McGuire - Across Green Grass Fields [Jan 12, 2021]

[Jenna, I'd be free if not for Temper & Edgewalker]

Across Green Grass Fields - Seanan McGuire

January 12, 2021.
Requested by Elizabeth.

[Weisubei]

Count me in!!

[Pallavi]

I am in :)

[Charlie]

Part 1 complete (view spoiler)[ She hasn't went through the doorway yet but I've really enjoyed the setup. Super excited to see the world beyond the door! I do feel bad for her parents though, they're about to lose their daughter and they genuinely seem like great people. (hide spoiler)]

[Elizabeth]

Part one (view spoiler)[ They do seem to be the best parents we've seen so far, though to be fair I don't fully remember the others from last year. (hide spoiler)]

[Pallavi]

Planning to start Tonight :)

[Jessica]

Starting it tonight!

[Paula]

part one
(view spoiler)[yeah, completely agree. Poor parents, they seem the best so far (hide spoiler)]

[Charlie]

@Elizabeth @Paula (view spoiler)[ Its a shame that's I'm actually surprised when I see good parents! For the most part, the parents in this series have not been the best, at all. It difficult when they're nice cos on the one hand, I want them all to be together but on the other, I want to see behind the doorway! (hide spoiler)]

[Paula]

Charlie
(view spoiler)[I get your mix feelings. It's such a shame that the thing that drives her through a doorway is that girl who she has always known that's she is not a good friend and not her supportive parents (hide spoiler)]

[Sha]

Starting

[Sha]

Wayward children is too purple prose-y in style to be my favorite McGuire series but I loved the hell out of Down Among the Sticks and Bones and this is also a kid into world story so I expect to like it~

(view spoiler)[I really thought the setup was going to be "Lauren is bullied" because that's what kids setups usually are so it's kinda refreshing to see the conflict being a girl stressed about being mean to her friend. At least I think that's where this is heading. (hide spoiler)]

[Sha]

Wayward children is too purple prose-y in style to be my favorite McGuire series but I loved the hell out of Down Among the Sticks and Bones and this is also a kid into world story so I expect to like it~

(view spoiler)[I really thought the setup was going to be "Lauren is bullied" because that's what kids setups usually are so it's kinda refreshing to see the conflict being a girl stressed about being mean to her friend. At least I think that's where this is heading. (hide spoiler)]

[Sha]

Ch4

(view spoiler)[Regan's parents are so adorable and so sweet and such nice people oh god I hope they will be okay.

Screw eveyrone who indoctrinates kids with gender binaries anyway. That's so rude. >:[ (hide spoiler)]

[Charlie]

Sha wrote: "Ch4

Regan's parents are so"

Agreed!

[Charlie]

Up to chapter 8 (view spoiler)[ the Centaurs now have a pet human! This is adorable. (hide spoiler)]

[Sha]

Ch5

(view spoiler)[Lauren being a baby TERF surprises me not at all. (hide spoiler)]

[Sha]

Finished part II way after than I expected I just raced through the whole thing. (view spoiler)[I love the centaurs they are very nice. (hide spoiler)]

Question: Have we met Regan in any of the previous Wayward Children books? I don't think we have but it's been a while since I read them.

[Paula]

up to chapter 8
(view spoiler)[I find it funny that they think humans are so awesome just like regan thinks they are awesome (hide spoiler)]

[Paula]

Sha, no, we haven't met Regan in the other books

[Elizabeth]

Just finished part 2. It's getting exciting!

[Elizabeth]

So I haven't been able to put this down, I'm on Chapter 16 (view spoiler)[ I was expecting the queen to be the last human that came to Hooflands since no one had ever seen her. (hide spoiler)] Not much left to go, but unfortunately I do need to put it down now because my D&D group starts in 10 minutes

[Sha]

I'm done!

