A really great follow-up / continuation of the series! Not ideal for new fans to start with due to the plot revolving around characters from previous installments, but overall a delightful read!

Thank goodness we continued Antsy's story because I needed more of it after the previous book! Seanan McGuire always impresses me, especially with this series.

Seanan McGuire is just one of these authors that makes you ask the hard questions but also wants you to answer them for yourself. The one question that I ALWAY have while reading her books is, 'What would my door or land beyond it look like?'

Then comes the next question, 'Would I have needed a door?'. A lot of people would have wanted a door and probably found themselves having one, but would they have had a door and been sure?

I find that a lot of teens and children in these books find they have found a world that understands them. A world with rules, sometimes logical and sometimes with no logic what so ever, but a world where they are understood and where they are needed. I find that this whole series makes me think about what it would have been like to find a world like that as a child, and sometimes an adult, that doesn't understand the rules that our world has provided us with. It may be that my manual was in the language of the Drowned, and until I get there I wouldn't understand it. It could have been that my manual and rule book was written for someone else. But this is the thing, McGuire always, without fail, gets these questions asked.

We will never found the answers to some of these questions but one thing that these books do answer is, How do you interpreted this world that we work in. Are you sullen and closed off? Are you giddy and waiting for the next adventure? One thing that always should be interpreted is that this is your world, as well as mine and the next persons.

Everyone sees things through a different set of eyes and in turn a different set of doors, after all, the eyes are doors to the soul.

I LOVE these books and hands down recommend them to EVERYONE.

The review:
The Plot:
These plots are designed to be a little loose, for instance you don't know who is going and who is staying. That is by design. This has a strong direction of where things are going and we know that these stories are designed to show some evil in people. You never think it will be so close to the group. And there is always a brilliant moral hidden between the lines, a lesson that should be heeded as well as making sure others are aware of the lesson.

The writing Style is something that I find so beautiful. These novels are short, not novella size but short enough. I find that her writing always creates these feelings that you never know until you hear the words "I am sure" and you know you might never see that character again. You know in your soul that these characters need a break and just to be children, you know most of them never had a chance to be and never will be children.

I honestly think this is a series that more bookshops should stock and should be giving to 9-12 year olds as well as early teen.

Book Summary:

Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children is a unique school. It's home to the children who have found doorways to other realms – and, for whatever reason, have made their way back to this world. Some are content with that reality...others less so. Those are the ones who hope to find their way back.

Enter Antsy. Her world was for lost things, so she has a gift for finding. She could have lived a perfectly happy life at this new school. Unfortunately, some students hope to use her ability to find their doors.

My Review:

I love how Wayward Children tends to play around with two timelines. Past adventures of individual students and current quests involving many of the students. It makes for a fun balance. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is one of the latter, with Antsy questing with several of our favorites (yay!).

Antsy was first introduced in Lost in the Moment and Found, so read her solo novella first. It sets the foundation for this entire adventure. If you've read both novellas (or even one of the two), you probably already feel the urge to protect little Antsy (and probably all the other lost children).

As such, I enjoyed seeing an adventure with Antsy at the center. That she took several other longtime favorites on an adventure with her made it all the more delightful. The brief journey into Kade's world was shockingly insightful, and it gives me hope for the moment when we finally see that story in full (I know - we're waiting for the right moment/trust level).

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is a brilliant addition to an already luminescent series. I cannot wait to see where it takes us next.

Highlights:
Magical Doors
World of Lost Things
Young Adult Fantasy
Hidden Doors & Mysterious Worlds
Epic Quests

Trigger Warnings:
Missing Children
Transphobia
Bullying

I adored book 1 and 2 of this series but think it’s safe to say I find them very uninteresting. The first two were so entertaining and enjoyable but since then they’ve fallen flat for me. Some of them are just me not enjoying them but I also think some of them just aren’t good.
I wish they had the vibe of book 2, which was my favourite.

Thank you for providing me with the arc, but unfortunately I just won’t be continuing with the series.

I loved this book! It's a great addition to the Wayward Children series. Probably one of my favorites! I liked the prehistoric setting.

I adore this series and loved the world building in this one. It added so much to the lore. McGuire is an excellent author and this series never disappoints. I loved seeing the characters come together and this tied into all the other books.

Yet another beautiful installment in a series that will have my heart for all of time. I loved the sense of duty and honor that Antsy reveals. Cora's bravery and leadership never fail to make me cheer, and the deftly woven insights on childhood and the responsibilities of those who care for children are never short of amazing. I cannot for the next insight into our wayward babes.

Usually the author does a better job and connecting the books, but this one I had a harder time keeping up with because I couldn't remember everyone's stories. I also feel like the shorter they are the less interesting they get.

Full of magic, whimsy and some light emotional punches, Mislaid in Parts Half-Known was a great ninth installment of the Wayward Children series. Long book series are a hit or miss for me but, the world building and character development in McGuire’s stories always leave me wanting more and still have yet to disappoint me.

This book once again follows Antsy as she navigates life after being forced out of the Shop Where the Lost Things Go. I enjoyed continuing her storyline and seeing her continue to grow as she made hard decisions and learned to accept the help of friends. As always with this series, this book had the feeling of fairytale with drops of humor and a loose poetic writing style.

I can’t wait for the next book and recommend this series to anyone who needs a little magic or has ever dreamed of escaping to a new world.

It's amazing to me how 9 books into the Wayward Children series Seanan McGuire can still make these books and ideas feel fresh! I am so glad we got more of Antsy and many of my other favourite characters in this universe. As other classmates realize how good Antsy is at finding things the pressure is on to find their doors. Escaping a tricky situation leads them on a quest through multiple worlds leaving behind some of our characters as we go. Also DINOSAURS!

Another amazing heartwrenching addition in this series and I cannot wait to read more!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

First of all, THAT COVER! Another fantastic instalment in one of my favorite series, I was happy to get a follow up / some questions answered from Lost in the Moment and Found.

<i>ARC Provided by NetGalley<i>

McGuire's writing remains as intoxicating as ever, though I find myself enjoying this series a little less as it goes on. I think it's a personal thing though, as the books are still well written and characterised, and it's impossible to fault the way that she writes.

For one reason, this one felt a little disjointed. The beginning didn't seem to match the end. I did truly adore this book though. I just love the way that Seanan is able to pull the reader in. I really enjoyed this entire book and I loved the familiar characters.

Seanan McGuire continues the Wayward Children series with Mislaid in Parts Half Known novella in which Antsie opens doors to very strange locations to guide her fellow students to their proper doors. Antsie also has to get herself to her correct home which is not the school for Wayward Children. Charming fantasy and unusual characters.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

This was my first completed read of 2024, and as with the rest of the series, I flew through it. This novella was released into the world on January 9th, although I read it on the 1st. Honestly, I probably could have read it sooner, because it was sitting on my e-reader for a little while, but I wanted to wait until closer to release day, especially knowing that it doesn’t take long to read a novella.

Anyway, this is the 9th installment in the Wayward Children series, and while most of them can basically be read in any order, I recommend reading them in publication order. That being said, this one makes the most sense if you’ve at least read the previous novella, Lost in the Moment and Found. I read and reviewed that one last year, so you can check out my thoughts for it as well.

I’m glad we got Antsy as our main character for two stories in a row. I love how connected she is to all of the Doors and the journey of finding things that she goes on through both of them.

Honestly I’ve really enjoyed the way McGuire sets up this series in a non-linear way. Some of the novellas are set in the past and introduce us to characters and show how they get to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, while other novellas are set in the “present” and we get to see several of these characters interacting with each other at the school.

With any of the “present” novellas, we could get little hints into other characters’ adventures or pasts…which could indicate another story already released or one that might be written and released in the future. That’s honestly why there’s a certain freedom in reading order…although again, even saying that, I still think reading them in publication order is the way to go.

Anyway, this one definitely lives up to the portal fantasy name, because thanks to Antsy’s ability to locate Doors, we get to visit a few different places, and once again there is a journey of learning, growth, discovery, and adventure. We get to see the dynamics between many of the wayward children, because some have had happier adventures than others, and what they’ve experienced has affected them in different ways. Some we met in story one and their adventure isn’t complete yet.

It’s cool that we get to see them pop up in so many different books and see different snippets on their journeys, although that does sometimes make it difficult to follow because there are just so many characters we’ve met over the course of nine novellas. I’m honestly to the point where I’m going to need to start going back and re-reading over all of these. Which isn’t something I’m upset about. I love McGuire’s ability to weave such an emotional, sometimes harrowing, sometimes whimsical, always fantastical story in such a short number of pages.

While I had read a couple McGuire books before this series, it was Wayward Children that moved her to the level of auto-buy author. Well…Wayward Children and then the Alchemical Journeys books.

Thank you to the publish and NetGalley for the review copy.

I love this series, some entries more than others; however, I'm really glad that we got more of Antsy's story with this one. I also loved the inclusion of more of the other children. I cannot wait for the next one.

Rating 4.5/5

<strong>Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is a direct sequel to Lost in the Moment and Found!</strong> It follows <em>Antsy as she settles into Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children</em> following the events of the previous book. Antsy's still struggling with the years that have been stolen from her, as she's not the age she looks like and is<strong> </strong>scared everyone else will notice. Luckily, she's <strong>got new friends on her side, including Cora, Christopher, Kaede and Sumi</strong>! I really liked seeing them again and loved how they were looking out for Antsy all this time. <em>She might be able to find the doors</em> - as she's got a knack for finding lost things - and in a school full of people desperate to go back to their worlds, this could cause a lot of problems.

<strong>The main theme of the book is breaking the cycle of abuse and hurt</strong>! I liked how the author picked Antsy's story back up and had her face the Shop of Lost Things again, including the shopkeeper who stole all these years from her. Anty's adamant that her successor should make an <em>informed</em> choice about whether to open the doors, as they cost time every time you open them. Vineta is still using young children and trying to justify it by saying that she didn't have it any better. <strong>There's a big emphasis on being hurt in the past not being an excuse to do the same to someone else</strong>. Having suffered doesn't mean you can inflict pain on others - Antsy knows this better than anyone.

<strong>The novella sadly felt a bit unfocused and all over the place</strong>. I much preferred<em> Lost in the Moment and Found</em> and <em>Where the Drowned Girls Go</em>, as they had a clear goal. In the beginning, <em>there was even another antagonist who wanted to use Antsy's powers but they quickly got dropped</em> and their story got wrapped up so quickly in the end. There's also a <strong>time skip right in the beginning</strong>, as the events of <em>Where the Drowned Girls Go</em> take place, which felt a bit jarring. The<strong> actual dinosaur world that's depicted on the cover only gets a small amount of page time</strong> and I wish we'd seen a novella completely about it because Stephanie was a great character and her world so interesting. It feels a <em>bit misleading to have the dinosaur on the cover</em> since it's not what the story is about.

I always enjoy being back in the world(s) with these characters. My problem with this entry in the series is the amount of recap taking place. I understand the desire to remind readers about things that happened before, but it takes up way too much space in such a short book. The new adventure teased on the cover seems negligible in comparison.