I love the Wayward Children series so much, and I love how each entry in the series gives me new ways to look at familiar fantasy tropes while still validating how powerful and important these tropes and these stories are. Also very cool to have an intersex protagonist here, which I think is very under-represented in media.

*I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I was never a "horse kid" growing up, I was a magical creature kid. Any mention of gryphons, dragons, or especially unicorns in books made me grab them right away. Apparently, I share that characteristic with my younger self. This book was such a great addition to an already stellar series. It follows Regan, a tried and true horse lover who has some issues with her friends. When conflict finally rises to a breaking point, Regan runs through a door and finds herself in a world full of centaurs and other magical creatures. where humans are always destined to be the heroes. Regan learns to find her own path in this wonderfully imagined novella.

“Welcome to the Hooflands. We’re happy to have you, even if you being here means something’s coming.”

Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series are gorgeous vignettes of portal fantasies. Written in gorgeous, lyrical yet spare prose. Featuring characters who don't belong, seekers for something else, something more.

Across the Green Grass Fields is a standalone entry and an unabashed love letter to the horse mad.

Regan is dealing with the awkwardness of schoolgirl friendships and casual cruelties. Horses are a beloved and happy place for her. She shares an intensely personal secret with her BFF who turns it into an emotional weapon to hurt Regan.

Regan falls through a door into the Hooflands, a world peopled by equine creatures - unicorns, kelpies, and hippogriffs. She's adopted by a tribe of nomadic centaurs, even though a human appearing means some sort of disruption or big change coming to the Hooflands.

Seanan McGuire always writes sensitively and deftly about nonbinary/LGBTQ+ characters.

For fans of This Is How You Lose the Time War and Sarah Gailley.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor.com for the DRC.

3.75 stars
This is a love letter to all horse girls. I am not one myself but I feel that they would definitely appreciate this beautiful story. Across the Green Grass Fields is about family, acceptance and destiny. Regan walks through a door to the Hooflands and finds herself amongst a family of centaurs, claiming that she is destined to save the world.

I enjoyed this but I felt that this novella was disjointed from the rest of the series. It was its own story and there was no link with the other novellas. This did not lessen my enjoyment, however, because I loved following along with Regan on her adventures in the Hooflands. The family dynamic between Regan and Chicory and the rest of the centaurs was so pure and wholesome. My heart sang with joy at their interactions.

One of the many things McGuire excels at is writing such diverse characters. Regan is intersex, and she identifies as a girl. Her struggle with her identity tugged at my heartstrings and I felt her pain through the pages. I loved her parents for being so supportive. This made me so happy because we don’t often see that.

In terms of the ending, I found it to be a bit abrupt and wrapped up too quickly. I was a bit confused when I turned the pages and it was already the epilogue. However, I loved the symbolism of destiny and fate. So I felt the ending was handled well despite the abruptness.

Overall, I enjoyed this novella and will be looking forward to more books from McGuire. I will never get tired of the Wayward Children series.

Seanan McGuire has an incredible ability to capture the feeling of being lost in a beautiful dream. Each Wayward Children book is full of lush, almost ethereal prose; gorgeous descriptions wrapped around surreal situations. Across the Green Grass Fields is no exception. I loved this book for the same reason I loved all the others in this series; it's the literary equivalent of a long, hot bath with a glass of wine, or a slice of rich chocolate cake. Delicious, utterly decadent, and worth getting lost in.

This is another phenomenal novel by McGuire. This series never fails to amaze me. Thank you so much for allowing me to read it early. We will definitely be buying copies for the library

I think sometimes the world breaks our bones, and let's them set wrong. And sometimes when you find fiction as good as this, it can feel like the bones are breaking again, but it's only so they can start to grow right again.

I think In An Absent Dream is still my favorite of the series, but this one is pretty high in the rankings. I loved how resilient a hero Regan turned out to be, even if it hurt. She'll keep walking, and she'll be ok.

That's got to count for something.

This book was a little bit disappointing after reading the last 3 in quick succession and enjoying those. This one is so disconnected from the rest of the series and the part that I love is when they all kind of come together. I don’t know, this one felt like a filler episode. I enjoyed the land of hoof lands, but the stakes were just so low and everything was over so quickly.

My appreciation to Netgalley and Tor for sending me a digital galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Star rating: 3.5/4. This isn’t my favorite of the Wayward Children books. I don’t dislike it, but it felt a little uneven. I was intrigued at the beginning by the protagonist’s (understandable) frustrations with her parents regarding a secret they had kept from her, and the dynamics surrounding that. Then that storyline fell entirely to the side when she walked through the door into the Hooflands. Possibly it could be argued that there was meant to be contrast between how the situation that caused her pain in her home world was not a source of drama in the Hooflands, where she was accepted by her new family despite/because of her differences. Possibly, I would have been bothered less if the ending had addressed more of a resolution of her feelings around the subject?

