Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear

Wayward Children #10

by Seanan McGuire

Giant turtles, impossible ships, and tidal rivers ridden by a Drowned girl in search of a family in the latest in the bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire.

Nadya had three mothers: the one who bore her, the country that poisoned her, and the one who adopted her.

Nadya never considered herself less than whole, not until her adoptive parents fitted her with a prosthetic arm against her will, seeking to replace the one she'd been missing from birth.

It was cumbersome; it was uncomfortable; it was wrong.

It wasn't her.

Frustrated and unable to express why, Nadya began to wander, until the day she fell through a door into Belyyreka, the Land Beneath the Lake--and found herself in a world of water, filled with child-eating amphibians, majestic giant turtles, and impossible ships that sailed as happily beneath the surface as on top. In Belyyreka, she found herself understood for who she was: a Drowned Girl, who had made her way to her real home, accepted by the river and its people.

But even in Belyyreka, there are dangers, and trials, and Nadya would soon find herself fighting to keep hold of everything she had come to treasure.

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

160 pages, ebook

First published January 7, 2025

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]

every series i like should just go on forever.

it seems like this one might. don't get me wrong: i'm glad that books in this series keep on coming. but it seems like we might be running out of ideas.

this installment follows nadya, a russian orphan who loves turtles and talking about figurative mothers. (this sums up most of her personality.) she also was born with one arm, and when she's adopted and taken to colorado (a fate worse than death, so i sympathize), her parents fit her with a prosthetic that she hates because it isn't her.

i can't say whether that is good representation, but it felt nuanced and unique and interesting to me. until she steps through a door that takes her to a land of turtles (like i said: most of her personality) and is given a magic arm by the river, which she loves.

then it seems like it's undoing some of the good representation. but what do i know.

i do know that i did not like the pacing here and i really f*cking hated the ending.

bottom line: in the 3 months that have passed since i read this book, i am mostly left with a residual shock that so much of it was exclusively about turtles.

(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

my favorite january tradition

[Melanie (meltotheany) · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

i can’t believe we are ten books into the wayward children series! not to make this mini review about my own nostalgia, but down among the sticks and bones was actually the first physical arc i ever received. and throughout the years, i have also brought these arcs with me to photograph during blizzon, which i am not sure will even be a thing anymore! but what i am trying to convey, is that this series has been a big part of me reviewing books and there will always be something special about it, and i really have appreciated the warm consistency of having a new novella to read, each and every year.

okay okay - this tenth installment follows nadya, who we know is an adult trapped in a kid/teen’s body in the present day school. we get to see her literally born in russia, living in an orphanage, and being adopted by usa missionaries who are told that adopting a “disadvantaged” child is the christian way. we get to see her grow up a tiny bit with this couple who really didn’t want to be parents, and then we get to see her grow up a lot a bit when her door opens for her on the shell of a turtle.

this story very much discusses themes of disability and feeling whole, regardless of others putting their idea of “wholeness” onto you, and while also trying to connect with a culture that you feel abandonment issues with. it discusses adoption and how scary that can be for children, and how the system(s) is very far from perfect, especially sometimes when people bring religion into the process, and even more so when you’re expecting gratitude. this story also touches on wealth hoarding and the distribution of resources that my late-stage capitalist society should really be thinking about. but i really loved the themes of belonging and finding our own community/family who will remind of your wholeness, always.

i expected to like this, like i do with all the wayward children books, but this one made me really cry a lot. i feel like my heart is so heavy for present day nadya, now knowing her backstory and seeing her thrive in her portal home. this was for sure a highlight in the series for me, and i can’t wait to hopefully have this series forever.

trigger + content warnings: abandonment, talk of teen pregnancy with a birthing scene, ableism (always challenged and in a negative light), blood, vomit, talk of sick animal (turtle) who is healed, loss of an animal friend (fox), not having autonomy of oneself, anxiety, and… disaster (i don’t want to say a natural disaster but something that forces you to be displaced)

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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 ★★★★★
9.) Mislaid in Parts Half-Known ★★★

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

Yet another example of why Seanan McGuire is just so good at writing novellas like this! Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is another installment in the beloved Wayward Children series involving portals to other worlds. This one the backstory of Nadya, and wow did it it for me. It deals with adoption and disability in really nuanced ways that feel important.

Nadya was born in Russia with one arm, abandoned by her teenage mother and left in an orphanage before being adopted through a Christian missionary program. Which goes about as well as you might expect with new, ableist parents who expect her to be very grateful. The world she falls into is one of water and sentient creatures including turtles. But the ending is a bit of a gut punch. I loved it and if you're a fan of the series you probably will too. But then I pretty much always rave about these books! I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

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

3.5 Stars
The Wayward Children novella series has become a yearly comfort. Some of the entries have been stronger than others but I find myself just enjoying spending time with the characters.

This entry was good in places but didn't quite hit me in the emotions. I suspect this one will hit harder for someone with a closer connection to the topics explored in this one, like adoption.

I would recommend this series for readers who enjoy fantasy novels that use fiction to explore the complexity of our actual world. If you are interested in this series, you'll get the most out of the reading experience by going in order.

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

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear (AICCAC) is a prequel to installment #3, Beneath the Sugar Sky, which concludes Nadya's story (and yes, very happily). So you might say, I've been eagerly awaiting this tenth installment for quite some time. I wasn't at all disappointed--Belyyreka is everything I had hoped it would be! I don't even want to pretend that I can understand a mind as brilliant as Seanan McGuire's--a mind that can plan seven novellas ahead. But I am extremely grateful to be able to experience it in this series, one of the most original, genius fantasy series currently running and the recipient of two Hugo Awards, a Nebula Award, an Alex Award, a Locus Award, and nominated three times for the World Fantasy Award. (If you don't like these books, then yeah...it's probably you).

AICCAC is the back story of Nadya, a character introduced and discussed in the first three installments. Readers meet her as a young child in an orphanage in Russia. She was born without one of her arms, but this has never bothered her, and she has never considered this any true loss. Unfortunately, Nadya is eventually adopted by Americans who have not quite figured out how to love children for themselves and not merely as an idea. They insist upon getting her an arm that causes her pain and a rash, and they essentially never understand her. Eventually, as children are in many of these installments, Nadya is offered a Door to another world, a world which will understand her, a drowned world of talking turtles, foxes and river life and of villagers which live at peace with one another. So begins Nadya's new adventure--the adventure we have already briefly heard the end of as explained in past installments.

I have seen some reviews note that the ending here is sad--it's really not if you have read book three. But I suppose these installments can be read out of order and as standalones. I am so eager for the next installment that I normally preorder months in advance and reread all the prior installments annually. So I do forget that some people prefer to read them as standalones, and that is more than possible. But in this case, enjoyment will be greatly enhanced by reading at least the first three novellas before you read this one.

I will readily say to anyone who has ever asked me for a book recommendation that this series is one of my favorites. I don't even have the words to convey how highly I revere these books. Even though they are fantasy novellas, they grapple with extremely timely issues, they encourage tolerance and understanding, they depict characters capable of celebrating one another's differences, and they are just plain fun...so much fun. Reading them is like eating candy. And in terms of the writing itself, I don't think there is a better wordsmith alive than Seanan McGuire. If I could give this 6 stars, I would.

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 3 out of 5]

”It’s a pleasant thing, to linger in currents clean and clear, where we know nothing will hurt us. Sometimes, though, the fishing is better where the water moves quickly. Sometimes, we must move on.”

Nadya is a Russian child who’s given to an orphanage by her teen mother, where she later gets adopted by an American family. Nadya was born without an arm and struggles to fit into the expectations of her new family. I liked the messaging around being comfortable with the way you are and finding the life that works best for you. the portal world of Belyyreka is a water one, where turtles are companions that can grow to massive sizes and offer transportation. as always, i loved seeing the type of environment a new entry in this series would bring. my only complaints where that we already knew what the outcome of Nadya’s story would be, so it didn’t feel like this added much overall. i also don’t like how a certain rule of this series was broken in this one, it left me with some unanswered questions. some parts were fun but this just ended up feeling kinda pointless.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a favorite for me in the series, but another great example of why I keep coming back to the Wayward Children every January. I particularly enjoyed the themes around adoption & disability

[Chantaal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy pub day!!

++++++++

Seanan McGuire's writing is lovely as always, and this series is charming as always. Entries like this that focus entirely on one character's time in their other world reminds me that while this is all an interconnected story, they're still fairytales. Not every book has to perfectly fit into the series and move the entire series plot forward, nor has this series ever tried to do that with every book.

