The tenth book of the Wayward Children series gives up Nadya, born in Russia and without part of her right arm. She gets adopted to parents from the US and loves turtles. She falls through a door in the middle of the turtle pond in her backyard and ends up in a drowned world. She is more welcome there, than with her adoptive parents — figuring out how to work without her arm. She bonds with a turtle and adventures above their watery home. Another great addition to the series.

I have read and ADORED all of the Wayward Children Novellas. Since I have consumed 10 of these novellas, there are definitely some I have enjoyed more than others. Though I do love Nadiya as a character, her story felt a bit slower than the others. I found myself.... bored at times, which I HATE to say.

I will of course forever continue with this series. This one was a solid 3.5/5. I enjoyed it but it wasnt my FAVORITE of the series.

This may be my favorite book in the Wayward Children series!

I loved this story from page one. It's highly entertaining with a love story, adventure, and PLENTY of adorable turtle animal companions. It also has incredibly insightful and important things to say about disability (Nadya was born with one arm) and how the use of mobility aids can be incredibly liberating when chosen by oneself, or incredibly limiting when forced upon someone to get them to conform. There was great conversation about finding comfort in a place similar to the one where you were born, and about how exciting it is to travel to new places. The magic system in here was very interesting! It's focused on different weights of water which I loved learning about. I also loved how we were able to follow Nadya quite a bit older than most of the other children, and therefore were able to watch her fall in love. I always enjoy this series, but this one was incredible (maybe tied with down among the sticks and bones for my favorite!) Cant wait to read the next one :)

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this addition to the series! I always love seeing how the various worlds are uniquely suited to each child. I loved the conversations about disability and identity and what it means to interact with the world differently. I love how Seanan McGuire continues to let children have complex emotions and thoughts even if they don't have the means to express them yet. I found the ending a bit abrupt. Most of the other books in the series have a clear turning point but this one was a bit different and I didn't expect that. I grew very attached to this world and it was hard to see the book end. I'm very curious to see more of this character when we return to the school.

This series continues to be such a lovely adventure. We see a bit of Nadia in Rini’s book when she is trying to get back to her world, but this one is a deep dive on her time in an orphanage before being adopted, her adopted family trying to “fix” her, and then the amazing time she spends in a world of turtles and air lighter than water, and adventures. One thing that this book doesn’t do that I wish is did is circle all the way back to her coming to Eleanor West’s school. I always look forward to those moments and I was a little bummed to be without it. Still, McGuire is a master at the delicate emotions of these young characters and giving them what they need even if they get taken away at the end. Happy endings come in many forms. Drink this book: Enjoy with a salty and light bottle of French Muscadet.

This is #10 in the Wayward Children series. I love these quick read books. McGuire has such a way with words, and cutting to the heart of things in ways I don't see often. In this book, you'll find themes of disability and feeling whole, and adoption, belonging and found family. As readers we first learned about our main character, Nadya, in the first couple of books in this series. In this book, we finally get Nadya's whole story.

Not my favorite installment to this series, but definitely a fun ride! I adored the turtles and the idea of an underwater world. Nadya was a strong and likable character. I do hope the series continues and she is united with some of the characters who came before, if not returned through her door.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I could not even begin to explain to you how the water in this world works but that's the beautiful thing about these books. The nonsense just works. It doesn't matter. It's the spirit and tenderness that really hits home with the Wayward Children stories. Nadya is one of my favorite characters so far. I love how she always saw herself as wholly complete and was secure in herself. I'm so glad she found her door to get away from those nasty Americans.

I got an ARC of this book.

I am very behind on books. I have had some medical issues and school has been kicking my butt this semester. I promise reviews are coming. I only got to this one, because the audiobook came out and I was able to listen at work.

This one felt different than the rest. The story before Nadya made it to her world just felt so much longer. It felt so much more intense. It might have been because I listened to the audiobook instead of reading it, but it felt like the story before the doorway was longer than usual and might h ave even been longer than her time in Belyyreka.

I am not an amputee or have any visible limb differences, so I can’t speak on how that representation worked or didn’t work. I can look at it from a disablity lens and say that I enjoyed that there was a clear and obvious difference between a prostethic arm being forced on her and her getting the gift from the water. There is a difference in how she view them, a difference in how they functioned, but a huge difference in the consent of the situation. Nadya had agency and it changed everything.

Who doesn’t love a talking turtle. The world was fascinating. It was about support, working hard, and meeting people where they were. This is one of those worlds that I would have loved to be a part of. I would have befriended every turtle without hesitation.

Overall, this was not my favorite book in the series, but I think it was a pretty strong addition to the universe.

I love the Wayward Children series and have devoured all of them; I feel like this one is easily the weakest of the series. Nothing really happens, there's not a lot of self-exploration or growth. There's no evil or bad guy to overcome. Just kind of fantasy slice of life that abruptly ends.

This was not my favorite. At times, I felt similarities to the Up and Under Series (in a bad way), and while it ultimately felt like its own world, it doesn't feel distinct enough for me. Of all the possibilities, this one feels a bit to familiar. Nevertheless, McGuire never fails to make it emotionally resonant.