Otherwise, the story was interesting. I was one of those kids, like the main character, who was SMITTEN with horses. I’d have probably been thrilled to be transported to the Hooflands, even with the risk of being eaten by kelpies.

The ending of this book was pretty intense and kind of hit me square in the emotions. I didn’t realize I was as invested in the story as I was until i got to the last two chapters.

Overall, I’m still enjoying this series. I like McGuire’s writing and I like the strange worlds I get to see with the Wayward Children. I hope the character of Regan appears in subsequent books.

Look. I’m bad at series. TV shows, book series, even limited and mini-series sometimes I just don’t finish. I usually have a finite amount of time to spend with something, and when I have to keep up with it for longer than that designated time, it doesn’t happen. The Wayward Children series is one of very few exceptions to this. I know when it’s coming out. I mark it on my calendar, and I make a point to reach each new book in the series.

I love this world that McGuire has created, and I love coming back to it year after year. In the latest installment, we meet Regan, who is deeply loved but as of late, school’s been a bit complicated. When she trusts the wrong person, everything seemingly falls apart. That’s when her door appears and she finds herself in a land of unicorns, centaurs, and other mythical creatures. She learns to run with the herd and loves her role in her adopted family, but everyone in the Hooflands knows whenever a human appears, something big is about to happen, and then the human will disappear forever. In order to break the cycle, Regan will have to be brave, and need the help of her community.

As usual, I loved this book. McGuire tackles timely subjects with the characters in this series, and representation does matter. It’s everything for a kid (or even an adult) to find people like themselves the heroes and protagonists in all forms of media). I really loved Regan and all the mythical creatures of the Hooflands.

I often complain that these books are too short, but the more of them I read, the more I think they are the perfect length, especially this year. I hadn’t finished but two books (one YA verse book) since April before picking this one up, and its brevity told a great story and allowed me to focus long enough to finish it. For that, I am grateful. The great pandemic slump may be over, and I have McGuire and the Wayward Children to thank for it.

As usual, this one won’t be out until January, but as usual, it’ll be worth the wait.

Yet another nearly perfect story from Seanan McGuire. I'm not a horse person, so I was skeptical about the premise of this one, but I absolutely loved it. Regan was such an interesting character. I love the diversity in McGuire's books and the way she presented Regan was beautiful. The overarching message of this story was inspiring. Regan was so dynamic and I still find myself reflecting on her journey. The ending caught me completely off guard, but it couldn't have been better.

This is still my favorite series and I look forward to the next installment.

I was a horse girl. I got to have riding lessons starting at the age of eight. I learned all the horse colors and breeds and had a poster by Sam Savitt featuring them on my bedroom wall. I read Black Beauty, all the Marguerite Henry books along with all the other horse books I could find in the library, Walter Farley's Black Stallion series, the Timber Trail Riders, and I even read Steinbeck's The Red Pony, which did not go at all as I thought it would. Scarred for life. I had a closet full of Breyer horses and I even have some of them in my basement today.

I never owned a horse. We didn't have nearly enough money for that. I rode lesson horses, helped train horses who were then bought by wealthier girls when I was a teenager, rode horses that were not my own in shows .

Anyway, I was a horse girl. And, although I enjoyed this book, this is not a horse girl's book. Regan rides because she likes horses, but she is not enthralled by, enamored of, bewitched by them. She does not dream of owning a horse or of being lost on a desert island with only a horse for a friend. She likes them because she can be herself around them and because they allow her some sense of agency, because Regan has chosen the path of least resistance with her friends. She can have her friends as long as she blends in perfectly, and horses are the only thing that she does for anything beyond that blending in. But horses are an acceptable eccentricity. A real horse girl would be one in spite of friends and conformity, not because of it. For horse girls, horses are the only things they need- friends fit around horses not the other way around.

Regan has gotten to the point where she can't blend in perfectly no matter what she does now, though. As her friends enter puberty, she feels left behind and feels betrayed by a body that refuses to change. Her parents can and do explain to her why this is (and this explanation hit me in the heart; it's very close to a conversation that my parents had with me when they thought I was old enough) but all Regan knows is that she is doomed to be different, which is social suicide among her group of friends. Honestly, I didn't care for Regan at the beginning of this book; she's the worst sort of follower. Regan tells her secret to her best friend, the queen bee of the group, and receives the treatment that any queen bee gives someone who has given her ammunition to pick on them, and Regan realizes that she has made a terrible mistake. This is when her door opens.