As a story that explores another land and lets McGuire play with the fairytale storytelling format, it works as all the Wayward Children books work. I did really like the disability rep here, and I liked Nadya a lot as a character. The world of Belyrreka was really neat as well.

I also have to remember that these stories of the characters that explore their time in the other worlds are inherently SAD AS HELL, because it means they get spit back out to the real world at the end. It happens every time, and it's no less tragic every time.

A good entry in this series, though one I dare say could be skipped if all you really want at this point is the main story.

Many thanks to Tordotcom and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this eARC. Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear will be available on January 7, 2025.

[Mai H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite yet. I used to love this series. Do I give it up?

Boring. Russian inspired. Narrator's accent is terrible. Can we not hire someone that speaks the language or is from the diaspora?

I should like the story of a Drowned Girl. I was curious enough last time they were mentioned. Somehow they made this water world boring.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

[Hamad · Rating 3 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
Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear ★★★ 1/2

Every January, I find myself picking up the latest installment in this series without hesitation. Book ten continues the tradition, and with book eleven already scheduled for next year, I can't help but wonder if it's time for the series to find its natural conclusion.

I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I genuinely think McGuire shines brighter in contemporary fiction than in fantasy or magical realism. This entry, like many before it, begins with such promise; beautiful prose, emotionally resonant themes (particularly around physical difference and adoption, which struck a chord with me as a pediatrician), and a grounded, compelling setup. For a while, I was convinced this was going to be a five-star read.

But then the fantasy elements took center stage, and the narrative began to lose its momentum. By the time I reached the ending, the story had drifted into territory that felt a bit too strange and less engaging.

That said, I’ll likely keep reading. These are short, digestible books, and I do enjoy the parts that focus on the characters before they find their doors. While the world-building remains solid (I'm a big fan of turtles), I’m noticing a gradual decline in creativity with each new installment.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series!

[Sunny Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magical and heartbreaking as always

[Theo Logos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seanan McGuire is endlessly inventive in finding more ways for kids to be outsiders, and for adults to fail them. This time out the kid is Nadya, born with one arm to a single mother who abandoned her at birth, raised in a Russian orphanage, and adopted by a clueless American couple acting out some kind of virtue play rescue fantasy rather than truly committed to her welfare. She is pragmatic, surprisingly well adjusted despite the harsh circumstances of her life, and for me, the best feature of this book.

The world Nadya goes to once she falls through her door is interesting and creative, with its breathable water, giant talking turtles, huge, fearsome, carnivorous frogs, and near utopian culture, but I found Nadya’s story there only mildly interesting and a bit bland, compared to what I’ve come to expect from this series.

Fans of the Wayward Children series will definitely want to read Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear, but it would surprise me if this book ends up being anyone’s favorite.

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 10th book in the Wayward Children series. These books aren’t written in a linear way and could easily be read out of order. As I have felt after the other books my biggest complaint is that it’s so short. This one was also particularly sad for me at the end, but it was beautiful and I enjoyed the story. This world was fascinating and while I haven’t found all of the worlds in this series appealing but I definitely saw the appeal of this world of drowned girls and giant turtles. Nadya wasn’t asked if she wanted to be adopted and leave Russia for The United States of America. Nadya wasn’t asked if she wanted a prosthetic arm to replace the one she was born without and had never missed. Nadya wasn’t asked before she stumbled through her door, but she was sure and that was enough. I listened to the audiobook for this one and I thought the narrator did an excellent job bringing Nadya to life and telling the story, bringing life to Seanan’s poetic words.

[Brok3n · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nadya's story

The origin stories of Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series have a formula. They start with a child who doesn't fit. He or she is abandoned by those who should under ordinary circumstances take responsibility for providing them with a healthy childhood. In some cases the abandonment is more figurative than literal. In others -- and Nadya is one -- the abandonment is literal and explicit. This child comes across a door, always bearing the words "Be sure" that takes her to a new world where she fits better.

Unusually, we are often told the ends of the Wayward Children stories before the beginnings. We have met Nadya before, in Beneath the Sugar Sky, where we met her as one of the students of Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, where she was introduced as a "Drowned Girl" who "was one of the school’s long-timers: five years so far, from the age of eleven to the age of sixteen." Thus we already know that Nadya's story will eventually bring her to Eleanor's.

