Skeleton Song

Wayward Children #7.7

by Seanan McGuire

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions—slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere . . . else. Adventures are always interesting, but they’re not always happy.

From the worlds of Wayward Children comes a story of love, of devotion, of bones wrapped in flesh.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Young Adult, Fiction, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Ebooks

32 pages, ebook

First published November 2, 2022

About the author

Hi! I'm Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I'm also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.

Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).

I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(

Reviews

[emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

assuming this is about phoebe bridgers.....

it wasn't, but it was another installment in this weird ass spooky series, and that's more than enough for me.

bottom line: make this the longest series of the shortest books ever, as far as i'm concerned!

3.5

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The oldest stories said Mariposa began with a song, and like all songs, it would end with silence.’

I am torn between being absolutely thrilled Seanan McGuire finally let us experience the world of Mariposa and being saddened that all we get is a short story instead of a novella about Christopher. Set in the world of the Wayward Children series—though this could certainly be read as a stand-alone—Skeleton Song gives us the tragic love story of Christopher and his “skeleton girl” that happens to be the Princess of Mariposa. You can read the entire thing HERE if you’d like. I think I actually enjoy the backstories more than the forward-plot-progression volumes and this one is really fun playing around with the whole Dia de los Muertos vibes. I enjoy how Christopher is so outcast because he ‘came from a world of others like him, skeletons wrapped in flesh and skin’ and how the Princess is able to find him lovely despite him having a face. But what works best is how much this really does add texture to all we’ve previously known about Christopher, like the twist about the origin of his bone flute and how much he misses and loves skeleton girl. It’s all very sweet and tender:

‘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.’

But that also makes the ending all the more tragic. I really hope this is just a taste and we will get much more of Mariposa in an upcoming book. Also this was fun to read right before Halloween.

“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. . . .”

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!

this explanation/intro will be posted before each day’s short story. scroll down to get to the story-review.

this is the SEVENTH year of me doing a short story advent calendar as my december project. for those of you new to me or this endeavor, here’s the skinny: every day in december, i will be reading a short story that is 1) available free somewhere on internet, and 2) listed on goodreads as its own discrete entity. there will be links provided for those of you who like to read (or listen to) short stories for free, and also for those of you who have wildly overestimated how many books you can read in a year and are freaking out about not meeting your annual reading-challenge goals. i have been gathering links all year when tasty little tales have popped into my feed, but i will also accept additional suggestions, as long as they meet my aforementioned 1), 2) standards.

GR has deleted the pages for several of the stories i've read in previous years without warning, leaving me with a bunch of missing reviews and broken links, which makes me feel shitty. i have tried to restore the ones i could, but my to-do list is already a ball of nightmares, so that's still a work-in-progress. however, because i don't have a lot of time to waste, and because my brain has felt scraped clean ever since my bout with covid, i'm not going to bother writing much in the way of reviews for these, in case GR decides to scrap 'em again.

i am doing my best.
merry merry.

DECEMBER 2



ohhhhhhh blessed new wayward children content, and i am all a-swoon. i was always a fan of mariposa, and had hoped for a full-length story set there, so if this is a teaser of that happening, excellent news, but even if this is all we're getting, i will be content. i will happily go wherever s mcg wants to take me, always.

“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.”

read it for yourself here:

https://www.tor.com/2022/10/26/skelet...

2022:

DECEMBER 1: PORGEE'S BOAR - JONATHAN CARROLL

FROM THE BEFORETIMES:

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[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great little bit of backstory on Christopher and his Skeleton girl, but I can't help thinking he's getting a disservice by not getting his own book. Christopher is such an interesting character, from his terminal illness that leads him to finding his door, to his determination and devotion for his princess. There could have been so much more tk his story than this.

Still very atmospheric and beautiful though.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to say horror because it is the land of the dead, of skeletons awakened to the world song, but really, this is more of a love story -- a story of devotion. Or, if I take a cue right from the title, it's a love song.

I can't say that it's really a story. It's more of a ceremony.

For all that, it's quite a beautiful ceremony. If I took this without its connection with Wayward Children, I might even call it an allegory. It certainly has all the makings of something wise underneath the macabre. :)

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seanan McGuire is one of my favorite authors so I may have freaked a little when I won a copy of this story. I hadn’t realized quite how short a story was, but I remained excited. The story is a sweet look at Christopher’s background which I appreciate, but I do wish he got (or gets in the future) his own novella. He’s a great character and I feel like there is more of his story that could be told. It was nice to get a look at Mariposa and the Skeleton Girl to better understand Christopher a little.

[Elle (ellexamines on TT & Substack) · Rating 4 out of 5]

To read for free, go here. A Wayward Children story just for Christopher backstory. Lots to unpack here about monstrosity as a matter of perspective, and god, but the ending is simply heartbreaking. This seems frankly odd to not just have as part of a full book. I love Tor shorts. I do not know what the point of having both an eight-book-long novella series and a series of backstory shorts is. But what the hell, I mean, I read it and it made my heart ache. I suppose that's what matters.

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[Melissa ~ Bantering Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

“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...”

This is the story of Christopher and how he ended up in mariposa, the world of his Skeleton Girl. It’s also the story of the world itself and how/why the door sent him back.

It was highly interesting to not only learn of Christopher‘s background, but also of that of the princess and her parents as well as the magic that fuels Mariposa.

A short little additional story to the world of the Wayward Children and one I thoroughly enjoyed though it wasn‘t quite as powerful as one of the full books.

You can read the story for free here: https://www.tor.com/2022/10/26/skelet...

[Fiona Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one knew what would happen if the summoning song was not performed. Perhaps a break in the chain would leave all of Mariposa slumbering forever, the abuelas unable to rise without a full night’s celebration to animate their bones, the children unable to wake without the abuelas urging them from their beds. The oldest stories said Mariposa began with a song, and like all songs, it would end with silence.

Halloween, and Tor are gifting us with another short in the Wayward Children series - finally it's Christopher's turn. I really enjoyed this - it clicked for me better than the more recent novellas in the series, and it was nice to go back to loving it!

Free from Tor here: https://www.tor.com/2022/10/26/skelet...

[Amy Imogene Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is too short for a full review, so I’ll just say this: Seanan, you are such a tease.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was sweet. ♥ Christopher is one of my favorite characters in this series, and I really liked this little glimpse into Mariposa and his life with the Skeleton Girl! I hope we get to see him return someday.

Buddy read with Misty!

———
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[Carrot :3 (on a hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

We get a brief glimpse into the Christopher’s world, Mariposa, which was mediocre.

Moors still remains my favourite world.

[Marnie (Enchanted Bibliophile) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“It had no words. It needed no words: when the world sang, words would just have gotten in the way.”



A sweet short little story delving into Christopher's world.
We meet his Skeleton Girl and get to know more about Mariposa and how it came to be.

I'd love to see more of this world!

[Lexie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sing to me of Mariposa..."

For those who have been reading since the beginning, who don't go into this story uncertain of what things beneath the surface are, you'll know why the ending is as the ending is.

Be sure.

Not Be Certain. Not Be Brave. Not Be Happy.

Be. Sure.

Surety does not mean perfect understanding of what you're embarking on, its understanding its an adventure you want. An adventure that you are willing to risk everything for because its what you want.

Christopher is a quiet character, who like Kade, his Door and how he came to be thrown back to "reality", are hard to discuss fully. But he wants back to his Skeleton Girl and in this short story we're given a glimpse at what they had together.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christopher is one of my favorite characters in the Wayward Children series and I can't help but feel a little disappointed that he won't be getting his own book. I loved the little piece of Mariposa we were given and it was nice to get more of his story. I'm just greedy and wanted more.

[Britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been happier with McGuire. All I’ve ever wanted is a window into Mariposa, and it is so much more than I could have hoped for.

"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. Having Cora, Nancy, and even Sumi return to their worlds is wonderful, but it doesn’t end in them being murdered by the love of their life to become a night walking skeleton. I’m not prepared to lose Christopher in the rest of these adventures, so I’m definitely not ready for him to find his way back to his Skeleton Girl. Sorry, Christopher! 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 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."

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.

Review originally posted here on Britt's Book Blurbs.

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[Roberta R. (Offbeat YA) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.

Pros: An imaginative look-in-reverse at one of the most common fantasy tropes. Fills us in about Christopher's encounter with the Skeleton Girl and the reason why he didn't get to stay with her.
Cons: Requires more suspension of disbelief than some of the other worlds.
WARNING! Death, skeletons (duh), flesh-stripping (off page).
Will appeal to: Fans of the Wayward Children series...past and future 😉.

You may ask - what's the point in reviewing a short story that also happens to be a free read? It's not like one has to decide if it's worth one's money or not (unless you do want to buy the ebook for your collection). But since I'm reviewing the whole series, it just didn't seem right to leave this one out...

Whole review here.

[Banshee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a beautiful, poetic and bittersweet background story for Christopher. My only regret is that I hoped he would get his own novella rather than just a few pages. It just wasn't enough.

