I did not realize this was the 7th in a series. It does feel right to give this book a review without the context of the first six novels. I’ll go down the middle.

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire is a fantastic addition to the Wayward Children series, and to my heart in general. Each of these books has a child I hold so close because I can’t help but fall in love with them, and this novella is no exception. The book follows Cora, who, not recovering from her door in a quick enough manner, makes the decision to transfer from Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children to the other school. Only this one has rules that are much different, and there’s something strange going on with the headmaster.

The writing is whimsical and dreamlike, perfect for a fairytale about children going through doors to magical worlds. It portrays both the innocence of childhood, and the way that innocence has been both preserved and altered by going through the doors. Some of these children have seen too much, and some by coming home are in a place of unhappiness forever.

The book, like all of them, broke my heart. It is childhood encapsulated, and how each of us has different experiences that alter us, so too do the children with their doors. McGuire writes masterfully, and each time we change POV, it is more than obvious which child we are following. They are all distinct and fully formed.

Thank you to netgalley and tordotcom for a copy of the ARC in return for a review.

Written in 3rd person multi-POV, past tense, WHERE THE DROWNED GIRLS GO was a fast read, clocking in at 160 pages. I love shorter books, because sometimes I just want to go on a quick adventure after dinner and be done before bedtime.

The tone was slightly different in WHERE THE DROWNED GIRLS GO than in the preceding books in the series, with far more time spent in the “real world.” Initially, I was a bit bummed. I love visiting the lands on the other side of the doors, because the world-building is fabulous and dreamy. But there was A LOT of tension in the story, so it was still a page turner, even if you were stuck in the mundane world.

You would definitely need to read a few of the other books in the series before diving into this one or it won’t make sense. I don’t think it’s necessary to read all of them. Although you should because they’re AWESOME!

If you love portal fantasy, high tension stories, and have read at least one other book in the Wayward Children series, then you will love this book!

I received a free e-ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is another excellent novella in the Wayward Children series. Desperate for a change, Cora asks for a transfer to a much stricter school, and we learn what her choice means for her and her new schoolmates. Happiness is not guaranteed, no ending is truly final, and the choices we make make us who we are.

I loved this book, and recommend it.

Where the Drowned Girls Go is a powerful story about finding power in your own mind, finding the strength to know your own worth. It takes a lot to decide our bodies are our own. Even as an adult, I struggle with this truth. As Cora finds the will to fight the monsters in her head, she gains the willpower and strength to fight the monsters in the halls of the Institute. Not only that, but she uses this insight to help those around her, pulling them into their own truths. It is a stunning, achingly beautiful story that means the absolute world to me.

I've followed this series from the beginning and each book is better than the last. I love how they all have a different story, with different characters, but fit together like a puzzle piece.

Cora is a strong character from the beginning. She only wants what's best for herself, but doesn't know how to go about doing it. She places herself in a school for wayward children, a place that could help her forget the door she had gone through and the things that happened on the other side, but things aren't always as they seem.

Strange happenings are going on in the school. So strange, Cora is convinced going back into the door is a better option. If only she can convince the other students to help her escape.

I loved this book. Another wonderful read by McGuire.

I absolutely adore all the wayward children series except for the last one, across the green grass fields because I felt like nothing really happened of any significance and I was hoping this wouldn't follow that but it did.

I feel like we saw a mediocre plot that was forced in just to make another book when there were other already set up plot lines that we could have followed and would have felt much less shoe horned in.

Despite my lack of love for the plot, I do always enjoy Seanan McGuire's writing which is always incredibly beautiful and unique. It always comes across well thought out and I feel like it adds a lot to the reading experience.

Overall im not a fan of the concept of this book and I hope to see more from future books instead of 80% set up leading to 20% of an anticlimactic ending!

Where the Drowned Girls Go is a darkly magical turning point for the Wayward Children series; we start to see insidious forces at play with huge ramifications for future stories. We follow Cora, a girl who became a mermaid after walking through her door. After walking through other children's doors while on a rescue mission, Cora is haunted by nightmares of eldritch sea gods from the Moors. Desperate to get better, she leaves Eleanor West's school in favor of attending rival school Whitethorn, a school that promises they can make her forget, make her "normal" Cora's journey is one of self-acceptance and inner strength; watching her grow to stand up for herself and her value as a person is absolutely wonderful. Whitethorn was as strange as any of the portal worlds we have visited; I often forgot we were still on Earth and not on a world filled with dark magic. While some volumes of this series have been touted readable as standalones, I would suggest that readers be familiar with Cora and Regan's stories before picking up this volume.

"Where the Drowned Girls Go" lived up to my expectations of the Wayward Children sereis. I was excited to see this one go in a different direction than the "other" school ones by being able to see inside the Whitethorn Institute.

