Mislaid in Parts Half-Known

Wayward Children #9

by Seanan McGuire

Dinosaurs and portals, and a girl who can find both in the latest book in the Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning series.

Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.

When her fellow students realize that Antsy's talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, she's forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise.

Along the way, temptations are dangled, decisions are reinforced, and a departure to a world populated by dinosaurs brings untold dangers and one or two other surprises!

A story that reminds us that finding what you want doesn't always mean finding what you need.

Genres: Fantasy, Novella, Young Adult, Audiobook, Fiction, Adult, Urban Fantasy

4 pages, Audible Audio

First published January 9, 2024

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 2 out of 5]

not completely sure but i think a neverending series of weird short books in which fairytales are real could cure me.

this is kind of like if fredrik backman wrote an installment of this series, in that it is technically a story about a group of weird children who have gone in and out of magic worlds, but that the whole thing feels fairly shallow and filled with the kind of truisms and bland banter that drives me crazy.

but the treat of this series is that even disliking one book doesn't mean i'll dislike the next!

and for a girl whose every opinion is unpopular, that's a miracle.

bottom line: more magic, less feel-good, please.

(2.5 / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

even SUMI thinks birds are scary!



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SCORE! sorry, A Little Blood and Dancing, i gotta prop you in the corner for just a sec, my lady's calling...

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and now she gives us DINOSAURS???????

just when i think she's all maxed-out on how cool a person can be, seanan mcguire exceeds expectations.

[Melanie (meltotheany) · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by Tor - thank you so much !!

“The door wasn’t there because you have any obligations left to these people, or this world. It was there because sometimes people can’t let go of who they thought we were, and so they keep trying to tangle us in nets and drag us back. That doesn’t mean we have to go. Or if we do go, that doesn’t mean we have to stay.”

let me start this review with something that is probably going to make you all very happy and then something that might make you all not happy!

the happy: some of this book actually takes place in kade’s portal world (which i know i have been begging for since day one), and it was truly the most amazing glimpse that left the reader wanting so much more.

the unhappy: now… this did not bother me whatsoever, but basically it takes 100 pages until the reader gets to see a dinosaur in this book. and truly? it is a very small glimpse for maybe 20 pages? the cover of this one probably wasn’t the best choice, even though it is very beautiful.

okay let me actually type what this book is about! so i was very surprised when i started this, because it really does pick up right after the events of Lost in the Moment and Found, where we see antsy recounting things to eleanor, before she starts classes at the school. But then we get a six month jump, after the rescue mission of Where the Drowned Girls Go, and we get to see antsy with so many new and old beloved kids at this school. But once some people find out what magic antsy’s nexus has given her, our crew goes on a quest to protect her and the school at all costs.

all wayward children books have a different powerful message inside their amazing stories, and i feel like this installment’s was all about breaking cycles of abuse. from realizing healthy ways to feel safe and heal from abuse that was done to you in the past. to reclaiming a childhood that was taken from you, instead of feeling like you can repress the way the world made you grow up too quickly. to having a responsibility to protect children and the generations to come, and not use your abuse as an excuse to continue the cycles of abuse. And ultimately be able to listen, and grow, and be better, continuously and constantly. and I also think there is an underlying message too of how everyone heals from things differently, and we should allow people to heal and live how they want to live, and how there is no time limit on making different choices - just when you’re reading to make them.

overall, i had a good time with this one, but i didn’t love it as much as some of the other books in this series (especially with Lost in the Moment and Found being a five star read for me). but seeing antsy’s power and some different worlds (some we know, some we know about, some brand new) was so beyond cool. also, i just love sumi so very much.

trigger + content warnings: mentions of loss of parents & loved ones in the past, depression, grief, ptsd, nightmares, abandonment & loneliness, a one sentence brief mention that hints at disordered eating in the past, talk of colorism, mind altering magic, one sentence mention of chemotherapy in past, implied transphobia in past, implied mention of pedophile in past, mention of chronic pain, blood depiction, talk of death and murder, and just a lot of mentions of bad parenting and child abuse.

