Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Beneath the Sugar Sky

When a strange girl lands in the turtle pond behind the School for Wayward Children in search of her lost mother, some of the students decide to go on a quest to help build the long-dead Sumi back to life so that she can fulfill her destiny.

We return to the current day storyline with this book, in which we follow both new and returning characters as they journey through different worlds in an attempt to resurrect Sumi. I liked both meeting new characters and hanging out with familiar faces, and McGuire's worlds are as vibrant and strange as ever. If some lore was relayed in rather info-dumpy dialogue, well it didn't detract much from the story.

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asparagushead's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I agree with other users that there was too much about Cora's weight. I love the diversity in the books but I would've liked to see more character growth from Cora. She never seemed to grow more confident.

The defeat of the queen also seemed really rushed. I actually thought they would have to fight her again ("that can't have been the real battle right?") but nope, that was it.

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barbarella85's review against another edition

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adventurous

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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mayaism_01's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Though I felt like this book is the weakest of the series so far, it still had what I love about these books (the fantastical world-building and the great cast of characters that you get so attached to) The world gets expanded a lot in in this addition to the series which is super exciting for what it means for the upcoming books, I just found the pacing was a bit more drawn out in this book, despite it being the shortest in length, but I really enjoyed the callback to

Nancy from the first book

and the new additions to our adorable found family!

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allisonsmith120's review

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adventurous fast-paced

3.5

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takarakei's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Book 3 - they're back at the school with some new characters. This one is really funny (particularly one of the new characters). Fun narration and more of the worlds (nonsense).

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