Beneath the Sugar Sky takes readers back to the world of Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, but not to a moment in time before the events of the first book. It is a sequel rather than a prequel.
I found it strangely satisfying in a way that Down Among the Sticks and Bones was not.
“They can be hard for their families to understand, those returned, used-up miracle children. They sound like liars to people who never had a doorway of their own.” pg 7, ebook.
And instead of just one world other than our own, readers get to experience a couple in Beneath the Sugar Sky.
The trouble begins when someone from a different world shows up in the everyday world and asks to see her mother. The thing is, her mother died in the real world some time ago.
The world that the girl comes from doesn’t pretend to follow time the normal way- it’s a nonsense world. Now, this visitor is disappearing and needs help from some of the residents of Eleanor West’s Home before she vanishes altogether.
“That makes no sense at all,” she said. “That means it may well work. Go, my darlings, and bring your lost and shattered sister home.” pg 29, ebook.
A new character in this book is Cora, a girl who went to a water world. She has an insightful way of viewing reality and seems able to see to the heart of people with little trouble: “They always had their shoes, their scissors, whatever talisman they wanted to have to hand when their doorways reappeared and they had to make the choice to stay or go.” pg 19, ebook.
Kade, Christopher and Nancy are in this book as well. “So many different doors, and yet here you are, all of you together, trying to accomplish the impossible.” pg 40, ebook.
I recommend reading Every Heart a Doorway before this book, to get the most enjoyment out of it. It’s perfect for young adults or readers who like fairy tales.
Thanks for reading!
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