Beneath the Sugar Sky

by Seanan McGuire

English language

ISBN:: 978-0-7653-9358-6

(41 reviews)

Another fantasy audiobook from Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series, which began with the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning, World Fantasy Award finalist, Every Heart a Doorway. Beneath the Sugar Sky, the third audiobook in McGuire's Wayward Children series, returns listeners to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children in a contemporary fantasy for fans of all ages. At this magical boarding school, children who have experienced fantasy adventures are reintroduced to the "real" world. When Rini lands with a literal splash in the pond behind Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, the last thing she expects to find is that her mother, Sumi, died years before Rini was even conceived. But Rini can't let Reality get in the way of her quest – not when she has an entire world to save! (Much more common than one would suppose.)If she can't find a way to restore her mother, Rini will …

1 edition

GoblinReads reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Storygraph'

3 stars

This series just continues to make me happy. This one continues to build on the others in subtle ways that would still make it very enjoyable if you haven't read the first two.

Beneath the Sugar Sky continues adding and building on a diverse group of children that have stumbled though magical doors and then been returned home changed. It stay with themes of body positivity and self acceptance.

Maika reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I think there are currently 7 books in this ongoing series, which means I’m way behind. But I’m not in a hurry and I thoroughly enjoy how, each time I start a new Wayward Children story, it feels like I never left that world, but without the tedious hand-holding exposition that some authors employ to make sure you’re caught up on previous events in their series. I love the combination of melancholy and hope that permeates these imaginative, wonderfully queer books, whose characters are bereft outside of their respective magical worlds, yet refuse to stop searching for their respective ways back, and in the meantime find true kinship and relatably imperfect friendship with each other. If you were one of those kids who ever imagined a world made of sweets, this particular book is both a dream and nightmare come true. That is, for as much as the experience of …

Sergio reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I thought this wasn't nearly as strong as the first 2 novellas (specially the second one, which remains my favorite), but it was still plenty enjoyable, is able to maintain the momentum and build some more for the next ones, and it's nice to check back in with the cast from the first one.

Wetdryvac reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Oh gods. Somehow they made me like Candyland. Excellent writing in an area I've never been able to stand, which mostly turns out not to be that area and... head explodes

Pentapod reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The third Wayward Children book returns again to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children and revisits the character of Sumi, who we met in the first book. You don't have to read the second book in the series before this, but reading the first (Every Heart a Doorway) would definitely be helpful.

The story's told mainly from the point of view of Cora, an overweight girl who found a door into a water world where she was a powerful mermaid. The author seems to be trying very hard to create a positive representation of a fat character, but does this mainly by Cora constantly maintaining an internal monologue about herself being fat, being called fat, expecting to be called fat, etc etc while nobody else in the entire book ever actually mentions it. Meanwhile Cora doesn't actually get a lot of opportunities to demonstrate her actual good qualities - apart from learning she's a decent athlete we don't really get much of a feel for her personality and skills since she's so completely focused on body positivity messages. It's a bit puzzling why she's even there for the story at all, since she'd never met Sumi previously.

Anyway... lack of character development aside, the plot involves revisiting Nancy (from the first book) and traveling to Sumi's world which was Candyland, a nonsense world. Maybe appropriately for the locale, the plot feels fairly chaotic also. The characters are dragged around from world to world, conveniently able to travel anywhere they want to via a deus ex machina candy bracelet, and reacting to one situation after another without much free will or forethought.

It's a fun tour of some of the other worlds, and a nice follow up to the characters of Nancy and Sumi from book 1, but felt a little phoned in, tbh,

Books That Burn reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

Beneath the Sugar Sky attempts to fix something broken before it loses all possibility of ever being right again. There's a sense of urgency defined by absence rather than presence; tension created by what ought to be but is not.

The world-building is fantastic, both for the specific places they visit and for what those places say about the multiverse as a whole. It moves along with the best answers we have for now and then tells the reader new answers as the characters discover them. It made it feel like discovering something wonderful along with people who know enough to be guides while still having a sense of awe at every new thing.

This returns to the setting of the first book to advance what looks like it will be the main narrative of the series, tracing the lives of the children at the school during their tenure (while the even numbered books tell more about people during the time they did not reside there). I knew a little of that structure but I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of settings in this one. The school is a locus but it doesn't constrain the story at all, getting out of the way so that we could have a quest this time. I like seeing different sides of old characters and meeting some brand new ones.

settingshadow reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

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.

Alex Keane reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Really good story about a quest to save a world and a friend along with it.

Seanan McGuire does a really good job looking at how messed up kids returning from Oz or Narnia type adventures would be and the need for the other world they would have. And her prose is just so fantastically good, full of apt and proper metaphor at every turn.

fiainros reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This series is magical. I love each story created, with new characters and old. Reading this in a binge is an excellent way to read this series, so all the old and new characters stay with you.

B. Zelkovich reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This one was fun, and had a couple strong lines, but was my least favorite of them so far. I didn't like Confection much. But I loved Kade and Christopher.

Kattas reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This series continues to delight me, but there's an undercurrent that left me feeling ever so slightly dissatisfied. Perhaps it's the brevity of the book, or perhaps it's the limited room for deeper character exploration that results from this. Either way I continue to love the characters, setting, and series in general. And with the return of my favorite character at the end I am looking forward to the next book more than ever.

patchworkbunny reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Beneath the Sugar Sky is the third book in the Wayward Children series, follows a group of Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children residents into Confection, a world where everything is made of sugar. Confection is a Nonsense world so don't expect too much logic. Rini is Sumi's daughter but Sumi died before she had Rini, and now Confection is at risk from the Queen of Cakes. The only way to right the world is to bring Sumi back.

Isn't it handy that the kids have experience of such things? Beneath the Sugar Sky is more of a direct sequel to Every Heart a Doorway than Down Among the Sticks and Bones was, bringing back old friends and new. The story is seen from Cora's a point of view, a keen swimmer who spent time in a water world. Despite her athletic ability, people from before thought she was fat …

mageofmip@books.solarpunk.moe reviewed Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children, #3)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Thus far, this is hands down my favorite Wayward Children book. While I was a tad lukewarm on the new characters, other than Sumi's daughter, it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment. In fact, I would love to see a book in the future exploring the new POV character from this book more in-depth.

I also found myself frustrated when Kade or other people from Logic worlds got upset about how things worked in the Nonsense worlds. One line in particular stood out, "Some things seemed like a misuse of magic, and this was one of them." How's it being misused? It isn't YOUR magic.

I think my door would go to a nonsense world.