Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children, #3)

by Seanan McGuire

[kimbacaffeinate]

Where Down Among the Sticks and Bones was dark and bordered on horror, Beneath the Sugar Sky was lighter with a touch of tension and lots of frosting. It had moments where I laughed aloud and others where I sat hoping it would all work out. McGuire takes us to a land filled with gingerbread, cotton candy and fizzy pop. Sounds like a day with Willy Wonka, but beware danger lurks.

When a naked girl with candy corn eyes, falls from the sky demanding to see her mother the children of Wayward home are shocked. From the moment I was all in! 

Rini is from the Land of Nonsense, and she seeks her mother, Sumi. Rini and her world are in trouble. What she doesn't know is the Sumi is dead. Can the children help her? This was so whimsical from cotton candy dresses, to the land of the dead.

Christopher, who hails from the land of the dead, has ideas and with the help of Rini's magic the group set off to find Sumi. I loved how the group worked together. My favorite was Cora, a Mer-girl who loves turtles. Each place we visit is well developed, as are the children.

McGuire's imagination and gift of weaving these tales never ceases to amaze me. Villains, soda pop and magical baking held me enchanted. While I think I preferred the darker worlds in this series, I loved a world baked entirely out of sweets.

Michelle Dockery's narration was delightful. I loved the voices she gave these characters from the whimsical to the frightening. She helped deliver the enchanting tone of McGuire's tale. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer