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Overall I found this to be a good book. It's a decent debut. I think I expected it to have a little more of a creepy factor to it, and in reality I didn't find it to be creepy at all.

I struggled a bit during the ballet sections because I'm not familiar with the terms and had to keep stopping to get an idea of what was being described. I'm sure for those that have done ballet or are familiar with it, those sections will likely be more enjoyable. The cutthroat nature of professional ballet I felt was appropriately handled, but again I've never been into ballet at all, so I could be completely wrong haha.

The description makes it clear that this is a slow burn, but it was verrrry sloooow through a good chunk of it. It started to drag a little too much in the middle and I almost DNFd it but I was interested enough to want to know the ending. The last section of the book was very quick to get through and I wish some of the action and suspense had been spread through the book a little more to keep it from dragging.

There's a sequel that will be coming out and I think I might pick it up and see where the story goes.

I love the concept of the Wayward Children series as a whole, but individually a few of the books have been hit or miss for me. If I had to pick, In an Absent Dream and this book have been my favorites out of the whole series, largely in that they both focus on a single character and so the plot and theme can be a lot more tight in the short space of a novella.

Lost in the Moment and Found follows Antsy, who runs away from horrific step-dad, finds herself lost, and steps through a door into the Shop Where the Lost Things Goes. (I also deeply appreciated the Author's Note which precedes the book and content warns for grooming and adult gaslighting, but also gives the reassurance that "before anything can actually happen, Antsy runs.")

In this book, the reader gets teased with larger worldbuilding hints about the Doors and how they operate, but thematically for Antsy it's all about abuse and loss. She's literally lost and in a shop that collects lost things; she has lost trust in adults and the safety of the world; by the end, everything she's lost all ties together really satisfyingly. Some more spoilery thoughts.

Six months after Abby was born, her mother sat her down in the living room and took her hands, as she'd done twice before. Antsy sat rigid, having learned that these were the moments where her life changed for the worse, where things she didn't even know could be lost were ripped away from her and thrown aside.

This is a minor detail, and I certainly differ a lot from Antsy on many points, but boy howdy did this quote hit me right in the psychologically unsafe "serious conversations" feelings.