(view spoiler)[This was definitely one of the better Wayward Children books- I think only Down Among the Sticks and Bones compares with it in quality. I love a lot of things about it- how the whole climax is basically about humanizing all sentient creatures regardless of everything else. How Regan went from being a scared kid to being a full-on hero, in all the best of ways. The love the centaurs have for Regan. The love Regan's parents have for her. Regan making the choice to not continue the cycle of cruelty and lies perpetuated by the humans who came to the world and in the process getting what all of those humans presumably wanted (to go back to their world and away from all these animals.) and being upset about it because she loved the world and the people in it. OVERTHROWING THE MONARCHY IN FAVOR OF A POTENTIAL DEMOCRACY. Tsundere murder kelpies. Perytons who are mortified by the idea of then attempting to eat a LIVE person. And did I mention- the underlying theme of recognizing people regardless of what form they come in, which is like always SUCH a good thing. (hide spoiler)]

Idk man, this was a lovely book. AND the cover is SO PRETTY. And I badly want to see more of Regan. (view spoiler)[It makes sense that she would not be the School because her parents have shown on page that they love her and are not likely to shove her into small boxes of expectations. But these books are all interconnected so I think there's a possibility she's going to show up in the next one and I can't wait. (hide spoiler)] Kade and Sumi and Christopher and Jack and Cora are all favorites of mine in different ways, but I now have a burning need to know more about Regan than about any of them because I love her so much.

[Pallavi]

In Ch 7..
So far so good... Regan is a sweet girl..
This book feels different from the others in the series, its calm and mostly consists of very nice people (till now).
(view spoiler)[ Even the Centaurs are nice!! and the one who met Regan first is named "Pansy" !! LOL (hide spoiler)]

[Jessica]

Just finished CH 12, such a good addition to the Wayward Children's series so far.

(view spoiler)[I even teared up a bit after Regan escaped and Pansy found her again. (hide spoiler)]

@Elizabeth I was kind of expecting something like that for the Queen too. Very curious about what she will actually be like when her and Regan eventually come face to face.

@Pallavi it does seem a lot nicer than her others! Even certain parts that could be pretty gruesome were written in a relaxed way. (view spoiler)[like the centaur's possibly eating unicorn meat (hide spoiler)]

[Paula]

Elizabeth(view spoiler)[ I like that theory of the queen. It makes sense why she wouldn't like another human to be in the hooflands (hide spoiler)]

[Paula]

finished!
(view spoiler)[the theory of the queen being a human was right. I liked gristle the kelpie a lot and I wish we could have seen how the new queen was elected (maybe a kelpie)

And it was also curious how centaurs treat the kelpies as stupid monsters just because they can't listen to them. I do wonder how Regan acquired magic to listen to them and why the others can't. It was explained that because they used magic in other areas but I would have liked to see more (hide spoiler)]

[Paula]

sha
(view spoiler)[I agree. it was such a great book and how Regan decided to end the conflict by telling the truth and letting them rule themselves was very good

I don't think that we will see Regan in the school. maybe she will enter hooflands again (hide spoiler)]

[Sha]

@paula //nodnod

[Elizabeth]

I ended up finishing last night. I really enjoyed it. It probably isn't my favorite so far, but it's up there.

[Pallavi]

Completed.
It really was a good book and I loved Regan.
I felt ending was kind of sudden and abrupt. And I think Regan will be in the next book along with others :)

To those interested, my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Pallavi]

Jessica wrote: "Just finished CH 12, such a good addition to the Wayward Children's series so far.

[spoilers removed]

@Elizabeth I was kind of expecting something like that for the Queen too. Very curious about..."

True Jessica.. many parts which are unpleasant are shown very mildly.

[Charlie]

I'm finished, just read everyone's spoilers! (view spoiler)[ I really enjoyed this one. It wasn't as dark as some of the others, it's was actually quite wholesome for the most part and I liked that.

I loved the Centaurs, they're such good eggs.

In an Absent Dream (the one about the goblin market) is still my favourite but I still really enjoyed this. (hide spoiler)]

[Elizabeth]

I just found out yesterday there is also a short story about the goblin market.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

I'm definitely reading that one soon!

[Charlie]

Ooh thanks Elizabeth I'll check that out!

[Jessica]

Just finished this one and I think it might be my new favorite of the series (I was a horse nut as a kid so this one was extra awesome for my unicorn, kelpie obsessed self lol). I really enjoyed Regan and love how she handled everything.

I agree with you guys about the ending though (view spoiler)[it did seem pretty abrupt, though it did add to the heart wrenching feel of it all. (hide spoiler)]

[Charlie]

So glad you loved it Jessica!