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear tells the beginning of Nadya's story. Nadya begins as a Russian orphan, abandoned by her mother, who doesn't want a child. As we learned in Sugar Sky she eventually was adopted by an American couple. That after that she ended up with Eleanor and no desire to return to her adoptive home tells us how well that worked out. There follows the story of her sojourn in and eventual ejection from Belyyreka, the Drowned World.

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is, I would say, a typical and average Wayward Children novel -- not bad, but not the best. It feels like it exists to fill in a story that, since Sugar Sky, we've known needed to be told.

Blog review.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Nadya's story. (For those, who need a little reminder: Nadya is Cora's friend who agreed to stay in the Halls of the Dead in exchange for Sumi's soul in the 3rd installment).

Here, we learn where she was originally born, how she came to America, found her world and that's where the fun begins, of course. Because Belyyreka is a water world full of turtles. The idea of having one as a steed and using water for everything, up to and including a prosthetic, is really cool!

So this 10th volume is about orphanages and people "shopping" for children in foreign countries. Personally, I don't mind adoption, it can actually help children, but the arrogant stance of Westerners going to "lesser countries" to "save" children is just ... so typical for religious fanatics like Nadya's step-parents.
Carl (the step-dad) was bad enough (all while thinking himself the good guy, of course), but Pansy (Nadya's stepmother) was on another level. Sheesh!

The book is also about a child born with a malformed / not fully formed limb (arm). It was therefore really interesting seeing Nadya's point of view on her body and that of people used to two arms being the norm. Of course, it is a wholly subjective thing: some see no need for prosthetics at all, others use them better than any "intact" person does their natural limbs, others are more than grateful for what is possible thanks to technology nowadays though they never do anything than ordinary things.

Nevertheless, it of course served the purpose of showing the usual parents-don't-understand-who-you-really-are side which causes these children to disappear into other worlds in the first place. However, it is also nice for a story to feature someone with a so-called disability and having it being shown in such a "normal" way.

We know the ending to Nadya's story already, but once again, that didn't detract from enjoying this tale. Not least because I had hoped at least one of the water worlds would finally come up (though I had my heart set on Cora's) and thus adored all the ships, turtles, rivers and so much more magic that was simply a delight to explore!

The writing was as nice as I have come to expect, furthering my enjoyment of what has become a tradition at the start of every new year. The narrator was new, but she did a wonderful job overall and especially in establishing that slight connection to Nadya's Russian background.

All in all, another cool addition to the series, though I have to admit that the flashbacks have resulted in there being a slightly reduced impact compared to earlier entries in the series.

[Andrae · Rating 3 out of 5]

so did anyone else know that we got the most awesome title for this book!?

[Rian *fire and books* · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is technically more like a 4.75 than a 5 and only because to me it felt like it ended abruptly? Which I guess makes sense as we do know what happens later in the series but I would have appreciated a final epilogue just for my little heart.

But if there isn’t an epilogue… maybe this isn’t the rest of Nadya’s story?

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart

Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Wayward Children series a collection of novellas surrounding kids who didn't quite fit into their worlds or their families that at some point in time go through a door to another world.  But the thing about doors is sometimes they appear again when you aren't paying attention and you go through them again.  When that happens you may end up at the School for Wayward Children where you wait with others, hoping to find your door home again.

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is one such story.  Nadya was orphaned write after her birth and was great at helping to take care of all the children at the orphanage where she lived.  She didn't mind she was missing half an arm.  She got along just fine without it and even if it bothered some it didn't bother her.  She was adopted by an American Christian couple and came to live her life in America.  It was there she learned not everyone saw her arm the same way.

Nadya found the door when she was sad about the family who adopted her and wanted her to wear a prosthetic arm.  She never doubted herself until that day and while looking at the turtles she so loved to visit she ended up in a water world.  She spent almost a decade there, with a tortoise to call her own and a boy who became her husband.  This is the story of those adventures and the wonderful times she had exploring the world of Belyrreka until a day that brought her back.

