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32 pages, ebook
First published November 2, 2022
‘That was the best thing about Christopher, and she enjoyed him in all ways; it was wonderful to have a companion who didn’t demand she be a perfect princess, but allowed her to be a person when she wanted to be.’
“Good evening, Christopher,” she said, voice delicate as a wind chime. “How did you sleep?”
“Well,” he said, and his own voice was a heavier thing, rendered more substantial by the mechanisms of his breath, which was used to keep him alive, not just to speak. “I went to the meadow and slept in the sun for a while. It was nice.”
“I’d like to sleep in the sun,” she said, somewhat wistfully.
“You could,” he said. “I could carry your bones to the hill and let you sleep with me for a while. It wouldn’t be any trouble at all. You’re light as anything.”
“But skeletons don’t sleep in the sun,” she said. “We sleep in beds of flowers, or in the cool of the catacombs, away from sunlight. That’s how it is in Mariposa.”
“Sing to me of Mariposa, oh mi calaquitas,
Sing to me of the honeyed sky and the fields of endless gold.
Sing to me of butterflies, oh mi calaquitas,
Sing to me of the dreaming days and the nights as yet untold...”
"The oldest stories said Mariposa began with a song, and like all songs, it would end with silence."Christopher and his Skeleton Girl are absolute perfection. This story was the perfect length to give context to what we already know about both these characters, and while I want Christopher to find his doorway, I can understand why it hasn’t happened yet. McGuire has finally given me what I've been hoping and asking for, and while I still want more, she’s succinctly explained why we haven’t been given more yet.
"The pools of starlight in her sockets vanished as she closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and added her voice to the song of Mariposa.It’s not surprising that there are supplemental short stories in a series of novellas, but I’m ready for a full-length novel now. I’ll just throw that out into the universe and hope it manifests into something tangible.
It had no words. It needed no words: when the world sang, words would just have gotten in the way. Christopher knew it was important, essential, even, for the Princess to join the song each evening, even if most of the skeletons in the palace would only hum a few notes before they went about their business. She sang, and he ran his fingers across the surface of his flute, wishing he could find the nerve to join her. It wasn’t his place, though—not yet. Not until he could be sure he’d be staying.
Not until she told him he belonged."
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“The thought of dying to rise again, to dance, was not so terrible. The thought of forgetting who they had been . . . that, they could not bear.”
I quite enjoyed this Wayward Children novelette, even though I was more invested in the world than the characters. This one finally focuses on Christopher and his Skeleton Girl and made me want to read a full novella set in Mariposa. It was bittersweet but with an ending that leaves room to explore more stories about Christopher, hopefully in following installments in this series.
1. Every Heart a Doorway ★★
2. Down Among the Sticks and Bones ★★★
3. Beneath the Sugar Sky ★★
4. In an Absent Dream ★★★★
4.5 Juice Like Wounds ★★★
5. Come Tumbling Down ★★★
6. Across the Green Grass Fields ★★
7. Where the Drowned Girls Go ★★
7.5 In Mercy, Rain ★★
8. Lost in the Moment and Found ★★★
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“The oldest stories said Mariposa began with a song, and like all songs, it would end with silence.”
“We sleep in shadow to evade the sun, and wake when the stars return. The days of Mariposa have to happen for the sake of the flowers, and the butterflies, but they stay short and sweet for us. That’s how it’s meant to be. That’s how it’s always been.”