Name: kelsey's review of Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
Item: Where the Drowned Girls Go
Rating: 4
Author: kelsey

Seanan McGuire

"Welcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you’ve already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company." There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again. It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. And it isn't as safe. When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her "Home for Wayward Children," she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn’t save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster. She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming...

Where the Drowned Girls Go

Riley

"I feel well today, thank you, matron," said Cora, and even her voice was level and calm. It was the voice of someone who had considered all their options, and come to the conclusion that an carly bedtime, a balanced diet, and flossing were the true keys to happiness. "I appreciate your consideration.”

Moxie Minion

kelsey

i really loved the vibes this one had. sumi telling cora she wouldn’t let anyone dry her out, wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. they<3 marian remembering her name at the end.. stephanie going home. ugh

Sarah Sammis

From the very introduction of the Whitehorn Institute it gave me a Promised Neverland vibe even though the girls Cora interacts with are all older than the characters in the manga/anime. There's also the fact that despite it's off-putting atmosphere, students aren't being harvested. They, are though being abused and given false hope in a way similar to how Neverland is described in Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith (2021).

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...

S/M	Wild lands	Maze	9999CC

Denaiir

I really enjoyed this new volume and the ending left me wanting more

Cora has been tormented by the voices of the Drowned Gods from the world of the Moors ever since returning from the quest the group of friends went on in an earlier book. It has worn her down and she is desperate to forget all of the doors and experiences she has had in other worlds. She has heard of the existence of another school for children who have returned from their other worlds through the doors. Against Eleanor's advice, she insists that she needs to transfer to Whitehall, where the approach is to enforce by strict discipline the children to deny and then forget their time in other worlds. Cora believes that this is the only way to break the connection to anything not in this world and be safe.

It is very interesting to learn about the other school and how it is run. The story is emotional and dark, par for the course in this series. It widens the worldbuilding and sets up many possibilities for more stories. Content warnings for fatphobia, suicide, and suicidal ideation. 

Cheryl Hedlund

Cora has been tormented by the voices of the Drowned Gods from the world of the Moors ever since returning from the quest the group of friends went on in an earlier book. It has worn her down and she is desperate to forget all of the doors and experiences she has had in other worlds. She has heard of the existence of another school for children who have returned from their other worlds through the doors. Against Eleanor's advice, she insists that she needs to transfer to Whitehall, where the approach is to enforce by strict discipline the children to deny and then forget their time in other worlds. Cora believes that this is the only way to break the connection to anything not in this world and be safe.

It is very interesting to learn about the other school and how it is run. The story is emotional and dark, par for the course in this series. It widens the worldbuilding and sets up many possibilities for more stories. Content warnings for fatphobia, suicide, and suicidal ideation. 

Nessa Luna

Alexa M

"Not all children who come back find peace in the memory of their journeys. Some children find themselves walking in the broken spaces of their own experience, unable to untangle who they were from who they've become, unable to find their way full home." 

this was such a good addition to this series! i really liked the different setting and found myself really liking following Cora and seeing a bunch of friends we've loved before. however, i think i like the books in this series best when we are actually through a door, in a fantastical land, and not the ones that take place fully in the real world. i still really enjoyed this and would read books from this series forever.

Marloes

Izza

Nicole Dykeman

Definitely not my favorite installement in the Wayward Children series, but still worth the read. It felt more science-fiction-y than the fantastical magic of the other books, which was unexpected. I didn't feel like I had enough time to get to know any of the girls besides Cora, who we already know from previous books. It was interesting delving into the minds of children trying to forget their worlds, rather than the ones we've known so far who hang on to the hope that they will go back. Basically, there was a definite shift in tone in this book compared to the others, and I didn't enjoy it as much because of that. Still, it had many aspects to love, like the girl boss escape gang!