I was looking forward to this book because I'm a horse girl and one of the things a horse girl does is learn every equine related myth, learn all the fantasy animals related to horses. And Regan finds the Hooflands, where every sentient creature has hooves. There haven't been humans to this land for some time. But- there are no horses. There are centaurs and unicorns, perytons and satyrs, minotaurs and selkies, but no actual horses. So- no herds of wild sentient horses running free, ready for a girl to ride. Nothing like the Companions of the Mercedes Lackey books or the great Ranyhyn of the Thomas Covenant Chronicles. No Shadowfax for Regan.

Regan joins a centaur herd and a teenage centaur becomes her friend and steed, but. It's not the same as a horse/human partnership. Regan finds that she might be a chosen one, but she is not interested in destiny, and her centaur herd help her avoid scrutiny for as long as they can before the Kirin queen begins to hunt her down. Chosen Ones never are good news for royalty.

I actually really liked the message of this book. Destiny is not obligation. Destiny might be out there, but free will is too, and destiny can be altered if you just have a little imagination and sense of self. Regan spends her time in the Hooflands developing her sense of self, and that's what saves her. So, this book is one of the stronger ones in this series. I like the message, I identified with Regan's plight (although not with her personality). But it is not a horse book, so one star docked.

In this story, we get to grow up alongside Regan Lewis! We are introduced to Regan at seven years old, where she is quickly already learning the expectations that society puts on girls, especially girls who are different. Regan comes from a good family, who love and care about her, and she has a big space in her heart for horses! She also has two best friends, and they do everything together! That is, until she really learns the consequences of what it means to be different, and what happens to girls who don’t play by the rules that society place on them.

“They thought children, especially girl children, were all sugar and lace, and that when those children fought, they would do so cleanly and in the open, where adult observers could intervene.”

We get to see Regan at 11, becoming worried that her body isn’t developing the way other girls’ bodies are. She doesn’t need to wear a bra yet, she doesn’t need deodorant yet, and she hasn’t started her period yet. And once the pressure gets too great to bear, she asks her parents who (very kindly, knowledgeably, and empathetically) explain to her that her body hasn’t started developing these things (or maybe won’t start developing these things on their own without some help) because she is intersex.

This book really made me realize how much I am slacking as a reader and reviewer with reading books with intersex main characters. Off the top of my head, I can think of only two others, and that makes me feel very bad and I hope to change that soon. But, regardless of chromosomes or androgen insensitivity, Regan is a girl and has always been a girl. And I really loved how her parents constantly reminded her that she was exactly as she was meant to be. Truly, I had so many happy tears over her parents, truly a tier above.

Regan is still very unsure of herself and this new information, and after confiding in someone who she probably should not have, and after they say some incredibly hurtful things to her, she runs away into the woods to try to get home, yet a magical door appears and she steps into a world filled with horses, and kelpies, and centaurs, and unicorns!

I loved this world, like, I loved this world so much. Also, I have never been and will never be a horse girl, and this hooved world was still everything to me. And once Regan is discovered in this world by a pack of centaurs who herd unicorns, we find out about a prophecy that states all humans must be given to the queen, because whenever a human shows up in this magical land that means that something bad is about to happen! But it is not stated anywhere when the human must be given to the queen, therefore Regan gets to spend a lot of time with her centaur family.

The heart of this book is about destiny, and what it means to be destined for something. Whether it’s about your gender, your childhood, your family, or even maybe saving a whole magical world filled with horse-like creatures! All these expectations can be so very heavy, but they do become lighter when you have a found family to help with them. They also become pretty light when you are able to realize that you and your journey and your life are worth so much more than the expectations placed on you from society, from friends, and from any kind of destiny that you did not ask for.

“She still didn’t believe in destiny. Clay shaped into a cup was not always destined to become a drinking vessel’ it was simply shaped by someone too large to be resisted. She was not clay, but she had been shaped by her circumstances all the same, not directed by any destiny.”

This entire story has a really beautiful message about found family, and finding your people, and how unconditional love is all about unapologetically choosing the people you love over and over again. Blood will only ever be blood, but choosing the people who are your home is another level of love. We also get to see Regan at 15, when it is time for her to fulfill her destiny after spending four years being unconditionally loved. Side note: I would die for Gristle and Zephyr.

The reason I am giving this four stars is because I didn’t love the end of this one. I truly enjoyed the reveal, and the symbolism about destiny was not lost on me, but I just truly wanted a more concrete ending. I am scared to wish for another book in this world, since I didn’t love the revisit to the Moors, but (without going into spoiler territory here) I just really wanted to see things that I didn’t get to see! Also, in part one, I feel like this author may not spend a lot of time with children in 2020, but that is a very minor critique that I have.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and I truly felt so much happiness flipping these pages. I love seeing all the different ways you can belong in the Wayward Children series, and I think these stories contain a lot of hope, and healing, and light. And, how I close off every review of each book in this series, I’m going to keep praying that we get Kade’s story next.

Trigger and Content Warnings: blood descriptions, bullying, intersexphobia, abduction, and brief captivity.

