
Beneath the Sugar Sky
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $16.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Michelle Dockrey
-
By:
-
Seanan McGuire
About this listen
Another fantasy audiobook from Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series, which began with the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning, World Fantasy Award finalist, Every Heart a Doorway.
Beneath the Sugar Sky, the third audiobook in McGuire's Wayward Children series, returns listeners to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children in a contemporary fantasy for fans of all ages. At this magical boarding school, children who have experienced fantasy adventures are reintroduced to the "real" world.
When Rini lands with a literal splash in the pond behind Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, the last thing she expects to find is that her mother, Sumi, died years before Rini was even conceived. But Rini can’t let Reality get in the way of her quest—not when she has an entire world to save! (Much more common than one would suppose.)
If she can't find a way to restore her mother, Rini will have more than a world to save: she will never have been born in the first place. And in a world without magic, she doesn’t have long before Reality notices her existence and washes her away. Good thing the student body is well-acquainted with quests...
A tale of friendship, baking, and derring-do.
Warning: May contain nuts.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Rosemary and Rue
- An October Daye Novel, Book 1
- By: Seanan McGuire
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world of Faerie never disappeared: it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie’s survival—but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, these second-class children of Faerie spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations.
-
-
Missed Matched Pair
- By G Reinhardt on 11-26-11
By: Seanan McGuire
-
Middlegame
- By: Seanan McGuire
- Narrated by: Amber Benson
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math. Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realize it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet. Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan.
-
-
Couldn't Finish
- By Amy Ferrantino on 05-22-19
By: Seanan McGuire
-
Indexing
- Indexing, Book 1
- By: Seanan McGuire
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For most people, the story of their lives is just that: the accumulation of time, encounters, and actions into a cohesive whole. But for an unfortunate few, that day-to-day existence is affected - perhaps infected is a better word - by memetic incursion: where fairy tale narratives become reality, often with disastrous results.
-
-
Boring
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 01-23-18
By: Seanan McGuire
-
Sparrow Hill Road
- Ghost Stories, Book 1
- By: Seanan McGuire
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rose Marshall died in 1952 in Buckley Township, Michigan, run off the road by a man named Bobby Cross - a man who had sold his soul to live forever, and intended to use her death to pay the price of his immortality. Trouble was, he didn't ask Rose what she thought of the idea. It's been more than sixty years since that night, and she's still sixteen, and she's still running. It's been more than sixty years since that night, and she's still sixteen, and she's still running.
-
-
A Series of Interconnected Stories
- By Sires on 05-25-14
By: Seanan McGuire
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
Over the Woodward Wall
- By: A. Deborah Baker
- Narrated by: Heath Miller
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Avery is an exceptional child. Everything he does is precise, from the way he washes his face in the morning to the way he completes his homework - without complaint, without fuss, without prompt. Zib is also an exceptional child, because all children are, in their own way. But where everything Avery does and is can be measured, nothing Zib does can possibly be predicted, except for the fact that she can always be relied upon to be unpredictable. They live on the same street. They live in different worlds.
-
-
Intriguing story! I recommend!
- By Smasher277 on 11-23-20
By: A. Deborah Baker
-
Rosemary and Rue
- An October Daye Novel, Book 1
- By: Seanan McGuire
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world of Faerie never disappeared: it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie’s survival—but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, these second-class children of Faerie spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations.
-
-
Missed Matched Pair
- By G Reinhardt on 11-26-11
By: Seanan McGuire
-
Middlegame
- By: Seanan McGuire
- Narrated by: Amber Benson
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math. Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realize it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet. Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan.
-
-
Couldn't Finish
- By Amy Ferrantino on 05-22-19
By: Seanan McGuire
-
Indexing
- Indexing, Book 1
- By: Seanan McGuire
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For most people, the story of their lives is just that: the accumulation of time, encounters, and actions into a cohesive whole. But for an unfortunate few, that day-to-day existence is affected - perhaps infected is a better word - by memetic incursion: where fairy tale narratives become reality, often with disastrous results.
-
-
Boring
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 01-23-18
By: Seanan McGuire
-
Sparrow Hill Road
- Ghost Stories, Book 1
- By: Seanan McGuire
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rose Marshall died in 1952 in Buckley Township, Michigan, run off the road by a man named Bobby Cross - a man who had sold his soul to live forever, and intended to use her death to pay the price of his immortality. Trouble was, he didn't ask Rose what she thought of the idea. It's been more than sixty years since that night, and she's still sixteen, and she's still running. It's been more than sixty years since that night, and she's still sixteen, and she's still running.
-
-
A Series of Interconnected Stories
- By Sires on 05-25-14
By: Seanan McGuire
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
Over the Woodward Wall
- By: A. Deborah Baker
- Narrated by: Heath Miller
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Avery is an exceptional child. Everything he does is precise, from the way he washes his face in the morning to the way he completes his homework - without complaint, without fuss, without prompt. Zib is also an exceptional child, because all children are, in their own way. But where everything Avery does and is can be measured, nothing Zib does can possibly be predicted, except for the fact that she can always be relied upon to be unpredictable. They live on the same street. They live in different worlds.
-
-
Intriguing story! I recommend!
- By Smasher277 on 11-23-20
By: A. Deborah Baker
-
Thornhedge
- By: T. Kingfisher
- Narrated by: Jennifer Blom
- Length: 3 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right? If only. Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He's heard there's a curse here that needs breaking, but it's a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold.
-
-
Not everything can be fixed
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 08-15-23
By: T. Kingfisher
-
Even Though I Knew the End
- By: C.L. Polk
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An exiled augur who sold her soul to save her brother's life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, her client sweetens the pot by offering up the one payment she can't resist—the chance to have a future where she grows old with the woman she loves. To succeed, she is given three days to track down the White City Vampire, Chicago's most notorious serial killer. If she fails, only hell and heartbreak await.
-
-
Good short story
- By Amazon Customer on 04-02-24
By: C.L. Polk
-
Where the Crawdads Sing
- By: Delia Owens
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand.
-
-
Don't listen to the negative reviews.
- By Kyle on 12-03-19
By: Delia Owens
-
A Psalm for the Wild-Built
- Monk & Robot, Book 1
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Em Grosland
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.
-
-
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
- By Daniel Cascaddan on 07-15-21
By: Becky Chambers
-
Jade Shards
- Stories
- By: Fonda Lee
- Narrated by: Andrew Kishino
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fonda Lee returns to the acclaimed Green Bone Saga with four prequel short stories that delve into the personal histories of the Kaul and Ayt families.
-
-
Listen to these prequels only after the series
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 07-13-24
By: Fonda Lee
-
Untethered Sky
- By: Fonda Lee
- Narrated by: Nikki Massoud
- Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ester’s family was torn apart when a manticore killed her mother and baby brother, leaving her with nothing but her father’s painful silence and a single overwhelming need to kill the monsters that took her family. Ester’s path leads her to the king’s Royal Mews, where the giant rocs of legend are flown to hunt manticores by their brave and dedicated ruhkers. Paired with a fledgling roc named Zahra, Ester finds purpose and acclaim by devoting herself to a calling that demands absolute sacrifice and a creature that will never return her love.
-
-
Interesting novella with great narration
- By Emma on 07-09-24
By: Fonda Lee
-
Nettle & Bone
- By: T. Kingfisher
- Narrated by: Amara Jasper
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marra never wanted to be a hero. As the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter, she escaped the traditional fate of princesses, to be married away for the sake of an uncaring throne. But her sister wasn’t so fortunate—and after years of silence, Marra is done watching her suffer at the hands of a powerful and abusive prince. Seeking help for her rescue mission, Marra is offered the tools she needs, but only if she can complete three seemingly impossible tasks:
-
-
If Only I Could Cut Out Half the Story
- By Ree on 04-28-22
By: T. Kingfisher
-
Anne of Green Gables
- By: Lucy Maud Montgomery, Abi Hynes – adaptation
- Narrated by: Sandra Oh, Catherine O'Hara, Victor Garber, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Directed by the skillful hand of Megan Follows (Directors Guild Award winner) and featuring the voices of Golden Globe® winner Sandra Oh, Emmy Award® Winner Catherine O’Hara, and Emmy Award® Winner Victor Garber, Anne Shirley’s (Emmy Award® winner Michela Luci) adventures come to life in a fresh adaptation of a timeless tale. Immerse yourself in the breathtaking beauty of Canada’s Prince Edward Island with the magic of an original score and immersive sound design.
-
-
sobbing, falling to my knees in Avonlea
- By forever hungry on 12-02-23
By: Lucy Maud Montgomery, and others
-
The Fifth Season
- The Broken Earth, Book 1
- By: N. K. Jemisin
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the way the world ends...for the last time. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the Earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.
-
-
The Nay-Sayers are Wrong.
- By Steve Groves on 02-10-20
By: N. K. Jemisin
-
Hawkmaiden
- Spellmonger Cadet, Book 1
- By: Terry Mancour
- Narrated by: Finty Williams
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the moment Dara of Westwood spied the Silver Headed Raptor nesting in Rundeval Peak, the precocious redheaded 12-year-old girl was enchanted. The youngest daughter of the Master of the Wood lived in ramshackle Westwood Hall, in the independently minded Westwood estate of Sevendor. Her determination to capture a baby falcon and train it wasn’t hampered by the fact that Dara had never climbed a mountain, had never been trained in falconry, or even remotely had permission from her father to do it.
-
-
Great addition.... but?
- By Zeak S. on 08-03-19
By: Terry Mancour
-
The Spare Man
- By: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tesla Crane, one of the richest women in the world, is on her honeymoon on an interplanetary space liner, cruising between Earth and Mars. She’s traveling incognito and is reveling in her anonymity. Then someone is murdered and her husband is named as the prime suspect. To save him from the frame-up, Tesla will risk exposure and face demons from her past. Even though doing so might make her the next victim.
-
-
Classic mystery, forward worldbuilding
- By Deana on 10-16-22
-
The Seventh Bride
- By: T. Kingfisher
- Narrated by: Kaylin Heath
- Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Rhea is a miller's daughter of low birth, so she is understandably surprised when a mysterious nobleman, Lord Crevan, shows up on her doorstep and proposes marriage. Since commoners don't turn down lords - no matter how sinister they may seem - Rhea is forced to agree to the engagement. Lord Crevan demands that Rhea visit his remote manor before their wedding.
-
-
SHE BELIEVED THE HEDGE HOG
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 07-02-16
By: T. Kingfisher
Critic reviews
2019 YALSA Amazing Audiobook
"This gothic novel is ideal for fantasy fans who have longed for a world of their own, as well as readers looking for books with diverse casts." —Bookish
“Girl Interrupted meets Grimm's Fairy Tales. Let it in and it will touch your heart and open your mind.” —Geek Syndicate
Featured Article: 16 of the Best Fantasy Authors Ever
There is no feeling quite like falling in love with a great fantasy listen, doing a little digging, and joyfully discovering that the author has an extensive catalog of audiobooks for you to dive right into. Fantasy as a genre is particularly blessed with a wealth of diverse authors writing all different kinds of stories. From classic epics to standalone novels that were published in the last few years, it's the perfect genre for losing yourself in a full day’s worth of listening. These brilliant fantasy authors will transport you to another world—whether a parallel universe or a post-apocalyptic version of Earth.
What listeners say about Beneath the Sugar Sky
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Meredith
- 01-10-18
Short
And a bit preachy. But it's a decent story when it doesn't get bogged down in telling you what to think. Several of the students of the Home for Wayward Children go on a quest to save Sumi, who died in book one. And that's about it. There's some nice world-building - they get to visit Nancy's world and learn a little about that, plus they learn more about Christopher's world of bone people. We get two new characters from water worlds, but don't ever really learn much about them, despite one being a main character.
Character development is weak overall - the author falls into the habit of telling rather than showing, and that's especially true for the mc, Cora. We're told ad nauseam that she's fat and has been harassed for it, but really nothing else about her, which is basically the opposite of how the character, or any fat person, wants to be seen. So kind of a well meaning fail in that regard, and readers with body image issues should know to brace yourself.
But the story did move right along and the world-building is really wonderful. It's a bit overpriced for the length, a bit flat on the characters, and preachy, but enjoyable, so a solid three stars.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sam Badger
- 01-13-21
Best Yet
There have been mixed reviews of this one from some of my favorite reviewers on Goodreads, so I was nervous to start Beneath the Sugar Sky, but overall this has been my favorite one, and I read the fourth book out of order. Maybe I was meant for a nonsense world?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Meghan Howard
- 01-30-18
McGuire Does It Again
The latest in the Wayward Children series manages to circle back through the stories of the previous books while still being standout and stand alone. It's a great listen and Dockery does a great job of capturing the various voices and keeping you enthralled with the twists and turns of the tale. If you enjoyed the previous books in this series, you'll definitely love this one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Neubauje
- 01-11-18
What a tear-jerker!
I sometimes wish these books were longer, they have such wonderful world(s)-building... but I suppose the characters wish for that too.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- T. Maurer
- 06-11-19
a sweet short story that made me feel childlike
with a diverse cast of characters and charming ideas i enjoyed every word of this story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Elisabeth Carey
- 01-19-19
Another excellent story from the Wayward Children
Life at Miss Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children continues, even after one student murdered another, her sister took her away back through their door to the Moors, and new students have arrived. Two of the new students are Cora, whose door went to a water world where she was a mermaid, and Nadya, who went to a different water world, where she was a Drowned Girl. They were both in their different worlds, heroes.
One day, while they're out on the grounds together, a young woman named Rini drops from the sky into the school's pond, and demands to be taken to her mother, Sumi.
Sumi is the student who was murdered, years before she would have given birth to her prophesied child.
Awkwardly, Rini is gradually melting out of existence, as the time since her mother's failure to return to the world of Confection grows. Also, it's not just her own existence that's at stake. Sumi had defeated the Queen of Cakes and freed the world of Confection from her tyranny. With no Sumi, the tyrant queen has returned and resumed her tyranny.
Rini absolutely rejects the idea that mere causality can be allowed to interfere with her mother returning and saving both her, and their world. One student, Christopher, comes up with an idea, and soon Christopher, Kade, Nadya, Cora, and Rini are off on a mission, along with Sumi's bones. What follows is fascinating, bizarrely logical, moving, and surprising. Highly recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Erickson
- 11-14-18
Sugar and everything nice
I liked this book a lot less than I liked the previous two, but I ate up all three in a day, so it was still very easy and pleasant to read - I just left there was less intrigue and mystery. The author of this book is very inclusive (trans character, disabled character, Mexican-american character, fat girl), and careful and loving towards her representation of those issues, which I appreciate. I would have loved this series when I was younger and I still appreciate it now. The reader is awesome.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Erynne L. Mitchell-Waltman
- 01-04-21
Another excellent Wayward Children book
This is the third book in Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series, and it's just as wonderfully engrossing as the first two. This time, we get to visit Confection, the nonsense world that Sumi so loved in the first Wayward Children story. As always, the book pulls you in and drags you along through a wonderful, interesting story.
Michelle Dockrey does a fairly good job as narrator, although sometimes it's impossible to tell which character is speaking, due to similar vocal patterns that she gives to multiple characters. Still, it doesn't detract from the enjoyable listening experience too much.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robert Hancock
- 04-10-18
Wonderful, but I miss the author
I enjoyed the book, both the story and the narration. However, I really loved the narration by the author of the other two books and missed that voicework here.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jessica Jones Wilbanks
- 02-23-23
Another great story
I loved this story with all its twists and turns and locked and unlocked doors. Great installment t
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!