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

[Tonari no Emily]

That's works for me Niki! On your previous comment I thought you were talking about the 7th as in Feb 7th and I was confused haha

[RachelG.]

Saturday works for me as well

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Fine with me

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

I confused myself when I read it back haha

[Soo]

#6: Finished

(view spoiler)[
- I loved the intro about being average and spinning.
- The part with the kids was too heavy handed for me. It made it seem like the ONLY thing to be was different and that's the only thing that's okay.
- I thought the parents were great. Like, there's no real right answer on how to raise kids, when to push, when to let them deal, etc. The parents seem to be the kind that were loving, wanting to communicate and tried to give Regan space.
- Living with the centaurs was a great vacation. =D
- Dumb but tasty unicorns. Hahaha
- Loved the part about being open & kind enough to listen & that's why Regan could talk to the other animals.
- I hope Gristle ate the king. LOL
- Ending & Home: It was 50/50 on Regan's family being at the same house. I was happy with the note about the familiar cat. Overall, this was a great story about growing into the shape of Regan. The themes were heavy-handed, but I've come to accept that in this series.
(hide spoiler)]


I'm going to wait on #7, because I've been buying too many audiobooks and my library doesn't have #7 yet. I was planning on buying it on Audible, but decided to wait cause I just bought a bunch on the sale. XD

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

Soo wrote: "#6:

- I loved the intro about being average and spinning.
- The part with the kids was too heavy handed for me. It made it seem like the ONLY thing to be was different and that's the only thing t..."

When you do get ahold of #7, please come share your thoughts!

I bet most of us looking at this thread have finished the book, but would you be willing to plunk a spoiler around your #6 thoughts just in case?

[Soo]

Sure! =D

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

Soo wrote: "Sure! =D"

Ty! (view spoiler)[ I had such a hard time thinking about Gristle eating the helpless king. It didn't sit right. But I'm squeamish. How terrifying! (hide spoiler)]

[Soo]

I had more mental squirming when they (view spoiler)[ate the unicorns (hide spoiler)]. It was enough that I actually paused the story to think about it a bit and then continue.

I mean, unicorns!

Click to see my Pegi-corn, Mahina.
(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

Plus, I see Gristle doing part of what his kind does vs just because he felt like it or driven by greed/power.

[Elizabeth]

yay! can't wait to start the last book. I may start tomorrow on my breaks at work

[Paula]

I'm joining for the last book :)

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

Soo wrote: "I had more mental squirming when they [spoilers removed]. It was enough that I actually paused the story to think about it a bit and then continue.

I mean, unicorns!

Click to see my Pegi-corn, ..."

That's a really good point. I just projected myself into the situation a little too much and it felt harsh haha.

OM that's gorgeous!

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

Can't wait!

[Soo]

Mahina is my beautiful tattoo pet. =D
One of four.

But the brutal & pragmatic nature of man comes to the fore and now I'm laughing every time I think "tasty unicorns". But only in reference to this series. Haha

[Tonari no Emily]

That's beautiful Soo! :)

[Soo]

Thanks! I went from, nah I can't see myself having a tattoo for a long time. Then a few years ago, I decided to get a small silhouette of a hawk in flight as a test. My body didn't freak out too much. I liked the tattoo artist and we ended up collaborating in several pieces that ended up half sleeves on my arms. =D

Changed my mind about tattoos, because I wanted beautiful symbols that represent me. A series of stories in art, symbols & details. =)

[Tonari no Emily]

That's awesome :) It's always nice finding a good tattoo artist.
I've always loved tattoos. My most recent one is The Serenity from Firefly (loved that show, and I really wanted a recognizable space ship) thigh piece and I've been wanting to expand that into a whole space-themed leg sleeve with different spaceships, but my tattoo artist moved :(

[Soo]

Aww, that sucks that the artist moved. Have you tried to ask for a recommendation? The place I went to was highly regarded by several friends with tattoos. I liked the online portfolio and looked a bunch of the various artist's work before picking one for the meet & greet. I totally lucked out with finding a great one on the first try. =D

[Tonari no Emily]

That is lucky! Most of mine have been different artists and then I find one I really like and he moves on me lol
There was someone else at the same parlor I'll probably check out.

[RachelG.]

Where the Drowned Girls Go

Chapter 1: (view spoiler)[ The start to this book is much more dark than the others and I feel so bad for Cora who is clearly suffering after her time spent in the Moors. (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

Chapter 7: Whoa. Was not expecting the surprise.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Chapter 1: crap... (view spoiler)[a Drowned Girl / Mermaid, that's afraid of water now?... talk about harsh... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Chapter 3: (view spoiler)[Portals don't fix problems, sadly... Cora still has self-image issues... can't accept, and rationalizes away, Kade's interest in her schedule... and now she's off to the Whitehall Institute...

As ominous as this institute is sounding from the outside, I'm expecting something out of that movie Sucker Punch with the lobotomies and sexual assault... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Chapter 5: (view spoiler)[I know I've barely entered Whitehall, but I feel like I was on point with my previous comment... and the headmaster seems like he can read minds?... or just intuitive?

Either way, it's giving Whitehall Institute the feel of a pocket Portal world, like the Goblin Market or the Moors, right here on Earth...

Not sounding good for Cora... kinda like signing yourself into a Psych Ward... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

All my chapter numbers were off by 2... fixing now...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Chapter 6: I feel like I should have seen this coming, but I had to rewind, when I heard (view spoiler)[Regan's name...

Lobotomy was right... these sound like Stepford Kids... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

End of Chapter 6: (view spoiler)[Whitehall Institute sounds like it needs a hero to end this terrible place... maybe Regan & Cora are the ones to do it?...

Maybe that's wishful thinking...

Frankly, Cora sounds the most suited to this place, with a real reason to fear the Moors/etc... most others are probably there because their parents don't like who they became in their Portal... basically against their will... like being sent to Military School or Gay Conversion Camp... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Chapter 7: Compass Propaganda, lol... (view spoiler)[

Nonsense = Delusion
Logic = Compulsion
Wickedness = Recklessness
Virtue = Austerity (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

RachelG. wrote: "Chapter 7: Whoa. Was not expecting the surprise."

End of Chapter 7: (view spoiler)[Yea... this is an infiltration... there's no way Sumi is here to forget... I wonder if the rest of Cora's friend group is coming, too... slowly but surely... she's got some real self-esteem issues... you'd think a Portal World and several adventures/quests at the Wayward Children school would have helped her overcome some of that, but clearly not, given the whole interaction with Nameless Girl a few pages ago... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'm commenting alot more on this book, than the last several... 2nd new read of the series for me... and this book just feels very commentable...

[RachelG.]

I thought this was one of the most powerful books in the series yet. Will post more thoughts later.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Chapter 9: (view spoiler)[Cora + Sumi + Regan might be enough... the Sumi logic that she can't die and not go back to Candyland, after her daughter's quest to save her already happened, seems sound... but this Institute is kinda insidious... seems to be working on Cora, if her hair is losing it's luster... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

RachelG. wrote: "I thought this was one of the most powerful books in the series yet. Will post more thoughts later."

I haven't even finished yet, and can see how it has that potential...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Started Part 3: so cool: (view spoiler)[Cora is having some real empowering moments, and now the iridescence has moved from her skin & merged with her already unusual hair...

I'm curious if this experience is going to change her portal world somehow... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Chapter 11: (view spoiler)[it took 2/3 of the book for an adult to get a name... The Headmaster... The Matron... having titles like that adds to the feel that this school is another portal world... especially after learning something is suppressing doors on school grounds... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Part 4: Interestinger and Interestinger... (view spoiler)[It's looking more and more like I was right about this being a magical place... with a "behind the curtain" true headmaster... and stolen names being kept away...

This whole secret insurrection and/or willful disobedience thing is giving me Egwene in the White Tower vibes... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Chapter 15: There's only 15 minutes left in the story... bunch of small chapters... and so much still needs to happen...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Chapter 16: (view spoiler)[Age is just a number... someone's channeling R. Kelly a bit too much here ;) (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

End: This was great... and I agree with the feeling that the "Present Day Crew" are building to something, every other book... the Quests are piling up...

(view spoiler)[I feel bad for Rowena... I hope the kids go back and deal with the Headmaster... maybe someone like Rowena would run a better Institute for people that don't want to return to their Portal World for valid reasons... (hide spoiler)]

I was almost sure (view spoiler)[Kade was gonna kiss Cora there at the end... but, alas, it was just a merry-go-round hug... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Next year's book is called Lost in the Moment and Found... sounds like Cora's new roommate... she's a new character introduced in this book, right?... don't remember her existing before... but her power definitely sounded pretty cool... kinda like Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency vibes...

[Tonari no Emily]

Through Chapter 8
Very much agree, this one seems more powerful than the rest and have had some gut punches already so far.

[Tonari no Emily]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Chapter 1: crap... [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[
Right? her comfort zone was water, and she literally needed time in the water to be comfortable, and to have that taken away is so heart wrenching (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Chapter 3: [spoilers removed]"

Body image issues (view spoiler)[ I don't blame her at all for her image issues considering her experiences. Sounds like she's been dealing with rude looks/comments on a daily basis because of her size. From what I know of McGuire (I follow her on twitter) I think she might have taken a lot of her own experiences for Cora's treatment.
Cora indicated she knew there was nothing wrong with her, but I think she has internalized a lot of the comments said to her/about her, and that has impacted the way she relates to basically everything. (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Chapter 6 I knew we would see (view spoiler)[ Regan in this book. But I was so sad to hear she ended up at Whitehall. To hear she was graduating I was worried she actually bought into all the bullshit Whitehall tries to sell, and was tearing up when she refused to be complacent. It hurt that she had to stay, but I appreciated her courage to reject Whitehall... (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

The Chapter 6 line about (view spoiler)[being a Jack-O-Lantern girl really got me. She'd rather fundamentally change who she is because of the torment of the Drowned Gods. That really puts into perspective how much she's suffering. (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Chapter 7/8 (view spoiler)[Very happy to see Sumi there. Can't wait to finish the rest, I hope something turns out well for Cora.
That girl not being able to have a name is also so sad. I'd understand why she'd want to take the Whitehall approach, but that is obviously still not giving her name back (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Chapter 9 (view spoiler)[Feeling like there's more to the headmaster than it appears.. (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Through chapter 11 (view spoiler)[ Yes! Love seeing Cora stand up for herself, and now she has a plan!
The headmaster's door sounded horrible! That not being able to remember him thing reminded me a lot of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

Hahaha cows write terribly poetry about grass and stuff xD (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Emily wrote: "Through chapter 11 [spoilers removed]."

(view spoiler)[I'm starting to think that world isn't where the headmaster went... (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Finished (view spoiler)[ Ah so it's not that the headmaster didn't go there, it's that he wasn't the headmaster and it was the janitor.. interesting.
But that school was super creepy! And it looks like the headmaster started it not out of trying to help children but keep magic locked away in Earth so that the kids couldn't take it with them when they left...
This seems like its going to come up again! (hide spoiler)]
These are so short, and I wish they were more fleshed out, but I think McGuire's contract was for novella length books... I still love them so much though!