Where the Drowned.. - Wayward Children #7 [Jan 29, 2022]

[Soo]

Reading the chat reminds me about the story. Yay! =D

Also, yah, WTH Jill?!?!

[RachelG.]

After part 3 (view spoiler)[ I must say I am really enjoying Sumi in this book. She bothered me in the first one but finally she makes sense to me and brings some fun to this dreary world. I am also glad that Jack has decided to kill Jill for good this time. (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

The end (view spoiler)[ I do like a happy ending and I felt this book gave me one. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

RachelG. wrote: "The end [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[the book definitely sets up a feint, mid-story... considering how previous stories have gone, it seemed reasonable that Cade & the mermaid could just die... even tho it would have been sad for Eleanor and the school... (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Finished (view spoiler)[ This one did end with the best possible outcome, but that still involves Jack killing her sister, which must have been heartbreaking. The line about not having choices for them was true to an extent. They were put in boxes as children by their family Jack, the "pretty" one, and Jill the "tomboy". Jill felt like a spare, and was treated as such even by the master. But Jill still could have walked away. I don't think Jack could have helped her sister, though. Jill made her own choices.
I agree with Rachel about Sumi. She brought a bit of levity, and even with her nonsense made good points. And also shows that just because one is from a nonsense world does not make that world any less dangerous or only silly.
Also Sumi making eyes at Gideon was rather funny for me lol (hide spoiler)]

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Halfway through Come Tumbling Down (view spoiler)[Jack and Jill were my least favorite plot points / worlds, and I really thought leaving things where they were with Jack’s girlfriend made the story a lot stronger. This “everyone comes back from the dead” thing makes all the stakes so much lower for the series. I did like coming back to the school for a bit.

I dunno, the last one was my favorite of the series by far - sooo good! This one just seems like filler. But it seems to be the authors favorite haha. (hide spoiler)].

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "Halfway through Come Tumbling Down Jack and Jill were my least favorite plot points / worlds, and I really thought leaving things where they were with Jack’s girlfriend made the story a lot stronge..."

The author narrates the Jack & Jill books, so yea... probably right...

I also thing the author likes alternating between present and past books...

[Tonari no Emily]

I follow her on twitter and she says she'll always have dibs on narrating the Jack and Jill books. I think its the Moors that has a special place in her heart xD

Yep, alternating between present with a bunch of the characters, and then background stories with single characters (well double in the case of Jack and Jill..) which means the newest book will be present times, which I'm excited about.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'm excited for the newest book because it's about another school for wayward children... a very different school...

Where the Drowned Girls Go... it's also a Cora book, which should be interesting, considering how much she's been built up as the "replacement" for the female MC of the first book, in all present-day books since then... Cora & Kade...

[Tonari no Emily]

Oh I didn't realize another school would be involved! Can't wait

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

End of book 5 (view spoiler)[ I'm satisfied with where Jack and Jill's story ended, but overall this was my least favorite book. I wasn't invested at all. In the last novella I read it slowly, savoring each word and was totally absorbed. This one I rushed through just to get it over with oye. I didn't feel like the story needed to expand, although I think it's sweet Jack has her girlfriend back. I also didn't feel like the additional characters in the adventure added anything meaningful to the story. Not like they did in Beneath the Sugar Sky. That's okay though. Can't win them all. (hide spoiler)]

On to the next one!(?) Say tomorrow or Wednesday?

[RachelG.]

I am ready to read book 6. I am next in line for number 7 at the library so hopefully I will get it in the next couple weeks.

[Tonari no Emily]

I can be ready for Wednesday :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

All done with re-reads, 6 & 7 are first times for me... this next one is a Centaur story?... not sure if the character is completely new or not...

Isn't Kade the only character we know that went to a centaur world?

[RachelG.]

I thought Kade went to a world where he became a goblin prince or king? I didn't remember centaurs but I could be wrong. I have trouble remembering stories sometimes.

I actually really like centaurs and wish there were more books that feature them. It seems like most that do are steamy romance novels and that is not a genre I read.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

RachelG. wrote: "I thought Kade went to a world where he became a goblin prince or king? I didn't remember centaurs but I could be wrong. I have trouble remembering stories sometimes.

I actually really like centau..."

He did do goblin stuff... but I think it was a world of centaurs and goblins..

And I messaged you in the Invisible Library thread, wondering how your library request was going, for Untold Story?

EDIT: Guess I was wrong... it's Goblins & the Rainbow Princess factions... I guess I went rainbow = unicorn = centaur or something :D

[RachelG.]

I am #10 in line on 7 copies so i just need some people to read and return before my turn on Untold Story.

[Tonari no Emily]

MC is Regan who I'm pretty sure we haven't seen yet. This one seemed the most disconnected to me. I still enjoyed it though.

[Soo]

I'm in for #6 & 7 reads. Starting #6 soon or waiting for RachelG to get her copy?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

we doing 6 tomorrow and 7 in a week or 2, probably?... Rachel has 6, 7 is the one she doesn't have yet... we've taken breaks for a week or 2 sometimes, but managed to read the whole series in about 2-3 months...

[RachelG.]

I am ready to start Across the Green Grass Fields later today or tomorrow.

[RachelG.]

I started this book last night and with the first two chapters didn't feel as drawn into the story as I have with the others. I ended up finishing part 1 -(view spoiler)[ I felt that it really picked up once she had the talk with her parents about how she was born "different". What a confusing issue to talk to a 10 year old about. I am curious to see what happens once she goes through the door. (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

Chapter 8 (view spoiler)[ I like how the unicorns are considered simple in this book. I am paraphrasing here but I got a kick out of how they run from thunder but look at the lightning with their mouths open and could drown. (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

I just got book 7 so I will be ready to read that with the rest of y'all.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Green Grass Part 1: (view spoiler)[ first set of good parents I’ve seen… low bar tho… and didn’t do a good job teaching inclusivity, leading to stupid decision to trust Laurel… (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

re: Iain's thoughts (view spoiler)[ At least the parents are loving and I am not sure that I was always that inclusive when I was a child myself. When I look back at it I could have done a better job being a friend to people who didn't really have one. I think that this backstory is closer to my own than some of the others we have heard. (hide spoiler)]

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

RachelG. wrote: "Chapter 8 [spoilers removed]"

That was a hoot! (view spoiler)[ unicorns are as dumb as turkeys lmao. (hide spoiler)]

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Green Grass Part 1: [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Parenting is so hard in those situations. To me it felt like they were caught off guard, didn’t have all the info, and probably kicked themselves on hindsight for not being more thorough with it.

I really loved this backstory. You don’t get a lot of conversation in any type of book really about the damaging clicks that can form young, the pressures to conform, and how hard it is for both parents and kids to navigate. When I was 7, I was in heather’s situation once (al though there wasn’t a clear thing I “did wrong” that I can remember), and even now I still don’t quite know how to process it. My young self was so confused. I had not idea WHY anyone would want fewer people to play with. And my best friend just stood behind the Laurel figure, looking guilty but also not objecting. The important distinction is that for me everything was back to normal in a week, but I could see how it may have changed things forever like it did with this character.

Anyway, I love the representation of gender diversity we’re getting in this series. (hide spoiler)]

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

End of book spoiler: (view spoiler)[ this is the first time I’ve truly felt like these other worlds are saving graces for these children and not something unfortunate that happened to them. Like, they really NEEDED the doors to save them, and they’re actually altruistic. I mean, I e gotten that impression from other students, but this is the first time I’ve really SEEN what they’ve meant by it.

I liked the first half better than the second. It had a lot more meaning. The story touched again on celebrating differences and I love that. The whole thing with the king was a little thin for my tastes. I hope we see this character again in the future. I’d love to hear about how it went when she goes back to school and how she handles herself with this wildly new perspective of her own worth. (hide spoiler)]

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

When shall we schedule book 7?!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Seanan McGuire had gotten pretty big on diversity in the past decade… not that she was the opposite before that, you just notice the expansion of characters/representation…

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Part 2: idyllic…

Part 3: knew it was too good to be true… shouldn’t be too surprised, tho…

Curious what kind of resolution is being built to… so far, we don’t really get to relive the people that saved kingdoms or anything… the Kades…

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Unicorns remind me of Dodos in the St. Mary’s series… too stupid to live in the real world… so they’re extinct outside of time travel intervention…

[RachelG.]

Part 3: (view spoiler)[ Things would have been so different if she did not get away from the group that kidnapped her. I am glad she was able to get back to the herd. (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

End of book: (view spoiler)[ I was pretty disappointed with the ending. I wish I knew how things went when she came home and how history will progress in Hoofland without her.

I agree with Niki that the first part had a lot more meaning than the second.

I wonder if any of the kids come back through the door to find that the family has moved. That would be a real shock to the person returning. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

RachelG. wrote: "Part 3: [spoilers removed]"

That section seemed like it was turning into a "normal" Wayward Children book... glad it diverged...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

RachelG. wrote: "End of book: ..."

Sometimes, I feel like the books reach a certain pagecount, and the author feels like she needs to finish real quick, to avoid going over "page limits"... it's probably a symptom of writing so many books each year... especially with this series...

(view spoiler)[Regan felt like an anomaly... that was the best aspect of the book... Hoofland wasn't really any nicer than any other world visited... Regan just got the best possible experience out of it...

The King/Queen thing felt like a forced nod to Wizard of Oz, with a bit of the bad cycle fantasy trope thrown in?... doomed to repeat, until Regan broke the loop... (hide spoiler)]

Abrupt endings seem to be the norm for Wayward Children... it's a shame... feels like a tease... but it's by design, basically...

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

(view spoiler)[ I hadn’t thought of what happens if the families move. It would be hard enough returning without that complication.

I feel like we’ll see this world again at some point. I have visions of a grand finale with students riding centaurs and the carnivorous water horses into battle lol.

Hopefully we’re a long way off from a finale. I’m quite enjoying the journey. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

It's definitely convenient... but isn't it common for parents of kidnapped/disappeared kids to stay in their old home, so kids can find them (keep the hope alive, even if unlikely)?

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Timelord Iain wrote: "It's definitely convenient... but isn't it common for parents of kidnapped/disappeared kids to stay in their old home, so kids can find them (keep the hope alive, even if unlikely)?"

Yeah that makes sense.

[Tonari no Emily]

Part 1 (view spoiler)[ I agree with things said about the parents here. Even if bar wasn't set slow, the parents are loving and doing there best. I agree with Niki about regretting their (in)actions regarding Heather. I think there was even a line about not taking Heather's side.
I think if the parents did have a talk about why it was wrong, Regan probably would have listened since it did say Regan trusted her parents.
But Regan trusting Laurel with her being intersex was definitely a big mistake. (hide spoiler)]

Hmm about the moving thing.. I mean the doors are magic. Do they always go back to the same place? Or is it about going home? Do many that means going back to certain people.

[RachelG.]

Maybe the door wouldn't open if there was no home to go back to. Like the people in the family are deceased or something. It could make for an interesting story to have someone who has been in another world for long enough that when they return it has changed completely.

[Tonari no Emily]

Agree with everyone that the ending just felt so quick. This is the only "background" book with a character that we haven't met already (I think). Maybe this means we'll see Regan again in future books though. I hope so, because I did like her.
I think the first time I read this, I embellished what happened afterwards to the Hooflands in my head because I thought it had a part where a council of the natives was formed to figure out where to go from when Regan left... but I guess I made that up for myself lol.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I finished Lot Lands the other day… trilogy by Jonathan French about half-orcs that ride warhogs… ended with Lot Lands renamed the Hoof Lands…

[Tonari no Emily]

@Iain, like in the book? Also, that has some decent reviews did you enjoy it?

I have the next book ready to go now. When do we want to start?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Emily wrote: "@Iain, like in the book? Also, that has some decent reviews did you enjoy it?

I have the next book ready to go now. When do we want to start?"

You asking if I liked Free Bastards / Lot Lands?... if so, I liked the series, but liked the first book most... each book follows a different POV of the 3 main friends/siblings in the first book...

I just thought the naming convention of Hooflands was an interesting coincidence in my reading, and in such disparate books...

I have the last book ready whenever-ish, too... you haven't updated the thread title since book 5, Niki...

[Tonari no Emily]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Emily wrote: "@Iain, like in the book? Also, that has some decent reviews did you enjoy it?

I have the next book ready to go now. When do we want to start?"

You asking if I liked Free Bastards / ..."
I love finding coincidences like that when I'm reading. Seems to happen a lot to me.
Like similarities between The Acts of Caine and The Wandering Inn.. Very different books but both involve people going from Earth into a fantasy land.

Also, might add Lot Lands to my already unmanageable TBR cuz it seems interesting

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Emily wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Emily wrote: "@Iain, like in the book? Also, that has some decent reviews did you enjoy it?

I have the next book ready to go now. When do we want to start?"

You asking if I ..."

It was a nice surprise Buddy Read discovery last summer... I was gung-ho for reading the whole trilogy when I finished the first one, but waited awhile for other buddies to be ready... 2nd book wasn't as awesome, so I delayed the 3rd book a bit, and then BR'd it with Soo, who happened to be at the same point (BR'd 1 & 2 with Siobhan and Chris)

3rd book only came out last September...

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Oh yeah shoot. I’ve been away from my desktop so the clerical stuff is a mess. Someone want to throw out a start date for the 7th?

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

How about Saturday?