I really liked Nadya and her kind heart and way of taking care of those around her.  Seanan McGuire does such a great job with all the worlds people end up in and how interesting and different they are from one another.  She is incredibly imaginative bringing the world and characters in it to life in a short period of time.  I knew Nadya would end back up in our world since I saw her at the school and we get a brief introduction to her.  But I was sad all the same when she ended up on this side of the door again.

As most of these books, they are self contained stories that don't have to be read in order to understand what is happening, however it does help.  I still suggest reading them in order to get the full impact.

Narration:
Barrie Kreinik did really well at capturing the atmosphere of the story.  Her Russian accent for Nadya and some of the river folk in Belyrreka worked really well.  I enjoyed her performance and how well she was able to make me care for Nadya so much in just a short period of time.

Performance: ★★★★
Character Separation: ★★★★★
Diction: ★★★★
Pacing/Flow: ★★★★
Sound Effects: limited at the introduction

Listen to a clip: HERE

[Raquel Flockhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A future is a monster of its own breed, different for everyone, and ever inescapable.”

This is the tenth installment in the Wayward Children series and like all the even-numbered novellas, it takes place in another world. In this case we follow Nadya, an orphan girl born in Russia with only one arm who is adopted by an American couple who think they are offering her the perfect life instead of realizing how ableist they are. The final straw comes when they get her a prosthetic arm that Nadya never wanted or asked for, so as with all children who feel out of place, a door to another world appears before her. This is how Nadya ends up in Belyyreka, a world of giant turtles and underwater cities, where she will find a family of her own choosing.

Each of these installments usually focuses on an important topic and in this one in particular McGuire tackles international adoption, cultural and identity crisis for adopted children, and the importance of understanding that a disability is not inability. I loved the way the author presented these themes, as well as the world of Belyyreka. Perhaps the plot was what I was least excited about, since in these books we always know that somehow the children are going to return to their home world, the only question is how, and in this case the development of that part was not as exciting as in other installments. Although I must say that the ending of this one was one of the saddest in the series for me.

Overall, Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear was another entertaining and beautifully written installment in the series.

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 ★★★
9. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known ★★★

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

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[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have the feeling that Seanan McGuire would be a lovely person to have coffee and a chat with. She and I share many values, which she makes plain in her books. We both acknowledge the human rights of LGBTQ+ people and those whose bodies do not conform to the societal norm, the desire to let everyone live according to their own choices and to use their talents as they see fit, and even the wish that capitalism wasn't so damn capitalistic. We wish for a kind and accepting world, in other words.

This series is meant for young adults. I remember being that age and how bamboozled I felt when confronted by literature in school. I didn't understand things like symbolism, metaphor, or foreshadowing—I was the most literal of readers. (Trying to parse George Orwell's Animal Farm just about broke my brain. I never really did understand it until I reread it in my fifties.) I think that teenage me would have appreciated McGuire's clear and blatant moral messages in these novellas. In my current incarnation (early sixties), I find it somewhat tiring.

So, in this installment, we spend time with Nadya, a girl in a Russian orphanage with a congenitally missing right hand and forearm. She does not perceive herself as handicapped, just as her own slightly different self. That is until she is adopted by an American couple who seem to believe she is defective and who arrange to get her a prosthetic limb without asking Nadya if she wants such a thing. For a supposed Christian couple, Carl and Pansy are more about performative charity than true good will.

Understandably, Nadya constantly feels like she is disappointing them. She is unhappy and lonely, seeking solace in watching the turtles in a nearby pond. Readers who have come this far in this series will be unsurprised when she splashes through a watery Door to the Drowned World, a place where she finds acceptance and happiness. However, a world without challenges can't exist, so Nadya’s life contains some rough waters.

Regarding cover art: at least this dust jacket is not misleading. You see a turtle and you get turtles. Yes, I'm still bitter about the previous book which showed a lovely sauropod and did not deliver.

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear (Wayward Children, #10)
by Seanan McGuire
Aren't all the Wayward Children books wonderful?! I have read them all and each one has touched my heart in some way. This one broke my heart, twice. In the beginning and the end. The middle was wonderful! It really threw me with the ending. I felt like someone hit me in the stomach.
I did not see it coming.
McGuire's books always make me feel like I am there, experiencing the story with the characters. The world building, no matter how fanciful, remains believable when McGuire describes it. This story sure has the most varied backgrounds, and one of the most thrilling too!
I really got wrapped up and invested in the main characters. I think this was one of her better books. I want to thank the publisher, and NetGalley, for letting me read and review this amazing book!
If you haven't read any of the Wayward Children books you are really missing out. Each book is totally different from each other. Pick up one, two, or more, and enjoy!

