A good strong second book is hard to find. This did it. Yay. Looking forward to book 3. Sorry this is really all I have to say. Read and enjoy. Find book 1 if you haven't read it yet.

I requested this book to read with my 9 year old daughter. We both enjoyed it. The writing was easy to digest and the story was written well. It was a nice follow up to the original book. We even purchased the Waterstones exclusive edition to put in her collection.

Daisy Thistledown and the Five O'Clock Club might have defeated a terrifying foe, but their journey to find the missing Botanists is only just beginning

This is the second book in the series. I loved the first book and I loved this one as well. Can't wait for more adventures of Daisy and the Five O'Clock Club!

Greenwild: The City Beyond the Sea is the second book in a new series by Pari Thomson. Both books are great! The main character, Daisy Thistledown, has been searching for her mother who disappeared in book 1. Her mom is a botonist and has gone missing along with several other botonists. In order to rescue her mom, Daisy must travel across the sea with her friends. Along the way, they take on a side quest and discover a long-lost underwater city. This series is full of magic, adventure, and found family with quiet thread about the importance of conservation woven throughout. Although this is a middle-grade series, readers of all ages are sure to love it.

Thanks to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

I’ve been looking forward to this book all year. Daisy’s new adventure picks up not long after her last one ends. The early chapters offer quick refreshers on some of the key events from the previous book for readers whose memories may have faded a bit. These recollections don’t slow down the action, though, as Daisy immediately has an urgent quest to sneak aboard a ship ultimately bound for Amazeria to rescue her mother.

The story alternates points of view between Daisy and Max, whom I loved immediately. Kidnappers stole Max from his home, injuring his mother, and he’s been desperate to escape since. When his opportunity comes, he seizes it, leaping from a ship into the water without taking time to factor in that he cannot swim. Thankfully, Daisy spots him in time, which leads to the two unwillingly joining forces.

Indigo and Prof, Daisy’s close friends from book one, also help Daisy on her mission. I loved getting to see both of them again. Indigo shines in moments when they discover animals who are injured or in danger, and Prof reminds the group to think things through and study for an important exam that awaits them at home.

One scene late in the book left me in tears, in a good way. Someone who’d grieved so many things had this moment of belonging and things making sense in a new way, and it hit me right in the feels.

I barrelled through this book, so eager to read each page, all the way to the very last one. This series is one of my current favorites, and I’ll absolutely be counting down the days until book three comes out!

Perfect for fans of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A. F. Steadman or The Storm Keeper’s Island by Catherine Doyle (a long-time favorite of mine!)

Greenwild: The City Beyond the Sea was not what I was expecting, yet so good. As like most of the readers at the end of book 1 we thought we would be headed to the Amazon in this book to help rescue Daisy's mom. Instead the world was expanded with new characters, an important side quest, and showing us that not just land, but the sea is also in danger from the Graysiders. This book did an excellent job of keeping the overall arching storyline going, while adding and expanding the world and characters. It did not suffer from the second book slump at all! This series would tie nicely into the science curriculum in a variety of ways, but specifically humans impact on the environment. I have recommend the series to several of my students. I personally cannot wait to see what happens next..

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar Straus Giroux Book for Younger Readers for access an early proof in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Books for providing me with a digital arc of this book!

*mild spoilers*

The City Beyond the Sea is the second book in the kid's fiction series Greenwild, written by Pari Thomson. It is set in our world, with one exception: secret pockets worldwide take you to Greenwild, a world where plants are magic. After her mother is kidnapped in the first book by anti-botanists known as the Grim Reapers, Daisy enters the Greenwild unaware that she too is a botanist and there is a secret conspiracy to end Greenwild and all botanists once and for all. Daisy is thrust into the middle of a war as she struggles to save her mother.

The second book picks up right where the first left off, but when Daisy receives a note from her mother, she learns that there is another magical world that everyone believes to be a myth: Iffenwild, an island that harnesses the power of the sea. It is up to her and her friends to travel to this land that no one believes exists and enlist the help of the people there in the war against the Grim Reapers. The main cast of characters is mostly the same, except that we now get the perspective of Max Brightly, Marigold's son who was kidnapped by the Reapers, along with Daisy's perspective. Quickly entering the group of children, Max and the Five O'Clock Club encounter a far more sinister plot, a long-lost royal heir, and a traveling theater guild that takes the children under their wing.

This story was everything I was hoping for and more. It was so cute and easily engaging, and I wanted more. It actually hurt when I finished the book and realized I would have to wait another year for the third book. I am so grateful to NetGalley for finding this series for me, and it will become my entire personality for quite some time. I recommend reading this while listening to the Tinkerbell movie soundtracks; it is a truly out-of-body experience. This book had everything: compelling characters, lush scenery, loveable animal sidekicks, magical plants... what else could you want out of a middle-grade novel? I recommend this over and over, hands down. The only reason I am not giving it five stars is just a personal preference: it felt a little slow at points, and certain character developments didn't feel entirely earned. That being said, if this premise interests you, please pick it up. You may think differently than I do about this book. 4/5 stars.

Absolutely adore this series! Full of magic, found families, friendship, and surprises. I love the underlying themes of the importance of addressing climate change and taking care of our natural resources. This book is a gem for middle grade readers and I can’t wait for the adventures to continue!

Greenwild: The City Beyond the Sea is book two in the adventures of Daisy and her friends and they set out with their green magic to find her mom and the other magical botanists who’ve gone missing. Along the way, they will rescue a boy named Max and they will all join a ship of thespians and embark on a journey to the middle of the sea, where a new magic awaits, and a perilous enemy. I know this says it’s a children’s fiction book, but I am really enjoying the series. It is a lot of fun! Check it out!

The City Beyond the Sea is a much anticipated follow up to Greenwild. Daisy is still on the hunt for her mother and after a concerning letter from her, she find herself in the hunt for a City that she has been told doesn’t exist. She must find this city and convince them to help the botanists of Greenwild.

Greenwild and The City Beyond the Sea have been such great middle grade novels. Pari Thomson does such an amazing job with world building and making every character involved be memorable.

We get introduced to some new characters in this book like Max, the Iffenwilders and the team on the Nautilus. All of them bring something fun and adventurous to the story.

I really enjoy how Pari works in commentary on environmental conservation. It never comes across as preachy and really makes you actually think about your actions in regard to the environment. The magic system is completely roped into the environment and how destroying it can also destroy the magic.

This was such an amazing follow up and I will be greatly anticipating the follow up when it comes out.

*I received a free copy of the this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

4.5 out of 5 Stars

A great sequel that lives of the potential of the first Book. Greenwild is quickly becoming one of my favorite Middle Grade series.

Thank you Netgalley for this E-Arc.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and this sequel absolutely went above and beyond my expectations! Because we had such great world-building already, we were able to jump right into this book, which picks up where the first leaves off. We are introduced to a new character who shares alternating perspectives with our main character Daisy, and added a much needed new voice to the core group of characters.

I think these are near perfect middle grade books. Easy to read, but with great plots and characters so it’s still challenging for newer readers. I love the world of secret pockets of people who have plant magic, and how they use that power functionally to replace ‘real world’ problems.

I definitely recommend to anyone looking for books for middle grade readers, but I think most adult readers would enjoy these delightful stories just as much!

Greenwild: The City Beyond The Sea is a worthy successor of a sequel to the first book and continuation of the story. It has lots of fun action, character development, and an intriguing premise.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

*Lush, atmospheric, and evocative*. The second installment in the Greenwild series is one of my most highly anticipated books of 2024, and it did not disappoint. I wanted to savor every page; like sitting outside a cafe on a canal in Venice and sipping a sweet rose lemonade with a salty rim while the sea breeze rolls in. It’s the kind of book I want on my bookshelf forever and I can’t wait to buy a physical copy when it releases this June. Full of beautiful illustrations and teeming with evocative prose, this story brings to mind:

- Lush magical botanicals in bloom
- The salty breeze from Venice-like canals
- The mouthwatering scent of fresh baked pastries, vanilla, roasted fish, and sweet basil
- A cozy “band-of-misfits” found family

While in the middle grade genre, this story is for all ages.

The City Beyond the Sea has all of the best aspects of fantasy sequels without any of the too-common letdowns. Thomson takes advantage of the established characters and world to deliver a fantastic, multilayered tale, one that never falters into the weaker plot of many second novels. In fact, I’d be hard-pressed to say that The City Beyond the Sea isn’t as good—or even better—as the first book in the series. Just as in the first book, Thomson takes a familiar genre and crafts a tale that manages to combine the nostalgia of past favorite fantasy books with a uniqueness and spark that make the story impossible to put down.

To begin with, the worldbuilding is top-notch. Worlds-within-our-world are not uncommon, but as in all of this book, Thomson brings something fundamentally fresh to this trope, creating a setting that brims with color and interest. I loved reading about the Greenwild in book 1, but it was impossible not to fall equally in love with Iffenwild, the Nautilus theater company, and every intricacy of this new setting. Thomson is able to describe so vividly I can see the world without slowing down the story—and the gorgeous illustrations fill in all the details!

I also loved the characters. Truly getting to know Daisy, the Prof, and her friends better was one of my favorite parts of this book, but the new cast, especially Max, can’t be discounted—every character feels vibrant and unique. In The City Beyond the Sea, there is certainly a lot of conflict between them at times, but if anything, that made me love them even more. Seeing them in their darker moments as well as their hopeful ones made them all dimensional, and made the highs and lows of the story all the more impactful.

Blending action, adventure, and atmosphere, I highly recommend The City Beyond the Sea equally to middle-grade readers themselves and to teens and adults who love the genre—I truly loved it!

3.5 stars. This book suffered a bit from “second book syndrome” for me, but the world building was again top-tier, and I liked the way all the threads were tied together in the end (definitely didn’t guess all the twists).