A review by svjak
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

The entire Wayward Children series is almost like Seanan McGuire made a bunch of nonsensical aesthetic pinterest boards and decided to write books based on the photo collection (rather than the other way around.) And... it works. 

"We’re teenagers in a magical land following a dead girl and a disappearing girl into a field of organic, pesticide-free candy corn,” said Kade. “I think weird is a totally reasonable response to the situation. We’re whistling through the graveyard to keep ourselves from totally losing our shit.”

There's something about this series that takes me back. It peels all of the worldly worries away, plucking tension from my shoulders and letting me escape into something that doesn't have to make sense, it just has to be magical. 

I'm three books in and having all of these slightly disconnected short stories to explore the different worlds is the perfect wind-down at the end of the day - curl up on the couch with a glass of wine and escape into a nonsense candy land adventure. Down with the Queen of Cakes! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Minor: Transphobia

One character recounts her experiences of being judged for her size. The overall depiction of this is positive in my opinion because she fights against fatphobic ideas and uses other people's incorrect assumptions about her to her advantage. There is recurring mention for one of the characters who got kicked out of his world when he changed his pronouns. His parents also are not supportive of his transition but this is also overall positive in my opinion because there's a clear impression that he is living his life the way that he wants to and nothing is worth pretending to be someone you're not.