[Lindsey Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not want this story but I needed the first part of it. My adoptive mom died in December and there were lots of conflicting feelings about it. A lot of people don’t think about how traumatic adoption is, especially if parents have some sort of “savior complex” but can’t actually accommodate a child with disabilities.

Cons: story drags on a bit. Also very confused about logistics bc we meet Nadya when she is 16 and she has been at the school for a while (five years according to her) but she gets married and has sex in the course of this book??? With a guy who wants to kill her? After becoming a turtle rider? At the end she is back in her child body, so I guess I misread a part and time works differently there but it’s still very strange, and does this mean now she found her door again she’s going to go back and everything will have just continued moving on without her?

Upon reflection this is like a turtle fourth wing

[Drew's ambitious reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

That’s it?!! There has to be more coming from this world right?! It kind of felt open ended for this installment??! Someone plz tell me there’s more to come?? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Liv Kaelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series will always feel like home to me, and from the first sentence reading this felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket. Seanan McGuire's writing is so excellent. The way that she phrases even the simplest of things astounds me.

That said, this one didn't quite resonate with me to the degree that some others in this series have. It was good, but it won't stand out in my head among the rest of the series.

Series ratings through now:
Every Heart a Doorway: 5⭐
Down Among the Sticks & Bones: 4.5⭐
Beneath the Sugar Sky: 3.75⭐
In an Absent Dream: 4⭐
Come Tumbling Down: 2.5⭐
Across the Green Grass Fields: 3⭐
Where the Drowned Girls Go: 3⭐
Lost in the Moment and Found: 5⭐
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known: 3.5⭐
Adrift in Currents Clean & Clear: 3.5⭐

[Alanna-Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars - and I want to give even less (but the audiobook is wonderfully recorded, so I am compromising).

Listen, I quite like this series, and Seanne McGuire's writing in general. But, I am also Ukrainian-Canadian, and there is absolutely ZERO excuse for any new fantasy books to be set in Russia. ZERO EXCUSES!

Writing or publishing books set in Russia, while it continues (for no reason other than Putin's greed and ambition) to invade and bomb the beautiful country of my ancestors. 42 million people are displaced or living in war-torn surroundings, 10's of thousands of children stolen to Russia and forced to live in a different language and told their culture is evil while they miss their real parents and families, entire cities bombed into ruins and dirt, pov's tortured to extremes, ... and you want to publish a book set in this dictator's land?!? That is paramount to agreeing with his politics and regime.

And no, I am not over exaggerating.

Had this audiobook been set in almost any other Slavic country, I would have given it 4-4.5 stars. This far into the unprovoked invasion, it is a choice to set it there, and deserves less than 1 star as a result. I am disgusted by this author and their original publishing firm to have breezed over the atrocities that Putin and Russia are currently committing and thinking it is okay to base a story (and later characters as having also come from) there.

And while I am absolutely grateful for my ongoing relationships with Netgalley and publishers like Macmillan Audio, I truly wish that this audiobook had come with a trigger warning. No profit is worth overlooking true evil, invasion upon a peaceful nation, and the justice owed all Ukrainian peoples everywhere. (I'm pretty sure that you can tell that this is my honest opinion).

Given that there is absolutely ZERO excuse for currently basing any brand-new fantasy in Russia during the ongoing, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, ALL profits from this book (all modalities) should be donated to Ukrainian survivors, without question.

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

Forever binge reading these novellas in a single session and then instantly mourning the fact that I didn't read it slowly and savor it 😭

I absolutely adored this installment. Nadya is one of my favorite characters in the series, and this is one of my favorite settings. I spent the majority of this novella with this face → 🥺 and I'm not okay.

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

✨ Representation: Nadya was born with half of her right arm.

✨ Content warnings for: ableism, discussions of forced medical procedures and trauma, teen pregnancy/childbirth, childbirth/afterbirth, blood, giving an infant up for adoption, orphanage and adoption portrayals, "American/white Christian savior" complex/"mission work", minor violence, brief mentions of animal injuries/deaths

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[Sarah (sarahanneisreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jenny Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars