Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
Rating: ★★★☆☆
A young girl discovers a portal to a land filled with centaurs and unicorns in Seanan McGuire’s Across the Green Grass Fields, a standalone tale in the Hugo and Nebula Award-wining Wayward Children series.
“Welcome to the Hooflands. We’re happy to have you, even if you being here means something’s coming.”
Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late.
When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to “Be Sure” before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines―a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes.
But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem…
It’s been a little while since I was in the world of Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children, but I was looking around my library and saw that two books had come out since I last thought about it, so I figured I might as well read them. Across the Green Grass Fields was neither my favorite nor my least favorite of this series.
In short, I thought the setting was interesting and I liked Regan and most of the equine characters. Or, more accurately, I should probably say that I liked how those characters treated Regan. I can’t say that I particularly liked the plot twist — it felt a little obvious to me — but McGuire’s writing was, as always, magical.
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Links:
Amazon •
TBD •
GoodreadsPublication Date: January 4, 2022
Source: Borrowed
Welcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you’ve already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company.
There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again.
It isn’t as friendly as Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.
And it isn’t as safe.
When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn’t save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster.
She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming…
Where the Drowned Girls Go is an interesting addition to the Wayward Children series since it takes place at an entirely different school than the rest of the books. The Whitethorn Institute isn’t a particularly welcoming place, and none of the children there are particularly happy.
This book follows Cora and Sumi, both of whom we’ve previously met in the series. It introduces several new characters with its new setting, some that I liked and some that I didn’t. The book itself had its ups and downs, sometimes keeping me interested and sometimes boring me.
This is the third book in a row from this series that’s been kind of meh for me, so I’ll be interested to see what I think of the next one.
Previously: Every Heart a Doorway
I didn’t write reviews for books 2-5, but here are my ratings:
Down Among the Sticks and Bones: ★★★☆☆
Beneath the Sugar Sky: ★★★★☆
In an Absent Dream: ★★★★☆
Come Tumbling Down: ★★★☆☆
Have you read either of these books? Have you read any good novellas recently?
Let’s talk in the comments!
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