(3.5) As always McGuire's book includes some great representation, this time the main character is intersex.
We're thrown into a new magical world that includes unicorns and centaurs. Her writing is always magical but I think it's a situation where it simply wasn't for me. I fell in love with the fourth book in this series but I won't be reading more.

As usual with anything by Seanan McGuire I absolutely loved it, the Wayward Children series is just fantastic. And the fact that the main character intersex is so great.

I'm always excited to see new titles in the Wayward Children series, and this entry reminded me why I feel that way about them. Seanan McGuire has written another excellent entry into the Wayward Children series, and Across the Green Grass Fields shines with the same energy and spirit of inclusiveness and discovery that the other titles in the series are known for. The Hooflands is a vibrant and interesting setting, and Regan is a wonderful protagonist and character whose adventures and friendships she formed there had me invested the whole way through. Her story was handled with care and attention to detail, and she quickly became one of my favorite characters in the series.

This is also a title that one could read as a stand-alone novel, and it wouldn't surprise me if some people choose to start reading the series from this book as while context from previous entries is very helpful this book can convincingly argues its world and characters on its own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc for review.

Ok, I ADORE this series. I have yet to read a story associated with it that I haven't devoured.

Across the Green Grass Fields is no different. Watching Regan grow up was magical. Watching her dismantle her destiny was divine. I hope she finds her door again - I want to revisit the Hooflands.

Seaman McGuire is a genius at quickly building a world. She does this over and over with her Wayward Children books, and Across the Green Grass Fields is her another excellent book in that series. Regan is a beautiful lead character, and the character development of all of the residents of the Hooflands was a joy.

Across the Green Grass Fields is the sixth novella in the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire, and can be read as a standalone. Regan is a new character in the series and I’m hoping she eventually gets to meet some (or all) of the others. For those of you who are not familiar with McGuire’s Wayward Children series, please see my review of Come Tumbling Down.

I have to admit that I didn’t enjoy this one *as much* as the others, but for one reason only: I’m just not a fan of horses. I don’t dislike them, but I’m not into them. I could take them or leave them. Regan *loves* horses. It’s part of her identity and why she ends up the Hooflands. So I wasn’t as into — or excited about — the alternate world in AtGGF.

That didn’t stop me from mostly enjoying this newest addition to the Wayward Children series, though. Regan is a lovely character who finds out that her chromosomes are XY as opposed to XX — Regan has androgen insensitivity. This confuses Regan about her identity, but it also helps explain some of the things about herself that are different from other girls her age.

Unfortunately, Regan’s “best friend” is a Mean Girl, and when Regan tells this friend her secret, the reaction is not good. This is what leads Regan to the door that transports her to another world.

What I loved most about AtGGF is how well McGuire writes about what it’s like to be a young girl and how young girls tend to interact with one another (especially when a Mean Girl is involved), but also how adults tend to forget what it’s like to be children.

"[Adults] thought children, especially girl children, were all sugar and lace, and that when those children fought, they would do so cleanly and in the open, where adult observers could intervene. It was like they’d drawn a veil of fellow-feeling and good intentions over their own childhoods as soon as they crossed the magic line into adulthood, and left all the strange feuds, unexpected betrayals, and arbitrary shunnings behind them." (Seanan McGuire, Across the Green Grass Fields)

The bullying/ostracization that happens in this book hit pretty close to home. I *clearly* remember what it was like to be a teenage girl and to be targeted by the (most popular) Mean Girl. It was absolute hell. And there just so happens to be a Heather in this story who is ostracized for not fitting in like the Mean Girl thinks she should. Sigh.

Although I didn’t like the Hooflands *as much* as some of the other worlds in this series, I did still like the Hooflands and its inhabitants. There are centaurs, unicorns, fauns, kelpies, and perytons. I enjoyed McGuire’s take on unicorns in this world, as well as how each group of beings interpreted who could be considered “people.” I appreciated that Regan’s alternate world helped her come to terms with her identity and made her feel totally comfortable in her own skin.

The ending felt a bit rushed — I would have liked a *little* more background on the Queen and the history of the Hooflands. The book felt like it wrapped up a little too quickly. But again, I’m hoping we hear more about Regan and the Hooflands in future installments.

All in all, I enjoyed Across the Green Grass Fields as a part of the larger Wayward Children series and would recommend it to people who enjoy reading young adult fantasy.

Seanan McGuire once again delivers a fantastic addition to her Every Heart a Doorway series, with a painfully accurate reminder that the terrors of fictional monsters will never be upsetting as the traumas of our childhoods. The fantasy world of Across the Green Grass Fields is beautifully realized and the different creatures of the world are delightful. The care Seanan McGuire takes with her work is never more evident than with this series, where each comparatively slim volume packs a heck of a punch.