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1.) Every Heart a Doorway ★★★★★
2.) Down Among the Sticks and Bones ★★★★★
3.) Beneath the Sugar Sky ★★★★
4.) In an Absent Dream ★★★★★
5.) Come Tumbling Down ★★★
6.) Across the Green Grass Fields ★★★★
7.) Where the Drowned Girls Go ★★★
8.) Lost in the Moment and Found ★★★★★

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

”People who’ve been hurt often think they have some sort of right to go around hurting other people. They think trauma is a toy to keep handing down forever. But the fact that someone hurt you and tied you up in knots, doesn’t give you the right to do it to anybody else.”

unlike the previous installments, this one was a direct sequel to Lost in the Moment and Found. we follow Antoinette as she’s forced to right some wrongs of her past. the return of Sumi, Kade, Christopher and Cora who join her on her journey was my absolute favorite thing about this cause i love them so much (especially Kade and Sumi). i do wish there was more time spent in the portal world of dinosaurs, but i thought this was another great entry to this series that handled it’s deeper topics so well and i loved the ending of this one. i will be so sad when it’s over and we finally get Kade’s book.


↳ i’ll never get tired of these novellas and apparently this portal world has dinosaurs🦕💚.

[Mai H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nine books later and I still love this series. While this certainly lacks the magic of the first three (maybe four) books, I find I still enjoy following these kids' lives.

We meet a few new folk, but there are some you'll recognize from previous stories. Urban fantasy always feels just the bit more real, because it could happen. Can I find a door?

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

[Katie Colson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shockingly small amount of dinosaurs. So set your expectations low on that front.

I adored the beginning of this book. The writing was exactly what I adore from this series and this author.

I really enjoy Antsy as a character. Following her story in back-to-back books was surprisingly fine. Even though we haven't done that in this series since books 1 & 2.

This is a group book, so it's set up for success as far as my taste's are concerned.

However! This book kinda got lost in the sauce in the middle. We had so many characters that no one was able to really shine. The meanings and metaphors became so opaque as to be trite. It read more like a children's book than this series has ever done before. And, if you've read a single chapter of any of these books, you know that this is anything but a children's book.

So, all-in-all, I really enjoyed this book but it doesn't hold a candle to a lot of others in this series.

[Elizabeth (Plant Based Bride) · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the one hand, I LOVED that this instalment picked up right after the last one (one of my favourites of the series) so we could get a conclusion for Antsy’s story. On the other hand, this story felt scattered and disjointed, picking up the stories of so many different characters in a haphazard way that made it difficult to really lock-in.

I wish this one had focused more exclusively on Antsy’s story because the themes of being forced to grow up too fast by the mistreatment of adults in your life, losing your childhood due to abuse, and finding a way to make peace with that and move on in a healthy way was beautiful. I love many of the other characters in this series, but their stories deserve their own books (and some of them have already had the focus in several instalments and probably could have had their arcs wrapped up a while ago).

I found Sumi aggressive and off-putting in this one (I feel she’s become meaner and more annoying as the books progress, which is a shame). And this is such a specific nitpick, but the accent the narrator used for Emily was so grating on my ears that I was always hoping she’d go away so the pain would end.

All in all, this was fine but not amazing - it felt like part two of the last book and a bit of a transition, wrapping up loose ends from other stories. I think it would have been better to incorporate Antsy’s story into Lost in the Moment and Found, even if it made the novella longer than the others in the series and used this slot for a dedicated book for another character like Kade.


Trigger/Content Warnings: transphobia, bullying, child pornography/child abuse mentioned

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[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading vlog: https://youtu.be/TX0s3nsdHUg

ahhh the first in a long time that a book from this series has not been 5 stars!! sadly the narrative felt a bit lost in this one, and i think this book and the previous book could've been condensed into one with some editing

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up

I love this series so much and am always happy to be back in the world and with these characters. This was interesting because it picked up with Antsy's story where the last novella left off and brought along several of our well-loved characters on an adventure that includes a world of dinasours! I found this to be an enjoyable and satisfying installment in the series, though not my favorite of them. The audio narration is fantastic! I received an advance copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

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

Cora and Antsy novel save me Cora and Antsy novel

In the delightful Mislaid In Parts Half Known, the newest main group at the School for Wayward Children – Antsy, Emily, Sumi, Kade, Christopher, and Cora – journey back to the Shop Where Lost Things Go to ensure that Antsy’s old mentors, Vineta and Hudson, are keeping their promise to change their ways. This series has definitely become split into two main types of books – origin stories and ensemble pieces – and this ensemble is extremely good! I really like Emily; I was delighted to see Cora and Antsy’s stories get compelling resolutions. Sumi is getting more compelling content as this series goes on.

