Beneath the Sugar Sky is a portal fantasy and the third book in the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire (3.5/5 stars)

Beneath the Sugar Sky is a portal fantasy and the third book in the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire.

Rini literally lands with a splash at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, in search of her mother who was murdered years before she was even conceived. Much like Back to the Future she starts to disappear and conscripts several of the aforementioned Wayward Children to aid her on her quest.

Odd books in this series keep up with the present storyline in these novellas. I didn’t like this one as much as I liked book #2, Down Among the Sticks and Bones, which is my favorite book so far in this series. This one had some good representation, though.

We are introduced to Cora, a plus-sized heroine who travelled to a world with mermaids, and the fat representation here is great. I really liked her, and am excited that there’s a future book in the series that heavily features her again.

Nadya is a girl who was born without part of her arm and who dislikes most prosthetics (other than the one she had in her turtle pond world that was made of water). She felt very underdeveloped here.

We’re also introduced to a Muslim girl towards the latter half of the book who has a significant role. She felt a little one-dimensional to me as well. There’s definitely an issue of telling rather than showing here.

CW: fatshaming

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The Wayward Children series includes:

• Every Heart a Doorway
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones
• Beneath the Sugar Sky
• In an Absent Dream
• Come Tumbling Down
• Across the Green Grass Fields
• Where the Drowned Girls Go
• Lost in the Moment and Found
• Mislaid in Parts Half-Known
• Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear