, THE END. This short novel gives us a glimpse into what life might be like for those kids after they've returned to our world. Nancy is one of those kids, and she did not want to come back. When her family doesn't know how to deal with the changed Nancy, they enrol her in Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. There, Nancy finds she is not alone; every student at the Home has been to a different world and returned unwillingly. Nancy slowly befriends some fellow students and gets wrapped up in a tragic mystery, but she never stops longing for the world she left behind. 
 I really enjoyed this novella. The ultimate who-dun-it mystery plot is a little predictable but was still fairly entertaining. The snippets of information about the worlds other students have been to are tantalizing and I wish we could know more about each and every one, though of course that would never fit into the plot. I particularly like the variety of worlds, and that they are not all beautiful fantasy worlds. I especially like that our main character's world was not a bright and cheery place full of whimsy; it's a place many people would not want to go, but Nancy adores it. It's a really nice change of pace. 
 Ultimately, the characters are the best part of the story. Considering the length of the story, the characters are well fleshed out. And it's nice to have a story with an asexual main character, and another who's transgender, who are not agonizing over their identity, but entirely comfortable with who they are(though Nancy has concerns about dealing with the expectations of potential partners). Stories of people exploring and discovering their gender/sexual identity are important, but it's also great to see a story with young people who already know, and are at peace with themselves. 
 To sum up, this is a lovely story whose short length hides a plethora of intriguing worlds, and much like the children of the Wayward Home, I found myself in a world I didn't want to leave.