Aditi

Trigger Warnings: fatphobia, panic attacks, forced institutionalization, gaslighting, confinement, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts

This book follows the sister school of the one we’ve seen in previous books and I found it very interesting to see how things are done when the person in-charge is someone who hated their world and has no desire to return to it. I appreciate what this book did for the characters in terms of their development and their plot. As always, I liked the pacing and the plot followed familiar beats, which I’m a fan of. While they were interesting enough, I didn’t really care about the new characters and I’m glad we were following Cora and Sumi for the most part. I hope we return to the old characters in the upcoming books, I’m still waiting for a Kade book.

Savannah Winchell

None of the other stories in this series felt hindered by the length, but I feel like this one tried to do too much in too little time

Livia

3.5/5 stars

such a good addition to the series! while it's not my favorite it's still heartwarming

Charlotte J. Ruth

Celeste Richardson

I received an advance copy of this novella from the publisher, Tordotcom, in exchange for an honest review.
“There are worlds where death itself is malleable, where anything can be rewritten, be undone, if the right approach is taken. Worlds where the air bleeds words and lightning can rewrite the past.”
Reading McGuire’s newest Wayward Children novella has become something of a Christmas tradition for me over the past few years. While my reading experience has varied book to book, it’s always cozy and enjoyable and transportive. I request very few ARCs, but this series is top among them and I’m always elated to receive the next installment. I was cautiously excited about Where the Drowned Girls Go, as it’s a pretty direct followup to my least favorite novella in the series, Beneath the Sugar Sky. However, this newest novella was absolutely fantastic; so much so, in fact, that it made me want to go back and reread Beneath the Sugar Sky to see if my opinion of it had changed. Where the Drowned Girls Go was a thoughtful, different addition to the series, and builds on and links every single one of its predecessors.
“I never wanted to be a hero, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let you turn me into a villain.”
Cora Miller, a girl who found her true identity as a mermaid of the Trenches, as been claimed by the Drowned Gods of the Moors, a different world than the one to which she yearns to return. Back at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, Cora is so scared of the Drowned Gods that she is determined to escape and forget any and all doors to other realms, even the one that her heart calls home. And she’ll do it at any cost. This determination leads her to switch her enrollment to West’s sister school, the Whitethorn Institute, despite Eleanor’s desperate pleading for her to reconsider. Because Whitethorn isn’t welcoming, friendly, or safe. It’s a prison, and Cora has just voluntarily incarcerated herself. Will the Drowned Gods find her anyway? Will Cora let herself fade, as Whitethorn demands of her? Or will she finally find the courage to face her fears and search for home?
“I am not yours to cling to or to claim.”
“I am not your door… But I might be my own.”
Besides Cora, we have a fairly extensive cast of returning character at West’s, as well as new characters we meet at Whitethorn. I found most all of these new characters interesting, and the returning characters who received much time on the page had all developed in lovely ways. This is especially true of Cora herself. I didn’t love her in her first story, Beneath the Sugar Sky, for a host of reasons. But I found many of those reasons not only addressed but rectified in this new chapter of her story. She grew tremendously as a character, and I’ve come to love her as much as I do Jack and Kade and Christopher. I’m now incredibly interested in getting more of her story.
“You can’t say ‘my hands are clean, that means I’m a good guy’ when you let people stand behind you with knives, ready to slash at everyone you say you want to save.”
I mentioned that this book builds on all of the preceding novellas. Some of the others could be read independently of the rest of the series, but that is definitely not the case here. The plots and settings and characters of the six books before this one are essential to understanding and appreciating Where the Drowned Girls Go. I feel like this installment bound the others into one entity, a solid foundation upon which McGuire could take the series in any direction for any duration. It made me incredibly excited to see what comes next.
“Sticks and stones, as the sages say; sticks and stones. I know what I am and I’m happy this way, and saying something true shouldn’t be an insult, ever, because that’s not how words want to work.”
Something I have loved about every single Wayward Children novella is the philosophical depth McGuire so beautifully imbues into the prose of each story. The writing is exquisite; I always find myself recording pages of quotes that moved me both with what they communicate and the lovely ways in which the do so. Even though all of these books are under 200 pages long, they always make me think and feel deeply. McGuire truly has a gift, and it’s always beautifully wielded on the page. I’m in awe. If each of these novellas has a philosophical theme, this one is courage and self-acceptance and being willing to stand up for both yourself and others, even when those in authority truly believe the ways in which they hurt you are “for your own good.” The dichotomy between the two school hammered these points home, and gave me an even deeper appreciation for the haven Eleanor West offers. 
“You’re a monster in a hall of heroes, and we’re going to defeat you. That’s what heroes do. We beat monsters, no matter how much it costs us.”
Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series is this wonderful, rare balancing act between comforting and thought-provoking. Each installment is unique and offers something different in both story and topics to contemplate. But the central thread, the desire to find a place of our own and the need to Be Sure before we take the risky step out of our comfort zone and into a reality that fits us better, binds all of these stories into something even stronger together than they are individually. Where the Drowned Girls Go acts to solidify that tie while also telling a very compelling story in its own right. There’s something truly magical about McGuire’s writing and world building, and I’m already eagerly awaiting the eighth installment in the series.

