Under the Smokestrewn Sky by A. Deborah Baker

Title: Under the Smokestrewn Sky (The Up and Under #4)

Author: A. Deborah Baker

Publisher: Tordotcom 2023

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 195

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Since stumbling from their world into the Up and Under, Avery and Zib have walked the improbable road across forests, seas and skies, finding friends in the unlikeliest of places and enemies great in number, as they make their way toward the Impossible City in the hope of finding their way home.

But the final part of their journey is filled with danger and demise. Not everyone will make it through unscathed. Not everyone will make it through alive.

We finally come to the end of Avery and Zib’s adventures in The Up and Under. Overall, I really enjoyed this series so much. There’s a bit of Alice in Wonderland in there, a bit of The Wizard of Oz, and so much wit and introspection from Seanan McGuire. Adding Jack to the mix in the last book really completed the group for the last adventure. The reveal involving the Crow Girl was just about the most perfect way to continue the story and bring the threads together. I appreciate the fact that we get a definite end to the storyline. Seeing the characters find their places was the perfect way to conclude. I’ll be excited to see what McGuire writes next.

The Up and Under

• #1 Over the Woodward Wall

• #2 Along the Saltwise Sea

• #3 Into the Windwracked Wilds

• #4 Under the Smokestrewn Sky

Next up on the TBR pile:

Into the Windwracked Wilds by A. Deborah Baker

Title: Along the Saltwise Sea (The Up and Under #3)

Author: A. Deborah Baker

Publisher: Tordotcom 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

When the improbable road leaves Avery and Zib in the land of Air and at the mercy of the Queen of Swords, escape without becoming monsters may be impossible. But with the aid of the Queen's son, the unpredictable Jack Daw, they may emerge with enough of their humanity to someday make it home. Their journey is not yet over; the dangers are no less great.

We continue on with Avery and Zib’s journey on the Improbable Road. Or more accurately, their journey after losing the Improbably Road. We finally get more information about Crow Girl’s past and specifically her making. And we get to meet some great new characters. The mosasaur was an intriguing “monster” lurking the sea. The Queen of Swords was suitable mercurial and cruel. But my favorite was Jack Daw. I loved seeing his interaction with the other characters and especially his explanations for the inner workings of The Up and Under. It looks like Jack Daw will continue with our misfit band for at least a little while. I am very excited to continue reading this series.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Along the Saltwise Sea by A. Deborah Baker

Title: Along the Saltwise Sea (The Up and Under #2)

Author: A. Deborah Baker

Publisher: Tordotcom 2021

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 193

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

After climbing Over the Woodward Wall and making their way across the forest, Avery and Zib found themselves acquiring some extraordinary friends in their journey through the Up-and-Under.

After staying the night, uninvited, at a pirate queen’s cottage in the woods, the companions find themselves accountable to its owner, and reluctantly agree to work off their debt as her ship sets sail, bound for lands unknown. But the queen and her crew are not the only ones on board, and the monsters at sea aren’t all underwater.

The friends will need to navigate the stormy seas of obligation and honor on their continuing journey along the improbable road

Another installment in Avery and Zib’s adventures in the Up and Under. I’m still getting the vibes of a cross between The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. For this slim volume, we are treated to a whole new area on the sea with a fascinating cast of characters. Captain Alas is a gem in this one. I do think that Baker could have pumped up the path to the sea and cut out the big “previously on” chapter at the beginning. But I really enjoyed the adventure and cannot until the next one is published.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker

Title: Over the Woodward Wall

Author: A. Deborah Baker

Publisher: Tordotcom 2020

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 208

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

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.

On an unplanned detour from home to school one morning, Avery and Zib find themselves climbing over a stone wall into the Up and Under – an impossible land filled with mystery, adventure and the strangest creatures.

And they must find themselves and each other if they are to also find their way out and back to their own lives.

Oh goodness… This is definitely going onto my year-end Top 10 Reads! A new fun and twisty book from Seanan McGuire was just what I needed this week! Right away I got Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz vibes from this tale of two opposite children transported to a very improbable world. And those feelings kept getting stronger as the story progressed. I loved following Avery and Zib (hello A to Z!) as they attempt to escape the Up and Under, but ultimately find themselves and each other along the way. This is for fans of twisty fairy tales and nonsense worlds. I imagine that I will be pushing this book onto all my friends for the rest of the year.

Next up on the TBR pile: