Title: Where the Drowned Girls Go
Author: Seanan McGuire
Series: Wayward Children
Publish Date: January 4, 2022
Publisher: Tordotcom
Format: ebook
Goodreads Summary:
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…
Review: Once again, Seanan McGuire has hooked me back into this world.
I went into this knowing that this was book seven. I was curious to see how the author would hook in Regan from Across the Green Grass Fields, considering that the story didn’t seem to tie into the original five novellas. And wow, did she succeed in a way I wasn’t expecting.
Whitethorn is almost the exact opposite of the Home for Wayward Children. Instead of being taught to really accept the fact they have gone on fantastical (or horrifying) adventures, the students at Whitethorn are basically being forced to forget exactly who they are and what they’ve seen and done. It’s a truly horrifying thought, but at the same time, it makes sense that some children (or rather their parents) would want to be “normal” again.
Cora, who previously appeared in “Beneath the Sugar Sky” and “Come Tumbling Down,” wants nothing more than to slam her door shut and be normal again. She makes the choice to transfer to Whitethorn, and straight into the mysteries that lie there. There’s not much more I can say about the plot without giving away massive spoilers.
While I did like “Across the Green Grass Fields” from last year, this one felt more true to form for the series. I’m happy to be back with characters I already knew, but I’m also glad that Regan got to appear again.
There’s actually a lot of set up for the next few novellas, so I’m very excited to see what next year’s installment, “Lost in the Moment and Found,” will bring.
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads Goal 1/52
[Edit Update: This novella was originally read on January 7, 2022.]
