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

Another excellent story from the Wayward Children

Life at Miss Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children continues, even after one student murdered another, her sister took her away back through their door to the Moors, and new students have arrived. Two of the new students are Cora, whose door went to a water world where she was a mermaid, and Nadya, who went to a different water world, where she was a Drowned Girl. They were both in their different worlds, heroes.

One day, while they're out on the grounds together, a young woman named Rini drops from the sky into the school's pond, and demands to be taken to her mother, Sumi.

Sumi is the student who was murdered, years before she would have given birth to her prophesied child.

Awkwardly, Rini is gradually melting out of existence, as the time since her mother's failure to return to the world of Confection grows. Also, it's not just her own existence that's at stake. Sumi had defeated the Queen of Cakes and freed the world of Confection from her tyranny. With no Sumi, the tyrant queen has returned and resumed her tyranny.

Rini absolutely rejects the idea that mere causality can be allowed to interfere with her mother returning and saving both her, and their world. One student, Christopher, comes up with an idea, and soon Christopher, Kade, Nadya, Cora, and Rini are off on a mission, along with Sumi's bones. What follows is fascinating, bizarrely logical, moving, and surprising. Highly recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

Sugar and everything nice

I liked this book a lot less than I liked the previous two, but I ate up all three in a day, so it was still very easy and pleasant to read - I just left there was less intrigue and mystery. The author of this book is very inclusive (trans character, disabled character, Mexican-american character, fat girl), and careful and loving towards her representation of those issues, which I appreciate. I would have loved this series when I was younger and I still appreciate it now. The reader is awesome.

Another excellent Wayward Children book

This is the third book in Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series, and it's just as wonderfully engrossing as the first two. This time, we get to visit Confection, the nonsense world that Sumi so loved in the first Wayward Children story. As always, the book pulls you in and drags you along through a wonderful, interesting story.

Michelle Dockrey does a fairly good job as narrator, although sometimes it's impossible to tell which character is speaking, due to similar vocal patterns that she gives to multiple characters. Still, it doesn't detract from the enjoyable listening experience too much.

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