You can find  this review and more at Novel Notions.

In Where the Drowned Girls Go, the next addition to Seanan McGuire's beloved Wayward Children series, students at an anti-magical school rebel against the oppressive faculty "Welcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you’ve already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company." There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again. It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. And it isn't as safe. When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her "Home for Wayward Children," she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn’t save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster. She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming... At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

John Harkabus

** spoiler alert **
           4.5/5 ⭐️

Another fantastic entry in my all time favorite series. Not my favorite of the series, but up there on the better side. 

I loved seeing Regan show back up in this book and to get more of Cora was great. But my favorite part was learning more about this other school which has been hinted at since the beginning. I would have loved to see more fantastical worlds because Seanan does fantastic world-building(Dinosaur world?!?!?! YES PLEASE), but even without the doors and worlds this book(and this series) just always manages to feel so magical. Every time I read one of these books, I just feel like I am actually living in it and don’t want it to end. 

Highly recommend this book and this series!

this is was ok enough but i found out i didn't really care for any of the characters.

jana

i’m not saying that this is one of my faves in the series bc sumi has a bigger role in it than i expected and is, as always, an absolute delight, but i’m also not not saying it. my love of sumi aside, i did really love the stifling atmosphere of the setting, and the new girls, and i finally grew to truly like cora (i didn’t dislike her in previous books but i did feel very neutral about her).

Francis Buggey

4.5 stars

not this book getting me choked up and ready to cryyyyy 😭😭😭😭😭

Sabetha Danes

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 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.

I just love how clever these books are! I love how deftly McGuire uses tropes and themes of the genre to create original subversive stories. Each one is such a delight.

Flavia Louise

I really liked this story but I thought the ending was kind of abrupt.

Florencia Sime

ok well, of course this is a five stars, i mean its a wayward children book. I loved cora even more in this book and sumi like always amazing.
We finally can take a look into the other school, and it was so cool! I need the next book and i hope that by then we could be back into Eleanors house! I miss kade so much and i need his book rn
Asksjdj

Renee Delcourt

Loved it! I loved seeing the different school and meeting new characters. I really enjoyed the breakout concept and I really hope this means breaking more kids out in other books possibly. I guess we will see. I just love Seanan McGuire's writing. It feels like coming home in a way.

Shay

This one wasn't my favorite Wayward Children book in the series, but it was interesting. I think it was interesting to see how Cora's story evolved and see everything she's dealing with because she was in the wrong world and had a bad experience, and now she's having a hard time dealing with it. I just wish we saw a little more at the end because I'm curious where the series is going to go now. Every book opens a chapter in this world, and we don't always know where it will lead until a year later when the next book comes out. I've also learned that every book is connected somehow, and this one was just a very different approach than what we are used to seeing, so I'm curious about how this will go next.

Moxie Minion &
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

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