Hints about what the Whitethorn Institute was like came up in the previous books, and I enjoyed reading about that eerie place once our main characters for this novel were there. I knew almost immediately that this was going to be an escape/heist story and I was so excited to read it.

This book is a tricky one to review because it's so short that it's hard to talk about a lot of it without spoiling anything, so I will say that I loved this book just as much as I love the rest of the series as a whole. (Although I will say I still love books two and four the best. I think I prefer the actual portal fantasy books to the school ones, but the school ones are still super enjoyable to read, especially with the diverse, expressive set of characters we are given.)

Cora really shines in this book as we get to learn even more about her. and her struggles from her previous adventures and her life before her door.

We also meet a new group of girls at the institute whose worlds we hear about very briefly, and McGuire is always so good at giving you little hints of things you absolutely want more of.

This book's ending left me satisfying and waiting for the story to go on at the same time. It was another great installment, as I expected.

I haven't read all of the books in the series, but I've read most of them. This one is a top 3 for me. The plot isn't that hard to work out, but the characters are so relatable and make for a very enjoyable read. While it helps to know who the side characters are and their histories, you can read this one out of order from the rest. Recommended!

The seventh book in the Wayward Children series does not disappoint! While different from other books in the series, it retains the same mood as previous books set in the school. I really enjoyed the reappearance Regan, the girl who lived with centaurs, while also following previous characters Clara and Semi. This novella brought just the right amounts of creativity, whimsy and melancholy and I've come to expect from Seannan McGuire. There were tons of wonderful details about different worlds new characters visited, while still mostly remaining grounded in the "real" world. I only wish these were full length, and not novellas, but they are the perfect length to keep you wanting more!

*4.25 stars*

The seventh installment of the Wayward Children series takes us to Whitethorn Institute, a boarding school for children who wish to deny their portal worlds/doors.

Cora is suffering severe trauma after her “adventures” in the fifth installment, Come Tumbling Down. She thinks that the best way to get over this trauma and save herself is to transfer to this school against Eleanor’s advice. Along the way, we also have Regan (from the sixth installment, Across the Green Grass Fields) as a side character, where we come to grow more attached to this character that seemed so random as the main character in the sixth novella.

I think this was a great installment, and gives McGuire a lot of options for subsequent books - I actually think this would have been a perfect book to introduce Regan, and then the sixth book could have been the seventh.

We are introduced to a bunch of new characters, each with their own exciting worlds we can explore later on as well! If you love Sumi, Cora, Regan, or just dark academia vibes with a controlling boarding school with strict rules, you’ll love it. I’m just glad this wasn’t another quest novella!!

**Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!**

Thanks to Netgalley and Tordotcom/Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love this series! I really don't know how the author has all these amazing stories in her head from all of her different series and the ability to get them into words so well. I wish I had 10% of her talent!

Anyways, on to the story. Cora has gone through her door and back again, and then through other doors and back again on quests, and now she's in trouble. The Drowned Gods of the Moors have their eye on her, and want her for their own. And she's scared. So she makes a decision. It's time for a change - and she's decided to go to...that other school... the one Eleanor West tries very hard to be different from... The Whitethorn Institute is a very different place. They are rigid and structured and any talk of quests or other worlds is strictly forbidden. It's a rehab facility and a prison, basically. So Cora must figure out whether or not she wants a normal life or to accept her place in another world and fight against the Drowned Gods. The problem is... her new school isn't quite welcoming to the idea that she gets a choice.

I loved some revisited characters in this one, and I really enjoyed the new setting and new characters. The new school felt very realized and detailed, without spending too much time with overly long description.

Pick up this series, but start at the beginning. The beginning might just be YOUR door.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:
This instalment in the Wayward Children series follows Cora and her struggle to regain normality in the real world after travelling through doors which were not her own. The story takes place at Whitethorn Institute which is not at all as friendly as Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

Thoughts:
I loved this book! I’ve had varied ratings for the books in this series but this is one of my favourites I think. Learning more about the whitethorn institute was so intriguing and seeing the girls band together was just wonderful! Honestly it’s just magically as per usual and I love seeing characters from previous books appear throughout the stories too even if they’re not the main part. Definitely recommend as with all the others in this series! I can’t wait for the next one!

Recommend? ✅
Reread? ✅

Seanan McGuire has one of the most imaginative minds ever. She can created fairy tales that will hold up over the test of time. I love her other series, and this book had remnants of One Salt sea to me. If you put a mermaid in a story I will read it. While this does introduce another school, there is the familiarity of past books in Wayward series.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC.

If you are a fan of the author and other books in this series, I am confident you will love it! I didn't realize it was part of a series, so I was a little lost. It is well written and an enjoyable story!

Thank you to #netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my review. This is the seventh book in the series Wayward Children. I have done all the others on audio.

Drowned Girls focuses on Cora the mermaid and her struggles being back in the real world. She is having a hard time living with the Drowned Gods haunting her dreams every night. She cannot take it anymore and wants to transfer to the other school for kids who have gone through their doors. This is where the story picks up and introduces the reader to a whole new cast of characters and a very different way of helping kids through their struggles coming back from beyond their worlds.

This book did not flow for me the way the others in the series did probably because I read it. When the audio comes out I will go back and listen. The story is a good one and different from the other books. If there are more in the series I will definitely read them. My rating 3.5⭐.

I've been a fan of this series from the start, and have always loved the dark analysis of brokenness and healing that underpins the inventive fantasy. This novella leans more heavily on the personal trauma of its characters than on any magic at all, set as it is entirely in the mundane world (though The Whitethorn Institute is plenty weird and creepy in itself). I'm not sure this one stands alone very well, so I do recommend going back to the start if you're new to the series (and have fun, they're great!).

This is the first of the Wayward Children novellas where I haven't been satisfied at the end, and I can't quite put my finger on why. The plot - Cora finding out the secrets of a different school for returned children - wraps up okay, but perhaps the moments before the climax were rushed? I think more than that, it's the detached tone and the absence of the warmer found family elements - the sense of isolation that Cora feels at Whitethorn extends to cutting the reader off from the magic too. Cleverly done, but not necessarily very satisfying. Hopefully this lays the foundations for one of the subsequent books, and I'll come back to it with new eyes and discover something I missed.

There is a school for children who have traveled to other worlds and come back, a school that helps them deal with being in this world and helping them to know that they're safe. There is another school that works to get them to forget the other worlds and settle into this one.
Cora had turned into a mermaid when she went to her other world. Then the Drowned Gods tried to claim her when she went on a rescue mission to save a friend. Now Cora can't get the Drowned Gods to leave her alone so she decides to transfer to the school that will help her forget. Cora soon learns that the school to help you forget isn't as ideal as she had hoped it would be. With brightly colored hair, rainbows on her skin, and the Drowned Gods still trying to claim her, Cora realizes that her new school is more a prison than a place to free her. Can Cora survive the school? Can Cora help her new friends at the school? Can Cora stay true to who she is? When you take a bunch of students who were heroes in the worlds they went to and bring them back to this world and tell them they're monsters, what will they do?
I've read all the Wayward Children's books and this one is one of my favorites. While it does not have adventures through obscure and unique worlds, it deals with overcoming not fitting in to this world. It deals with being unique in the world we are born into. Seanan McGuire once again writes an exceptional novella that is atmospheric and exciting but relatable even as it is fantastic.

If you’ve spent any time on this blog (and if you haven’t, go have a look around—I’ll be here when you get back) you know that Seanan McGuire is one of my favorite authors. She is amazingly prolific, with stand-alone novels and several on-going series, all of it of such high quality that it’s more than a little intimidating. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed everything I’ve read by her, but there’s a special place in my heart for her Wayward Children series, of which Where the Drowned Girls Go is the newest addition.

A novella like the others, Where the Drowned Girls Go is the seventh book in the series, and like the others, it is equal parts lyrical, whimsical, at times harrowing, emotionally devastating, and breathtakingly imaginative. The Wayward Children books are portal fantasies. They tell the collective stories of what happens to the children who find the doors they need—doors to other worlds where they have experiences that are fantastical or horrifying, where they become heroes or monsters—but then come back here, to their mundane lives and parents who don’t understand them.

The other books in the series take place either in other worlds or on the grounds of Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. This one is a little different, in that we are introduced to The Whitethorn Institute, a school whose mission to close all those doors, keep the children here and away from them, whether they want to be or not. Eleanor reluctantly agrees to allow Cora to transfer to the Whitethorn Institute because the Drowned Gods are calling to her from beyond their door, trying to drag her back. She thinks it’s her only option, but things go south quickly. Now she’s trapped.

McGuire has always written movingly about inclusivity, and that is certainly the case here, with a special emphasis on body positivity. Like all her characters, Cora is complex and fully realized, with a determination and bravery that is hard won and inspiring. Where the Drowned Girls Go, particular in the opening chapters, has an air of melancholy that makes it clear wayward children must make difficult decisions and live with the consequences. Whichever side of the door they may be one, whichever door they walk through, the lives of children are much more complicated, and sometimes heart-rending, than adults know.

Where the Drowned Girls Go released January 4, 2022, and is available for pre-order now.