Where the Drowned Girls Go

by Seanan McGuire

Overview

Winner: 2023 Hugo Award for Best Novella

Winner: 2022 Hugo Award for Best Series

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...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250213624
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/04/2022
Series:	Wayward Children Series , #7
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

SEANAN McGUIRE is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, Alex, and Locus Award–winning Wayward Children series, the October Daye series, the InCryptid series, and other works. She also writes darker fiction as Mira Grant. Seanan lives in Seattle with her cats, a vast collection of creepy dolls, horror movies, and sufficient books to qualify her as a fire hazard. She won the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and in 2013 became the first person to appear five times on the same Hugo ballot. In 2022 she managed the same feat, again!

Editorial Reviews

"[Where the Drowned Girls Go] highlights the horror of a world that requires you to deny what you know to be true because it doesn’t quite fit, and it is a fantastic and tension-filled addition to the Wayward Children series." —Booklist

“Outstanding… Throughout Cora’s harrowing adventures, McGuire’s sense of whimsy never falters… The result will captivate both longtime Wayward Children fans and new readers.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The message of owning one's truth instead of losing one's individuality will resonate. Highly recommended." —Library Journal

Praise for the Wayward Children series

“A mini-masterpiece of portal fantasy that deserves to be shelved with Lewis Carroll's and C. S. Lewis' classics.” —NPR, on Every Heart a Doorway

“Anyone who appreciates off-the-beaten-path adventures will be swept away.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review, on Across the Green Grass Fields

“One of the most extraordinary stories I've ever read.” —V. E. Schwab, on Every Heart a Doorway

“Seanan McGuire has long been one of the smartest writers around, and with this novella we can easily see that her heart is as big as her brain.” —Charlaine Harris, on Every Heart a Doorway

“This is a gorgeous story: sometimes mean, sometimes angry, and always exciting.” —Cory Doctorow for BoingBoing, on Every Heart a Doorway

“So mindblowingly good, it hurts.” —io9, on Every Heart a Doorway

“A gorgeous standalone. The prose is emotional and moving and will speak to the hearts and minds of readers.” —Kirkus Reviews, on Across the Green Grass Fields

“A great read for middle and high schoolers who enjoy themes of friendship and family, and a magical world of unicorns and centaurs.” —School Library Journal, on Across the Green Grass Fields

From the Publisher

2021-10-27
In the seventh Wayward Children tale, students plan to escape from a brutal institution designed to crush the magic out of them.

Cora, a strong swimmer constantly tormented by her peers for her weight, went through an underwater door to the Trenches, a magical undersea world where she was a mermaid and a hero, valued for her bulk and her strength. But a whirlpool spat her out again into our world, leaving her bereft. Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children brought her among other young people who had traveled through a door and returned here, often unwillingly. Cora then passed through another door leading to the creepy world of the Moors, where the sinister Drowned Gods claimed her for their own. Even back at the school, Cora can’t block out their voices or deny their marks on her skin, so she makes the desperate choice to switch to the Whitethorn Institute, which, rather than helping children while they wait for their doors to reappear, encourages them to reject their magical pasts and accept this world as home. Sadly, Cora almost immediately understands that Whitethorn’s philosophy is less about giving its students the strength to move on with their lives and more about breaking their spirits and ruthlessly molding them into a miserable conformity. But dropping out isn’t an option the school offers, and Cora and her friends realize that Whitethorn has more than mundane means at its disposal to keep them there. McGuire’s themes—let people be themselves and don’t treat being fat as some kind of moral failing or physical issue that’s easily addressed—won’t surprise readers of this series and her other works, but her usual arguments remain sound, and she tells a good story. There are also some deeply chilling moments in the experiences of the other students, particularly in the case of a girl cursed by the Rat King to shrink into a nameless rat.

A journey into familiar territory with a skilled guide; but here’s hoping that future trips head into the unknown.

Kirkus Reviews