This was a solid entry into the Wayward children series. I thought Nadya's story was well thought out and carefully crafted. As with so many of the other books in this series, Seanan Mcguire tackles difficult themes beautifully. She dives deep into adoption and ableism. I held my breath through most of this, extremely worried for the turtle companion. You never know with this author... But overall, a wonderful story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC.

A prequel of sorts where we get Nadya's story of how she found her door to Belyrreka. I almost wish we got more at the end, like about how she got back at the end of Beneath the Sugared Sky because I have so many questions about how time passed between each of the worlds, which would change how I feel about this ending here.

Book Summary:

Nadya likes to say that she had three mothers—the first gave her up, the second was her country, and the third took her in and tried to change her. She was born in Russia but moved to the Americas, where the expectations continued to mount.

Until one day, the young girl found a doorway. She didn’t realize it was a door until she went through it, and what she found on the other side was a world of giant turtles, rivers, and great dangers.

My Review:

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear was a slightly difficult book to pick up. It was easily the hardest in the series for me because I already had an idea where it would go. The one downside to this format is that the stories bounce back and forth, giving readers insight into the future.

As with many children's tales, Nadya's story is heartwrenching. She was taken in by a family determined to "fix" what wasn't broken and was lucky enough to find a doorway she didn't know she was looking for.

Unfortunately, this story is also heartbreaking for the readers. The very format of the series tells us that Nadya will not get to stay in the place she'll come to love. That's why I hesitated so long to read it.

Still, it was worth the read. Did I cry a little bit at the ending, even knowing it would come to pass? Maybe. I will not admit to anything. However, Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear may have raised more questions than answers. Every other backstory helped me understand the character more, but this one left me wondering how Nadya was forced out of her world. What did she do to become unsure? (If I missed it and you know, please feel free to say something!)

Highlights:
Urban Fantasy
Magical Worlds
Doorways to the Unknown
Wayward Children Series
Be Sure

Trigger Warnings:
Controlling Parents
Risk of Drowning

This was such a great continuation in a series that is always guaranteed to be an enjoyable trip into a different world with amazing characters!

While the premise was nice, the writing was... not what I expected. I wanted more from the characters because I felt that what was on the front cover and the front flap was not what we were given.

Cry count: 3, one lasted for a good five percent of this book. It’s not McGuire if you’re not crying.

This series breaks me and builds me up every time.

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is so gorgeous and emotionally devastating in ways that are so hard to describe. I’m going to try for the sake of this review, the beautiful humans at Tor who published this, and McGuire as the amazing human who wrote it.

First, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love the length of these books. Anything longer and the balance between heavier topics and adventure story becomes less poignant. They’re absolutely bittersweet books, but in a realistic way. I think that’s what makes it so hard to read them sometimes.

The characters in this book were so good at doing what they were meant to do. The dichotomy we get from both worlds: between the people who are meant to be each other’s foils, and the experiences she has? STUNNING. McGuire’s commentary and the subtle but key differences on the way Pansy brought Nadya into her home while Belyyrekans welcomed her into theirs as well as the perspective on Nadya’s prosthetic was fantastic. This is absolutely a reason to keep reading this series and why I recommend it to so many people. McGuire handles heavy topics so masterfully yet without hiding any of what she’s actually saying about how people respond in these situations.

This is magical realism at its finest without the standard adventure story. Nadya’s is a story of a life lived well, the story we needed after Cora explored worlds and saved other Wayward Children. It’s the one that talks about everyday heroes and being complete in ways that don’t make you less. Honestly, Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear felt a lot like calling back to the first books in this series. This is a refreshing addition to a series that consistently excels at everything it attempts.

So, do I recommend it? Absolutely. Seanan McGuire writes such evocative prose, such heartbreaking stories, and just gorgeous explorations of other worlds and humanity that it’s so hard to let these books go. I think these are definitely must-reads for everyone.

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)

"No single person could absolutely do everything without aid, and so her own limitations weren't limitations at all, merely different standards."

I loved this one.

- The world explored: underwater cities, talking turtles, river creatures

- The disability rep: MC born without right limb but it no way makes her feel less than compared to her peers

- The portrayal of adults adopting for the wrong reasons (no matter how well-meaning), adults deciding what's good for their children without consulting what the children wanted, the default idea of what a good and happy child should look like, etc.

- And my favourite of all: found family. Finding people who understand and celebrate you for who you are, not viewing you as someone to be changed, but loved.

I want to give Nadya a big hug and I hope to see her again in future installments of this series.

Adrift in currents clean & clear by seanan mcguire is the tenth and maybe final book of the wayward children series?! I said maybe cause it did wrap up nicely as a whole but I can also see the author writing more of this universe and I hope she does!
These are fun short and sweet novellas that comes out every January but I read them for February. It was such an easy read that it litearlly took me an hour to read it cause of short it was! Loved the writing and how we got to know more about our main chracters and seeing animal talking was pretty cool! Hope Seanan mcguire does more in this world and thank you to Tor books for sending me an e-arc and i loved it!!(: