A real-life Candy Land may seem like paradise, but all the sugar in the world can’t cover up the taste of corruption, war, and murder…. Beneath the Sugar Sky is the third book in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. Last year, I reviewed Every Heart a Doorway, in which McGuire introduces the boarding school full of misfit children who have returned from various fantasy lands. I also reviewed Down Among the Sticks and Bones, a prequel of sorts that depicts the adventures of twin sisters Jack and Jill in a land of vampires and mad scientists. With the third book in the series, which came out back at the beginning of 2018, McGuire shifts gears rather dramatically.
Beneath the Sugar Sky is more directly a sequel to Every Heart a Doorway than the second book was, though I’ve found each of the novels in this series could essentially be read as a stand-alone. The story begins once more at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, when a mysterious girl in clothes spun from sugar comes tumbling out of the sky. Rini shouldn’t exist. Not just because she comes from a magical land made out of candy, but because she claims to be the daughter of a girl who was killed during the events of Every Heart a Doorway, years before Rini could have been born. But Confection is a Nonsense world, and the fact that it’s populated by impossibilities isn’t so surprising. Reality is catching up, though, and Rini is beginning to fade away while her kingdom plunges into chaos—all because her mother was killed before she could return to save the realm and start a family. Rini gathers a group of students to travel through different worlds and do the impossible: to bring her mother back from the dead.
This novel is particularly striking for the way that it depicts contrasting worlds. In the first book, we were introduced to the idea that the kids all go to vastly different worlds when they stumble upon their doorways. Some worlds are grounded in Logic, while others function on Nonsense. Some are spooky and terrifying, while others are like a child’s dream come true. The action of Beneath the Sugar Sky shifts through three different worlds—the “real” world where Eleanor has her school, the Halls of the Dead, and Confection. The Halls of the Dead is a sort of afterlife reminiscent of Hades’ underworld and is home to Nancy, the protagonist of Every Heart a Doorway. Its silence, stillness, and lack of color stand out starkly against the loud, vibrant nonsense of Confection, where Rini lives. But that doesn’t mean that one world is better than the other; both worlds have their virtues and their flaws. Though the atmosphere and color scheme of this book are on the surface cheerier than in the first two, Confection holds a surprising amount of darkness in its heart, and the central themes of the book are about life, death, and resurrection.
Another interesting aspect of this series—but especially this book—is McGuire’s unexpected choice of perspective characters. The main protagonist of Beneath the Sugar Sky is one who seems the least directly involved in the action. Cora is a new student at Eleanor’s school, having arrived after the events of the first book. She never met Nancy or Rini’s mother and isn’t close with any of the other students except Nadya. Cora is particularly distressed about returning to the real world, not only because she’s no longer a powerful and well-respected mermaid, but because she’s afraid of once again being bullied for her weight and shunned by her peers. She has formed a hesitant bond with Nadya, who as a Drowned Girl comes from a water world like her. But when she joins Rini’s quest, Cora learns to open herself up to friendship and also realizes that she can still be a hero in a world that might devalue her for her appearance. Making Cora the central character adds an additional layer to the story, exploring themes of body image, social stigma, and the relationship or lack thereof between weight and health.
Don’t be fooled by the pretty pink cover! Beneath the Sugar Sky is just as dark and macabre as McGuire’s first two books, and she continues to delve into deep topics with grace and nuance. If you’re interested in reading it for yourself, you can find a copy at your local retailer or buy online and support The Gothic Library in the process by clicking on this Bookshop.org affiliate link. Also be sure to keep an eye out next month for the fourth book, In an Absent Dream!