Along the Saltwise Sea by A. Deborah Baker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Along the Saltwise Sea is the sequel to Seanan McGuire’s, writing here as A. Deborah Baker, 2020-release, Over the Woodward Wall.
These novels, which are loosely-related to her tour de force of SFF, Middlegame, are perfectly suited for the young at heart.
The story follows two children, Zib and Avery, who upon encountering a giant wall where it shouldn’t be on their walk to school one day, go up and over, thus finding themselves in a different world; the Up-and-Under.
In the first novel, the children travel through a magical forest while following the improbable road, making friends and enemies along the way.
In this installment, Zib and Avery, joined by their new friends, Niahm and the Crow Girl, are exhausted from the continuous stress of their travels. Their hope is to find the Queen of Wands, who may have the answer on how to get them home.
Unsure of how much more they can take, however, they collectively decide they can’t go on right away. They need to rest. Children need to rest.
As luck would have it, they discover an abandoned cottage. It’s pristine, with everything in place that they would need. Sure, it’s a little ominous, but they can’t resist.
They stay the night. Zib and Avery eternally grateful to have a comfortable bed in which to sleep through the night, as well as fresh running water.
Unbeknownst to the children and their companions, the cottage actually belongs to a powerful pirate Captain, who believes they now owe her a debt for trespassing on her property and using her things without asking.
The group agrees to board her ship and work for her for one week in order to pay off their debt.
It certainly extends their adventure, but does it get the kids any closer to finding their way home?
Y’all, I absolutely LOVED my time reading Along the Saltwise Sea!! I’ll admit, I was a little nervous going in, because it has been a long time since I have read Over the Woodward Wall.
I was concerned I wouldn’t remember enough of the story for this one to make sense. That was completely silly of me. I should have trusted McGuire.
This novel has the perfect amount of refresher at the beginning to let the Reader fall gracefully back into the story. It was seamless and probably the best transition between books I have ever read.
Further, I am absolutely obsessed with the narrative voice of this series. It has that classic, whimsical fairy tale feel, meshed perfectly with modern inclinations on how to be a good human.
I say this because, I feel like fairy tales are intended to teach lessons and consequently, Zib and Avery are also learning lessons throughout their journey in the Up-and-Under. Fortunately, the lessons aren’t outdated. They are perfectly tailored for today’s world.
I love all of these characters so much. Avery and Zib are as opposite as opposite can get, but have learned to love and appreciate one another not just in spite their differences, but because of them.
The setting of this one, mostly on the pirate ship, was just so fun! I love stories set at sea and this one captured everything I love about that atmosphere.
I cannot wait for the next installment of The Up-and-Under. I am not sure how long this series is slated to be, but I am hoping it goes for as long as the Wayward Children series. At least!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. It was an absolute delight!
