Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children #3) by Seanan McGuire
After reading the first two books of this series in just a few hours each, I had a feeling reading this book would be a similar experience; it was and once again I was enthralled. For reviews on the first two books, click these links; Every Heart a Doorway (#1) and Down Among the Sticks and Bones (#2).
I didn’t think this series would keep speaking to me as much as it has. Maybe it is speaking to my childhood self that is still waiting for the wardrobe door to open to Narnia or finding my Hogwarts letter in the mail. Maybe it is because these are childhood fairy-tales that dig so much deeper into what it means to belong and how each individual has such different needs. Maybe it is a combination of so many things, but all I know is I don’t want this series to ever end.
Similar to the other books of this series, Beneath the Sugar Sky focuses on a new character while also integrating other characters we’ve already met. We follow Cora as she begins her stay at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children after her recent return to Earth and away from the world she sees as her true home. One day, a girl named Rini falls from the sky onto the school’s grounds. This kick starts an adventure for Cora and some familiar faces from Every Heart a Doorway into the land of Confection, a world made entirely of candy.
McGuire has been writing this series with amazing diversity and representation. Each character is diverse in either their skin tone, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity or physical disability. These are all somehow seamlessly interwoven, never feels forced and it makes me love these fairy tales that much more.
This book of the series, like the others, is a perfect mixture of whimsical and important. It is about hope, acceptance and love and how we are all on the search for this in our lives. It is dark and weird, but truly charming. So I am now anxiously waiting for the fourth book to come out in 2019.
Synopsis: Beneath the Sugar Sky returns to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. At this magical boarding school, children who have experienced fantasy adventures are reintroduced to the "real" world.
Sumi died years before her prophesied daughter Rini could be born. Rini was born anyway, and now she’s trying to bring her mother back from a world without magic.