I still love this series very much. I’ll miss Cora; she and Jack were two of my favorites. I’m beyond excited for more Antsy. I feel like what’s coming next will be a Kade and Antsy run the house story, an Emily resolution story, and maybe – ideally – something for Christopher.

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[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - I really enjoyed the world building in this one in terms of how the doors work and getting more insight into how the different worlds' logic operates. It was also good to see where Antsy's story leads. However, I think this felt a little messy and unfocused at times which I would say is a pacing issue. Still entertaining, but one of the lesser books in the series.
Also, considering the cover... I needed more dinos!!

[Phrynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books leads straight from book eight and continues Antsy's story. She is one of my favorite characters in the series so I was happy.

Antsy's experience in the previous book have left her able to find doors and she takes a group of our favourite characters, Sumi, Kade, Christopher and Cora on an exciting door hopping experience. They end up discovering an old friend in a land of dinosaurs where they also rescue one of Antsy's 'family'.

I enjoyed the whole book very much but can I add my name to the list of readers who are waiting for Kade's story?

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Special thanks to Netgalley and Tor for gifting me an early copy of this book. Below you'll find my honest review.

This is one of those series that, even though each book is actually pretty dang short at around 200 pages, still hits hard with emotional depth. We continue the story of Antsy, girl from the store that holds the lost things and main character of the last book, Lost in the Moment and Found. She has found her way to Eleanor's school, and has started to settle in... so of course, people find out about her gift of being able to find almost anything, and some want to take advantage of it and use her to find their Doors. Hi-jinks ensue and it's a fantastic tale, hopping through multiple worlds, and with a twist at the end that makes me both happy *and* sad.

All in all, yet another fantastic entry into this series, that you should definitely read... but start at the beginning, please. Highly recommended for fairy tale lovers, YA lovers, and adventure lovers, and of course, for all fans of McGuire's works.

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook of this one and while I have read the physical books for the rest of the series I truly enjoyed having a narrator bring the story more to life. The last book was one of my favorites so I was excited to see more of Antsy and a true and satisfying end to her story (although I could see her popping in again). I loved that there were dinosaurs. Sometimes I wish these books were longer, but as frustrating as it is to wait they are really the perfect length for the silly wonderful stories inside. Antsy is in school and while she doesn’t truly fit in her too old for her mind body she is trying to adjust and learning. But when she and her friends find themselves on a quest she realizes that maybe she was more sure than she could have imagined. This is a part of a series and one that should really be read in order.

[Susan Atherly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. This content dense, emotional addition to the Wayward Children series left me tearful and yet happy. How does Seanan McGuire do that?

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

"You weren't sure."
"I'm sure now."

I was a total dino kid. Jurassic Park is one of my all-time favorite movies, my shelves were full of dino encyclopedias, and I cried once because I realized I would never, in fact, get to watch a baby velociraptor hatch... so, needless to say, I went a little feral when the cover for this novella was released.

Wayward Children is my favorite series of all time and this novella reminded me of why: it’s full of so much heart and the most wonderful characters that I constantly find myself wishing I could pull into a big protective hug, and all of that takes place against the backdrop of these dazzling, brilliant worlds. We got to see a few different worlds in this installment, but my favorite was definitely the world of dinosaurs that Antsy & co. have to venture into! There was a hint in a previous book about a world of giant lizards, and I’d always hoped we would get to visit it someday. I only wish we’d gotten to see more of it!

This was an especially interesting piece to the series because I felt like it wrapped up a surprising amount of loose ends! I loved getting to spend time with so many different characters, though, and most of all, I loved watching Antsy come into her own as this brave, fiercely protective girl who refuses to pass on her trauma to anyone else. I was so proud of her and I really hope we get to see her again in a future book!

Buddy read with Misty! ♥

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: Kade is trans, Sumi is Japanese-American and bi/pan, Emily is Black, Cora is fat, Stephanie has albinism

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[Darian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every January I look forward to a new Wayward Children book & this one did not disappoint! Such a good message about not subscribing to the “hurt people hurt people” philosophy and the endless trauma cycle - we are holding others accountable for their actions fellas! I’m glad we got some closure on Antsy’s story. Now please give my baby boy Kade some happiness 😭

[h o l l i s · Rating 2 out of 5]

After how much I loved book eight, I am super bummed to be here with this particular rating, feeling this particular way about the follow-up. Because as happy as I am that Antsy found her place and purpose, this whole instalment just felt.. all over the place and kind of meandering. Which is annoying because it did have some one or interesting observations but the problem became we had to hear them repeated over and over -- or at least it felt that way to me.

Even though I don't reread these like a lot of other fans of the series, I've never really felt the lack of that. But this one I think really needs a refresher or at least a solid understanding of the who is who and all the various dynamics. And so having so many people around, all with their little injokes and references (there's even a joke about this!), wasn't doing much for me because there were too many characters floating in and out of the page at any given moment.

But despite all this I think there's some fun stuff on the horizon (is something going to go down with Eleanor?) and I will continue to pick up this series.

2.5 stars

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. **

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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Boston · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This was definitely the closure we needed for Antsy’s story. Wise and well-told, I just wish we’d gotten more dinosaurs.

*thank you to the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known
By Seanan McGuire
I love every one of these books! They each have so much imagination, compassion, silliness, and fantasy that I feel so good after reading each and every book! Individual charms for the soul!

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This, for the first time in the series, and I like that the author is changing things up, is pretty much a direct sequel to the previous book.

Antsy is at the school now and making friends. But mean girls will be mean and when they are trying to (mis-)use Antsy's ability, she and a few others (Sumi, Kade, Cora and Christopher) escape through a door. This way, eventually, we find out what happened at The Shop / Nexus World and the children decide to put things right once and for all.

Along the way we (re-)meet Stephanie, a student of White Thorn, that terrible dark alternate version of Eleanor's sanctuary, and - brace yourselves - DINOSAURS!

I sooo want that girl and world to get their own book!

Anyway, as is usual for this series, there are lots of lessons about diversity, acceptance, the cruelty of people and the world (abuse in many forms) ... but also of survival and finding one's place. Oh, and forgiveness. Maybe. Somewhat.

Then, there is the whole foreshadowing of what is gonna happen to Eleanor. We had it before and I wonder when it will be happening. I'm sure or at least fervently hope it will fill an entire book - but I'm also dreading it actually happening.

What I loved most about this book was all the information we finally got about the doors and how they work. I'm so in love with the worldbuilding so naturally, I'm always craving more.

The writing, once again, was poetic and fast-paced, and the characters were absolutely lovely.
On a side-note, I do not agree with some other reviewers asking for explanations for the behavior of some students, but rather like that the author is highly realistic in the characterization - so much so that there are assholes among the kids, too.
Sumi, though, absolutely killed it in this one. If you want examples of all that, see the quotes I highlighted.

Fantastic new installment that might not have enough of a new world but a very satisfying story, tying up some loose ends and providing background on several characters.

I hope this series never ends!


P.S.: I hope one of the next books will now feature Cora in her element. :D

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
I really enjoyed the Wayfarer Children's series this last year and so was eager to continue on with the next installment. As with this episodic series, some novellas are better than others. This one fine but not particularly memorable. It was sweet watching the kids run around but the stakes of this one felt especially low. I did enjoy the dinosaur parts and wish they had played a bigger part of the story.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[Hamad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every Heart a Doorway ★★★ 1/2
Down Among the Sticks and Bones ★★★ 3/4
Beneath the Sugar Sky ★★★★
In an Absent Dream ★★★★
Come Tumbling Down ★★★ 1/2
Across the Green Grass Fields ★★★ 1/2
Where the Drowned Girls Go ★★★★
In Mercy, Rain ★★★
Lost in the Moment & Found ★★★ 1/2
Mislaids in Parts Half-Known ★★ 1/2

This last entry in the series is a bit different from all the other novellas in that it is a continuation of the last book "Lost in the Moment & Found". I appreciate the stories and that they always have a message behind them, but this particular entry felt all over the place and that's why I enjoyed it the least one so far.

The writing in those novellas is just so magical and every time I pick one up, I am in awe of McGuire's prose specially the way those stories are started. I think some of this magic is lost when it comes to the plot. I liked the first entries more because they felt like standalones in the same world but with the last entries, they seemed more like a continuation of a series that I started in 2018 and I don't remember some of the important details to the story.

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known tackles more than one character with more than one theme and it made it a bit chaotic and hard to follow. I think I liked this series more when it introduced a new character and showed their stories and then how they come to join the school. I could read endless of those stories which actually made me stick to the series so far. Things seem to be getting different though and I am starting to question whether I am going to continue this series or not. I think I will give the next book a chance and see how things go.

Speaking of continuing it: Does anyone know how many books are planned in the series?

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first time in the series I wasn't too sure of what the goal of the plot was. As much as I enjoyed getting to see beloved characters from previous books, I honestly was confused who was who and what they were trying to accomplish.
A reread may be required before reading this, at least for me.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this installment of the Wayward Children series. As always, I really appreciated the themes Seanan McGuire explored in the story. She is always so thoughtful and inclusive. I wish the dinosaurs would have been in the story more, but they were still cool.

[Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out my Booktube channel at: The Obsessive Bookseller

A decent continuation, but far from my favorite of the series so far.

There are two types of Wayward Children books -> the plot-progressing school-setting ones where multiple characters are involved. And the single character deep-dives that usually involve exploring a new place (through a door). The latter often end up being my favorites of the series because not only do I get an adventure, but I also develop deeper connections to the characters involved.

This installment was a plot-progressing one where many characters converge to move the overall arc of the series forward. This was entertaining in its own right, but I’ll admit a disappointment that it wasn’t a deep-dive given that there are mf DINOSAURS on the cover. My friends, there were no dinosaurs in this book. Not “on screen” anyway. It was more a bridge novel wrapping up loose ends from the previous book. I can only assume she’s going to return to this world eventually, but for now I’ll have to wait for my dinosaur fix. Woe is me.

Glimmers of an overarching plot regarding the door magics of this world have been hinted at occasionally, and learning more about that has been one of the reasons I’m eager for more WC books. Even after nine of them, it hasn’t become a strong through-line yet, but just the few casual mentions here and there are enough to keep me hooked!

Overall I can’t wait to see what adventure McGuire has in store next!

Recommendations: sometimes edgy fluff, sometimes deeply profound, you never know what you’re going to get with a Wayward Children book. The discovery is half the fun! But “Be Sure.”

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Jen, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, and Elizabeth! <3

I’d also like to thank the marketing team at tordotcom for the chance to read and review an early copy of Mislaid in Parts Half-Known!

Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com

Other books you might like:

[Raquel Flockhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Antsy had never needed anyone to make spaces for her. When she hadn’t been able to find them on her own, she had barged ahead and made them, whether or not people wanted her to.”

I was anticipating this novella because it continues Ansty’s story, which is one of my favorites in the series. But at the same time, I have to admit that I was a little bit on the fence because I usually don’t care much about the odd-numbered installments, which take place at the school and tend to be quest stories (while the even-numbered novellas are prequels that take place in other worlds). So in a way, I think I can say this was a pleasant surprise. I love Ansty, she is probably my favorite character in the series and seeing her trying to find her place at the school after everything she’s been through just made me emotional, to the point where some of her passages truly left me with a lump in my throat.

One of the things I enjoyed most about Mislaid in Parts Half-Known was the serious conversations between the characters as they tried to figure out if they are sure about going back to their worlds. The novella focuses quite a bit on some characters I love like Kade and Emily (I really need a story about her time in Harvest), but it’s worth noting that it also made me empathize more with some characters like Cora and Sumi (I loved how the character who comes from the most nonsensical world had the most logical lines). I also really liked that we return to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go, which is a setting that I love. The characters visit two other worlds that had only been mentioned in previous installments, but I have to admit that those visits were a bit disappointing, especially the one to the dinosaur world.

Overall, I enjoyed this installment and it made me want to go back to some of the previous novellas, as I think I might appreciate them more on a second read. I feel like we still have very interesting worlds left to visit and I’m very curious and excited about which one the next novella will take place in.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Previous installments:
1. Every Heart a Doorway ★★
2. Down Among the Sticks and Bones ★★★
3. Beneath the Sugar Sky ★★
4. In an Absent Dream ★★★★
5. Come Tumbling Down ★★★
6. Across the Green Grass Fields ★★
7. Where the Drowned Girls Go ★★
8. Lost in the Moment and Found ★★★

Short stories set in this series:
4.5 Juice Like Wounds ★★★
7.5 In Mercy, Rain ★★
7.7 Skeleton Song ★★★

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[Cassidy Chivers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This honestly just felt like the previous book didn't have a good enough ending so we continued it here. Which I didn't love that one so the plot in this was lacklustre to me. The small amount of Dino's also was not it imo considering the cover.....

But I did like that we got more explanation to the doors and how they work. And some really good convos about choice!

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll never get enough of this series!! These books are equal parts pure magic and heartbreak.

[Sunny Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The definition of a comfort series