Beneath the Sugar Sky
Ratings205
Average rating3.9
Journeying through three worlds, McGuire showcases her strength as a world-builder. Worlds that could seem silly or frivolous, like Confection, are still both part of a greater theme, and also thoughtfully depicted with internal consistency, backstory and a lush sense of place.
The characters continue to be flat, and the murder mystery of the first novel continues to diminish in importance with nonsensical resurrections, but this time I knew what I was in for, and just relaxed and had fun with it.
Also posted to my site Behind the Pages: Beneath the Sugar Sky
In the world of the Wayward Children, sometimes the most impossible and improbable solution is the one you need. After all, when Rini lands in the turtle pond dressed in frosting, missing two fingers, and demanding to see her dead mother, is there really anything else the children can do? The children must start a new quest, one that will take them through the doors of both logical and nonsense worlds. They are in a race against the clock to resurrect Sumi and save her disappearing daughter.
Beneath the Sugar Sky will let you revisit old friends and learn the backstories of some of the original children. From start to finish, you'll be engaged in the beautiful world-building Seanan McGuire portrays in each of these novels. And after two books of logical worlds, this new installment of the Wayward Children will show you what a nonsense world is all about.
You'll visit a world where the sea is made of soda, the sky is filled with candy, and the clothes are made from pastries and chocolate. The trees are filled with cake pops and cookies, and you'll never gain a pound eating it all. The rules of logic don't exist, and when the logical children of the school enter a nonsense world, they will have to fight against their instincts and reasoning. If they think too hard about the nonsense, the world will cast them out and all will be lost.
Another fantastic installment in the Wayward Children series. This one was just as creative as the previous two books, and while it wasn't as dark, the sense of tension and desperate hope was still there. I can't get enough of this series!
Because I love Seanan McGuire's writing, I will give this 3 stars. So far this is my least favorite of the series. I just got bored in spots, but it was still a good story. I guess I just enjoy Jack and Jill's world more than Confection.
Wow. Just wow. This is the best of this series thus far. I'm honestly at a loss for words, I can't truly describe how much I loved this one. Suffice to say that in a series that has hit a lot of “yes” buttons for me, this one equipped a heavy mallet to smash on that “yes” button extra hard. I absolutely love to see a protagonist who is overweight and whose ONLY issues with being overweight are based in the fact that it makes other people treat her like crap. She isn't self-loathing, she isn't portrayed as having something wrong with her for being overweight, she just IS overweight, and it's just a part of who she is. It's not a flaw. It's not a weakness. Seanan McGuire is very quickly becoming an Author Who Can Do No Wrong in my eyes. It is so clear that she is an empathetic, thoughtful person, and it really shows in her writing that she has a beautiful heart.
I continue to really enjoy this series, due in large part to McGuire's amazing imagination and her ability to give all those who felt or feel ‘out of place' a voice through her stories. This third volume takes a 180 turn from the last darker volume to a world made entirely out of baked goods and candy, but still manages to maintain it's rather melancholy overtones. Being able to mix things in an adventure story like ghosts, time-travel, a land of the dead and a land of candy, with a spectrum of fascinating characters is truly and talent and a delight to read. In fact I think this volume really made me enjoy the characters much more for some reason I can't exactly pinpoint, but maybe because we're back with a group of characters we're mostly familiar with from the first volume, and the additional ones, namely Cora, that were a welcome addition. I also enjoyed the “quest” aspect of this volume, traveling through worlds and trying to save a friend is classic, but McGuire puts her own bizarre and strange spin on it. At this point you will definitely want to have read the previous volumes, as this one will make no sense without the previous stories under your belt. Highly recommended though, continuing to be a unique and enjoyable read.
A beautiful continuation of the story begun in [b:Every Heart a Doorway 25526296 Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, #1) Seanan McGuire https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431438555l/25526296.SX50.jpg 45313140]. This book is written in a fairy-tale style and each time I read it I find myself reflecting on a different aspect of life. A beautiful little book and a great series.
