Beneath the Sugar Sky

By: Seanan McGuire

Narrated by: Michelle Dockrey

Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

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 have more than a world to save: she will never have been born in the first place. And in a world without magic, she doesn’t have long before Reality notices her existence and washes her away. Good thing the student body is well-acquainted with quests...

A tale of friendship, baking, and derring-do.

Warning: May contain nuts.

©2018 Seanan McGuire (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

2019 YALSA Amazing Audiobook

"This gothic novel is ideal for fantasy fans who have longed for a world of their own, as well as readers looking for books with diverse casts." —Bookish

“Girl Interrupted meets Grimm's Fairy Tales. Let it in and it will touch your heart and open your mind.” —Geek Syndicate

Short

And a bit preachy. But it's a decent story when it doesn't get bogged down in telling you what to think. Several of the students of the Home for Wayward Children go on a quest to save Sumi, who died in book one. And that's about it. There's some nice world-building - they get to visit Nancy's world and learn a little about that, plus they learn more about Christopher's world of bone people. We get two new characters from water worlds, but don't ever really learn much about them, despite one being a main character.

Character development is weak overall - the author falls into the habit of telling rather than showing, and that's especially true for the mc, Cora. We're told ad nauseam that she's fat and has been harassed for it, but really nothing else about her, which is basically the opposite of how the character, or any fat person, wants to be seen. So kind of a well meaning fail in that regard, and readers with body image issues should know to brace yourself.

But the story did move right along and the world-building is really wonderful. It's a bit overpriced for the length, a bit flat on the characters, and preachy, but enjoyable, so a solid three stars.

Best Yet

There have been mixed reviews of this one from some of my favorite reviewers on Goodreads, so I was nervous to start Beneath the Sugar Sky, but overall this has been my favorite one, and I read the fourth book out of order. Maybe I was meant for a nonsense world?

McGuire Does It Again

The latest in the Wayward Children series manages to circle back through the stories of the previous books while still being standout and stand alone. It's a great listen and Dockery does a great job of capturing the various voices and keeping you enthralled with the twists and turns of the tale. If you enjoyed the previous books in this series, you'll definitely love this one.

What a tear-jerker!

I sometimes wish these books were longer, they have such wonderful world(s)-building... but I suppose the characters wish for that too.

a sweet short story that made me feel childlike

with a diverse cast of characters and charming ideas i enjoyed every word of this story

Hard for me to place

I'm a newby to McGuire and I started here - probably the wrong place. I could not figure out who I as a reader should be.

The fairy tale premise might have suggested the under 11 audience, but the genital jokes and f--- vocabulary argues for middle school. The actual plot line is subtle enough to imply an older audience, old enough to not be embarrassed about reading about fairy tales.

As for me, it did not grab me as much as the Miss Peregrine series. I will read the previous books to be fair. But if this is truly adult literature, then it is way over-priced.

Wonderful fairy tale with a modern touch.

Wonderful fairy tale with a modern touch. Characters are well defined, and enhanced by the voice talent.

was almost my favorite

I loved this. We get to see old faces again. Going to all of the different worlds was really cool. My only complaint is how much one character was getting comments on about her weight. Which to me took away from the story because it did it so often. It didn't add anything to the story and was very annoying.

Wonderful, but I miss the author

I enjoyed the book, both the story and the narration. However, I really loved the narration by the author of the other two books and missed that voicework here.

Another great story

I loved this story with all its twists and turns and locked and unlocked doors. Great installment t