Where the Drowned Girls Go

Here, in book 7 of the Wayward Children series, I'm suddenly getting a more nuanced feel for how the stories fit together. Having just finished it, I think it is the best, but also the darkest of the series so far.

The story loops back to Cora, who has been one of the ensemble in a previous story. Here, we get a clear stage for Cora to shine, and shine they do. But we also get to see an alternative path for those who return through their doors -- an alternative school, with a very different treatment focus for the students. I found the pedagogy of the school really difficult to read, and it is part of why I say it is dark.

There are a lot of fascinating bits of world building, with the focus being on the common 'mundane' world that the show more children have all come from. Very interested in seeing how this adds together.

Up to now, I'd say that we have very much had a child/adolescent viewpoint on the doors, the alternate worlds, and the lives of the children who return. This one takes a step back, and while the story is still told from the younger viewpoint, the larger story it is telling is much more adult -- much more recognition of what is at stake beyond family, familiarity, and home

content warnings: emotional abuse, school based trauma, identity theft show less

Aquamarine-haired, rainbow-skinned Cora's nightmares haven't allowed her a good night's sleep in months, and she's ready for a new approach - she wants to forget about the Trenches and the Moors. So, she asks Eleanor West to transfer to that other school for Wayward Children, Whitethorn, and she goes. But as Cora navigates a new world that will teach her to forget other ones, she realizes that something at Whitethorn is wrong, and when Sumi [Beneath A Sugar Sky] appears at Whitethorn, the two - along with Regan [Across the Green Grass Fields], who was on the cusp of "graduation" - lead a jailbreak.

Quotes

But taking something back doesn't mean it never happened, only that someone was willing to fight hard enough to change it. (4)

This show more wasn't the first time Cora had met people who thought their ideas about how the world should be were the only right ones. It was the first time she'd met them when they were in a position of clear, unquestioned power over her. (54)

It hurt, to deny things the heart knew were true. (56)

"[This place] knows what's true for you isn't always true for me, and it doesn't care, because it wants to make us all have the same kind of truth and believe in it the same kind of way." (Sumi to the nameless girl, 61)

It made sense that the self-made heroes would have written history to make them look as good as possible. It didn't makes sense for everyone else to be expected to believe it. (71)

When monsters met heroes, there were always casualties. (106) show less

Seanan McGuire’s “Wayward Children” has officially cemented itself as my favorite novella series. The stories of children, doors, and the worlds beyond are fascinating and beautiful. Underneath all of them, though, is the foundation of self-discovery and self-acceptance. Where the Drowned Girls Go is no exception.

The story of Cora the Mermaid hits me hard. As a person of size, to use the Southwest Airline terminology, I recognize many of the hardships she faces. Being fat is seen as a moral failure by a lot of people. It means we’re lazy or stupid. Jokes are still allowed to be made about us with no repercussions, because they are couched in terms of “motivation” or “deserved.” Cora is not self-defined by her weight or show more size, but often that is all people see. Reading interactions she has with classmates brought me back to the worst moments when I was in school.

The story is self is great. Whitethorn Academy is terrifying in subtle ways. The school is set up to destroy their students by making them deny themselves. I love horror novels, but just reading what the school was like made me shiver. In this series there have been monsters and magic, but the school is far scarier because it feels real.

All told, I love this book. In my opinion, this is the best novella in the series so far, but I recognize that’s because I connected with the main character’s struggles. It’s a great addition to an already fabulous series. show less

Be Sure - words that, if I had the audacity to do as much, tattoo on my body in flowing gothic calligraphy.

I'm never SURE about anything. Oh I can be certain, based on knowledge and experience. I can even know, based on the information in front of me.

But sure? No, that's a bone deep belief. Something central to who you are. A trust you follow because it feels right.

McGuire's Wayward Children books explore how being sure is both positive and negative. The consequences of trying to both be sure and not trust that surety. More then a promise, Be Sure is a warning because once you're are, there is no going back.

Cora is a different kind of student. She begins her entrance into this series like the others - struggling to find just what her show more Door wants from her to Be Sure, but after the events of COME TUMBLING DOWN (when our merry band of misfits break the one rule Eleanor hopes will protect them - that is, they go on a Quest), Cora hasn't been able to feel...safe.

The shadows haunt her, whispering and terrible. They seek to steal her and she is terrified she will bring ruin to the world beyond her door. So she chooses instead to let go. Unlike Kade who can't return, or Sumi who won't return until its time, or Jack who exiled herself to protect her sister, Cora decides it would be better if she forgot and never returned.

This, friends, is where the OTHER school that has been alluded to comes into play...and where Cora learns that "Be Sure" isn't just a promise or a warning, its a foundation to anchor yourself and find who you truly are. show less

The only problem about these books is they are toooooo short!

Not that they need an extra word added to them, just that I want to frolic in this universe forever, but then before I know it the book is over and I am left book drunk for more!

This installment is powerful. The themes of being true to yourself, and not being able to hide from life or change who you are as a person are so strong through out this heartbreaking tale.

I get Cora's want to forget. It be released from the poison that has a hold on her mind, but man does she go through some growth during her stay at Whitethorn. I loved all the various characters she meets, they are written so deeply, even the ones that only have a few scenes. Everyone has a story they are running show more from, or being held back from and Cora makes waves in their lives whether she wants to or not.

You'll love this series if you love books that inspire you to fight for your right to live the life of your dreams. show less

There are schools other than Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, and in @seananmcguire’s latest from @tordotcompub, Where the Drowned Girls Go, we are introduced to the Whitethorn Institute and its staff of nameless matrons and a headmaster who is remarkably unmemorable.

After her journey to the Moors and her brush with the Drowned Gods there, Cora decides she needs a different path than the one Miss West’s school is offering her. She transfers to the Whitethorn Institute and quickly discovers there is something very wrong with this school. When Sumi also transfers to the Institute with the express purpose of bringing Cora home, the friends quickly discover that if they are to survive in this world or any other, they need to show more escape the seemingly impenetrable walls of Whitethorn. Turns out, sometimes all you need is a little inner strength and faith in yourself to defeat your demons.

McGuire gives us our first true villain in the “real” world, and I’m here for him. There is so much mystery surrounding Whitethorn and his institute and he’s so damned unnerving. An excellent, if not slightly terrifying, addition to the cast of characters for these books. show less

The Wayward Children series is pretty inconsistent for me, and over all it falls into the "good but not great" category.

This novella takes place mostly in a second institution for children who have visited alternate worlds. And I actually found it much more interesting (if far less pleasant) than our usual boarding school.

The best part about these books is the varied representation, and the concepts of the different worlds. However, I always feel like McGuire attempts to fit a novels worth of plot and character arc into less than 200 pages, and they always end up feeling too rushed and watery for me. I don't want watery, I want full bodied and rich.

This wasn't my favorite in the series, but it wasn't my least favorite either. The short show more length works in favor of these less than stellar installments, because at least they go by quickly. show less