I almost liked this one more than Every Heart. I think because there's more going on and there's this edge of desperation that adds to the suspense. I listened to the audiobook, which was fine, but the narrator's Rini voice REALLY started to get on my nerves.
This is definitely the most plot-heavy book of the series with an actual linear plot. This was not what I expected at all but I also adored it. I'm always shocked at how Seanan McGuire can conjure up new characters and make them so unique and also make me fall in love with them in such a short amount of pages. I'm obsessed with every character in this series and I love that each new book leaves the potential for 10 future stories. I adore this series so much.
This was my least favorite book in the series so far. I wasn't a fan of Rini at all. Did like the other characters. Storyline wasn't for me either
This instalment wasn't quite as good as the first two however I still very much enjoyed it.
This one follows Sumi's daughter Rini in the world of Confection, so has a much more whimsical and comical feel. There were some laugh out loud moments as the dialogue between the characters is so much fun.
I listened to this one on audio again and the narrator is just wonderful, she really brings this story to life and I would recommend the audio books if you're unsure on whether you'll like them.
3 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary:
At a home for young people who can move between worlds but are temporarily out of the appropriate one, Rini arrives unexpectedly, falling out of thin air into a turtle pond. She's from the bakery world of Confection, and looking to resurrect her mother, whose death before Rini's conception is leading to Rini's gradual disappearance. It's odd, but that's how things work in a Nonsense world.
Review:
I've heard a lot about Seanan McGuire, and been looking for an opportunity to try her work. This wasn't marked as a sequel, or I might have chosen to start elsewhere. While it definitely feels like a sequel, it's not hard to follow along; McGuire does a decent job of covering the backstory as she goes.
I'm sorry to say I was disappointed. The book is a nice YA story, but not as magical as I was expecting from the hype.
On the good side,
- - the concept is interesting, if familiar - magical gates to other worlds that have different rules (Logic, Reason, Nonsense)
- - the characters are a nice break from the norm - different body types, different gender identification, etc.
- - the writing is light and quick
- - McGuire lays on the Logic/Nonsense dichotomy pretty thickly. We hear over and over again about the distinction, and why Nonsense worlds can operate however they like. She also strays into a ‘worlds from' and ‘worlds to' description that is far from clear, though the basic intent is easily discerned
- - while the characters are appealingly different than the usual, McGuire's approach is heavy-handed, even for YA. The lead character, Cora, is heavier than the norm, but very able. That's great, but where McGuire goes wrong is in making almost everything in Cora's life about being thought fat. She can run fast, even though people think she's fat; she's smart, even though people discount her wit because they think she's fat; she's a good swimmer, even though ... It's credible that this is a central concern for Cora, but I would have given a lot for just a few things in her life not to be about being perceived as fat.
- - McGuire sometimes falls or almost falls into the very trap she's trying to avoid. More characters than you'd expect are beautiful. While celebrating diversity, some of the characters mock those with different views. I'd like to say that these moments are set up as ‘people are complicated and no one is perfect', but they're not. It seemed to me they were just slips, not clever meta-comments.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“Beneath the Sugar Sky” is the third novella in a series written by Seanan McGuire. The novella continues the story after “Every Heart a Doorway” after Sumi was killed in the first novella. The novella follows Rini, Sumi's daughter, but Rini is now fading after her mother died, before giving birth to her daughter. Now Rini needs to go on an adventure to try to bring, her mother back to life to keep the future from changing.
I really liked learning about the multiple worlds that we see throughout the novella, all the worlds were very interesting and cool, so I gave the novella a 4/5 Stars.
Pros: interesting settings, fun characters
Cons:
When Rini falls out of the sky at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children she's shocked to learn that her mother has died. Several students help her bring her mother back, knowing that if they fail than Rini will be erased from existence.
This is the third novella in the Wayward Children series and returns - for a time at least - to the setting of the first book. In addition to the school and the students there, you also see Nancy again.
Rini is from a nonsense world, Confection, the world her mother, Sumi, went to and was hoping to return to one day. There's another new character, Cora, an overweight girl who loved the underwater worlds where she was a beautiful mermaid. She's the main point of view character, which allows the reader to understand her feelings around weight and self-confidence (and the attempts by others to use the first to undermine the second). It was interesting seeing her interactions with Christopher, who went to a world of skeletons and who therefore as unconventional ideas about flesh and weight.
The plot is fairly linear and takes the group to several locations. There are some dangers they face, though not always physical ones.
I thought the mythology of Confection was kind of cool and really fit the kind of world it was - giving it a weird sort of logic despite its nonsense overlay.
It's a quick, fun read.
Unfortunately, didn't like it as much as I wanted to. This book while trying to make diversity its core purpose, manages only to enforce labels even more and make characters seem like the only thing that matters about them is their “special thing”. That's why it didn't ring true to me and actually sometimes annoyed me to no end. I want to read about interesting characters and intriguing plots, not about labels. Maybe it would have been done better in a longer form, but here it's the main focus and it's too straightforward.
I liked two previous books so much more. It's a bit disappointing after having waited for the new book for some time.
I really love this series. This time we meet Cora and go on a quest to help out Rin, from a sugary Nonsense world. I love how these read like middle grade fiction but feel like adult books. I hope Mariposa is next! I also love the size of these stories, proving that a book does not have to be 700 pages to tell a great story.
I love this series!I can't say that Confection – that's the name, right? – was my favorite world, but that was interesting in and of itself, because it taught me about myself, my basic make up. As much as this world bothered me is how much I loved The Moors, the world in [b:Down Among the Sticks and Bones 31450908 Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children, #2) Seanan McGuire https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473685781s/31450908.jpg 47411892]. Seanan McGuire does a tremendous job with diverse characters, and this time the point of view character was Cora, a girl made to feel self-c0nscious about her weight in our world, but had discovered a world and returned from a world where she felt at home as a mermaid. I get the feeling the author has tremendous compassion for all of her characters, and that she's rooting for them to make their way back to their homes. I love that. I don't think they ARE all guaranteed to make it back, sometimes things things are out of an author's hands – :) – but she wants it for them. If there was anything that bugged me, it's that we got so little time with a character from the first book who we meet again in this book. She was there for the book, and yet sort of not there, and without spoilers, that was a bummer. Since – no spoilers! – she couldn't talk for most of the story, the people who knew her could have told stories about her. Just a thought.
I was so delighted to get this one right when it was released! And then of course I was still finishing another book and couldn't start it right then. But it was absolutely worth the read. It didn't break my heart in the same way the first two Wayward Children books did, but it was still lovely.
3.5 out of 5 stars
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
In this third novella of the series, a group of travelers from Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children sets off to resurrect a former student in hopes of saving her future daughter (who somehow already exists).
Having enjoyed, but not loved the previous two books, I found this one to be my favorite of the bunch. The characters are well-drawn, rich, and nuanced; the story feels cohesive, complete, and fun; and the portal world of Confection is a joy to read about. Author Seanan McGuire does a great job to further the development of the portal worlds, giving more background into their existence and what they mean to the children who venture there.
Generally, I struggle to rate novellas higher than 3 stars, as they rarely dive as deep as a full-length novel can, but this one came close! I'd happily go on another adventure in this world, though.
See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
Yassss I love this series so much! I love the tone and the premise so much, and just the interrogation of the concept of portal fantasies and what they mean to individuals...so exactly my jam.
And then THIS one has a fat mermaid protagonist!!! Hell yeahhhhh, frosting on this delicious sugary confection
I received a galley of this book from Tor Publishing via NetGalley. This has not impacted my thoughts or opinions about this book.
This was my first time reading a book in the Wayward Children series, and while I may have been slightly disadvantaged by not having a strong sense of the backstory, I easily fell into the world McGuire built. The book is mostly told from the point of view of a new character, Cora, who tries to make sense of the newcomers, the worlds, and the dangers at hand. The Wayward Children series seems to blend together the mystical worlds of Narnia with the complex dangers of Labyrinth Lost.
Bonus points for a beautiful cover and boatloads of diverse characters represented across sexual orientations, body sizes, and more.