[S.A Reidman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, that was dark. Loved it but I need to process. RTC

[Sophie Elaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so glad we’ve finally got a bit more from Christopher’s backstory. This little side story was cute and a great addition although I kind of wish that it was longer. Mariposa is a very interesting world/setting and I really enjoyed reading about it. Fingers crossed we’ll visit it again in future instalments.

1) Every Heart A Doorway: 4⭐️
2) Down Among The Sticks and Bones: 3.5⭐️
3) Beneath The Sugar Sky: 5⭐️
4) In An Absent Dream: 5⭐️
4.5) Juice Like Wounds: 3⭐️
5) Come Tumbling Down: 3⭐️
6) Across The Green Grass Fields: 5⭐️
7) Where The Drowned Girls Go: 5⭐️
7.5) In Mercy, Rain: 3.5⭐️
7.7) Skeleton Song: 4⭐️
8) Lost In The Moment and Found: 5⭐️

[Courtney (bookplaces) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gorgeous and heartbreaking novelette... I have been aching to go through Christopher's door and to hear the love story of his Skeleton Girl. I am hopeful this little glimpse into Mariposa might mean we will get an adventure through his door in a full length novella!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not expect Christopher to react that way, given how he felt about his Skeleton Girl, but considering how we meet him in the books, it does make sense.

4, will they meet again, stars.

[h o l l i s]

Full disclosure I had no idea who this character was for a few pages. But then it did sorta come back to me. I'm not entirely sure why Christopher warranted a little short (as opposed to giving him a full story and thus why this was needed at all) but it wasn't bad at all. Maybe this will play into the next one? Who knows.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christopher deserves an official book!

[Raquel Flockhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

“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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[Nai | Libros con(té) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The oldest stories said Mariposa began with a song, and like all songs, it would end with silence.”

Si bien quería un libro entero de Christopher y su pasaje por Mariposa, mundo hecho a la medida que él necesitaba en ese momento, luego de leer esta historia corta no sé si quiero. No quiero sufrir, no quiero llorar. Y ya me emocioné con esta simple historia...

Mariposa me parece un mundo precioso. Y, si bien los lectores de esta saga nos lo veníamos imaginando como un gran Día de los Muertos, un gran Coco, acá se ve que es un poco más creepy que eso. Y que es un mundo con mucha profundidad y capas a explorar.
Todo el tiempo me la pasaba pensando en El Cadáver de la Novia, de Tim Burton, no sé por qué. Me dio a esas vibras también.

En fin, Christopher está triste. Yo estoy triste. Vos estás triste. Todos estamos tristes.

“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.”

→ Mariposa Spotify Mix 🌟

[Theo Logos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Christopher has been a major character in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series since its initial book. He has been well established as the teen who pines for his skeleton girl — the bone princess he fell in love with in his land beyond the door — Mariposa, a kind of Day of the Dead land of painted, dancing skeletons. With this story, McGuire finally gives us a backstory of Christopher in Mariposa with his beloved skeleton girl. And well, to put it kindly, it is thoroughly underwhelming.

I had several issues with this tale. First, at just twenty-five pages, the story really isn’t long enough to accomplish much. We get some explanation of the world of Mariposa, with just a hint of color, but no real depth of character. Nothing new, beyond what we already know from the series, is established about Christopher, and as far as Skeleton Girl goes, she is left as bare of unique identifying features as her bony physiognomy.

Add to that that very little happens. Our characters wake, talk, go to visit the bone princess’s parents (deep in the catacombs), sleep again, then Christopher falls back through a door out of Mariposa. No adventure, quest, conflict, just a kind of bare bones puppy romance without any bite. It’s bland and disappointing, and far below the standard I’ve come to expect from this usually dependable series.

[BillyDingle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanna say this was like a 2.75, *maybe* low 3 stars.

This short story was *obviously* about Christopher and the skeletal world of Mariposa. We get a little insight into part of Christopher's life in Mariposa as well as getting to meet the notorious Skeleton Girl. The plot was simple, and was more world building than anything (although the world building was honestly minimal and doesn't give us an actual in depth understanding of Mariposa), and despite it being nice to get a proper view into Christopher's story and Mariposa, I found this to be fairly forgettable as I found that my thoughts didn't linger on it at all upon finishing it. So am I glad that we got this short story? Yes. And I would recommend readers of this series to check it out. But otherwise it was fairly uneventful and therefore (unfortunately) fairly forgettable

P.s: people are saying that Christopher should've gotten his own book and not a short story, and I completely agree. Not sure why Mcguire chose not to turn this into it's own novella

[Dragana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, a story of how Christopher met the Mariposa Princess.
Short but cute. <3

(This story can be read on Seanan McGuire's website for free!)