I really enjoyed reading about Nadya's story. Loved that we got to see her growing up and really get a feel for her character. Her origin in Russia, the harshness of her beginning with her mom giving her up for adoption because she was born with a missing arm, and living in an orphanage, which was tough because of the meager existence, but also clearly filled with mutual respect if not love. In contrast, her adoption and assimilation in the US, which was also tough in a different way, and her finding her door and her way into the magic and the World of Belyrreka. The World building was lush with detail - so much in such a short book. And like others have said - the ending gutted me too.

the 10th book in the Wayward series is a huge hit for me. Some of them have fallen a little flat, but I thoroughly enjoyed Nadyas story. These stories are always so emotional as we are dealing with children who dont fit their world. It always leads to self reflection, and in a broader way- what happens to those who dont fit the mold in society. It is always tragic, when the child eventually gets spat back into reality. But for a little while, they feel a sense of belonging, and thats what brings me back to this series every time.

As the tenth book in this series, endings are starting to become a little predictable... However, I liked reading Nadya's story. The ending broke my heart, even if a little predictable. 3.5 stars

My immediate thought after finishing this book was “Whoohoo, we are back on track!” I delighted in the worldbuilding and the focus on a ‘new’ character. I understand Nadya was a part of Beneath the Sugar Sky but I didn’t recall her at all. I think I only read that volume once, back when it was first released. ...okay, I just skimmed a summary of Beneath the Sugar Sky. Apparently Nadya was a way more integral character than I was imagining just now, lol. I should maybe give that one a reread, now that I have Nadya’s backstory.

Belyyreka is water world, with the majority of the story taking place underwater. But Nadya first arrives in a forest, an ominous forest where she encounters a massive turtle that attempts to eat her. While Nadya soon moves on from the forest to her underwater life, the forest and lands beyond her underwater city tug at her curiosity. I enjoyed both the watery world as well as the prodding at a world that’s wider that it at first seems to our protagonist.

We do get a few glimpses at some grander worldbuilding (ie relating to the mechanics of the doors and worlds and the children that stumble into them). The adults of Belyyreka are well-familiar with children coming from other worlds. They lay out plainly for Nadya several points which we readers may have guessed at but haven’t yet had confirmed. At least one adult inhabitant that Nadya encounters came from our world. But this is not the main focus of the story, as it has been in other recent volumes.

Upon further reflection, after letting out my “whoohoo!”… I’m not sure the ending was wholly satisfying. Why was Nadya sent back in the first place? What made her no longer sure? Was it her desire to see beyond the place where she apparently belonged (ie beyond the underwater city)? Or was there a greater reason, not particular to Nadya but rather particular to her world, that kicked her out? Whatever was going on in the forest lands of Belyyreka definitely had me curious. It seemed to hint at grander implications about the worlds and their borders. I hope we get some further information or resolution on that front.

Still… even after so many books… every time… I am stunned and saddened when our ‘heroes’ get pulled back to our world, haha.

💭 The Bottom Line: Probably my favourite volume of Wayward Children #6-10, Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear recaptures some of what I loved about the earlier books in the series. For seasoned fans of the series, this is a solid entry in the even-numbered volumes, which you may enjoy even if you’ve found the series flagging lately.

I’ve been raving about these novellas for years now - they are magical and charming yet dark and sad. They don’t necessarily need to be read in order but in my opinion it does help with some of the character connections and backstories.

The main theme of the series is that there are doorways to other worlds for a select few - very troubled children in particular. Those that find their doorways, will often return home months or years later quite different and then find their way to the School for Wayward Children. Each novella follows a different child to tell their tale.

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is about Nadya who was born in Russia missing one arm. She was adopted and brought to America where she falls through her doorway into an underwater world full of sentient creatures including turtles.

I said earlier that some of these stories are sad right? Ugh! Get your tissues out for this ending!

McGuire’s stories get me right in the Feels! Every. Single. Time.

I read the arc via NetGalley and cannot recommend it enough!

I so badly wanted to like this. It was fine, I know a lot of people really like this series, but maybe this one is just not for me. I enjoyed the first half of the book. The adoption story was interesting, but I was lost once she fell into the door and was riding turtles. Though I did find the writing beautiful.

You know how romances have a guaranteed HEA? The darkish novellas of the Wayward Children series are like the opposite of that: guaranteed anti-HEA. Neglected kid finds happiness in fantasy world, but by the end they're right back where they started...

This entry focuses on Nadya, 9-year-old abandoned child living in a state-run Russian orphanage. She's adopted by a godfearing American couple who seem most excited by the fact that she was born without a right arm and they can give her a "better life," including a prosthesis she hasn't asked for. One day she falls through a door in a pond into a fantasy world of water, where humans live with the assistance of their beloved turtle companions. Like most of the novellas in this series, we see the comparison between Nadya's mundane existence and the radical acceptance she finds in the fantasy world. For example, she's almost immediately adopted by a loving family, and it appears that the entire world will do whatever it takes to keep her around. Of course, this makes the ending just that much more gut wrenching.

If you're familiar with the series, you know what you're in for if you pick this one up! This is a solid entry in the series, and I'll be interested to see what happens to Nadya back in the "real world."

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novella.

The latest in the Wayward Children series. This is the story of Nadya, a Drowned Girl who we met in a previous installment. As always, it’s interesting to go back and fill in the backstories of characters we already know. I didn’t remember Nadya very well from the earlier book, but I still found her story compelling. McGuire’s work is whimsical and well-written, as always. The world of Belyyreka was enchanting and it broke my heart when Nadya was taken away from it. I really hope that she somehow finds her way home in the next book or two!

Book 10 of the Wayward Children series takes us to another new world behind a door, this time that of Nadya, Russian orphan born missing part of her arm. She loves Russia, as she's been taught, and loves the tortoise she raised there, and doesn't want to leave the orphanage, but must when she's adopted by a religious American couple. Her adoption feels loaded and uncomfortable, like she hasn't been asked much about her choices in life and no one would understand why she might be happier. (And her adoptive mother certainly doesn't understand why she likes turtles.) The day she finds her door, a drowned world is opened to her, one that relies on her hard-shelled friends.

A lot of Nadya's story is lovely - born without part of her arm, she's never felt unwhole until her American parents want to give her a prosthetic. She's unsure how to verbalize how uncomfortable her lack of choice is to her parents because they learned only enough Russian for basic phrases until Nadya's English is deemed competent. Her drowned world is one where she can thrive and she's accepted by everyone easily. Of course, since this is the Wayward Children series, you have a sense of impending doom because we know Nadya is bound for Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, and her happy life must come to an end....

It’s taken ten novellas, but Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is the first miss for me in the Wayward Children series. It’s worth noting, as a well established fan of Seanan McGuire that this “miss” in this instance means that I enjoyed it fine but my level of expectation is significantly higher for this series and its emotional resonance than it is for other stories.

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is the tenth novella in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series which began in 2016 with the practically perfect Every Heart a Doorway. The general concept is that some children who don’t quite belong in whatever life situation they are in will find a doorway with the words “Be Sure” written above and when they pass through they are dropped in a weirdly magical world where the rules are all quite different but the child in question finds a place in which they truly belong. The series as a whole is about belonging, and the books alternate between the worlds through the doorway and the kids who come back home again and are very much not the same person they were before going through.

This is one of the through the doorway stories and features Nadya, her life in a Russian orphanage, her adoption into the United States, and her journey through a doorway. Nadya was previously seen in Beneath the Sugar Sky and frankly, at this point I don’t remember a thing about Nadya’s prior appearance or how she interacted with Eleanor West’s.

To that point, Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear felt somewhat more disconnected from the wider series (perfectly reasonable in a through the doorway story) but possibly more importantly Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear doesn’t *seem* to add much to the series / world beyond where it will certainly connect with other readers far more than it did with me. Coming off of the two Antsy books which had a truly compelling lead character and a new take on the wider universe (multiverse?), Nadya’s journey into the drowned world was lacking something.

Seanan McGuire is historically very good at layering her series work and seeding little bits that will pay off in big ways later, so I’m more than willing to be absolutely wrong in another three books about how this is secretly the second best Wayward Children book. I don’t expect that because despite the giant turtles, immigration, and physical disability, Nadya’s story is much less immediate and feels like it has been told before.

All of this sounds far more negative than I intend it to be and that’s one hundred percent tied to how much I love Every Heart a Doorway and how successful most of the Wayward Children novellas are. A novella that is absolutely fine and lovely only pales in comparison to those stories that shine as bright as so many from this series. It’s good. It’s doesn’t reach the heights of the rest of the series.

Final Rating: 4.5

I've loved pretty much every book in this series so far and I'm happy to say that this one was no different. I loved the setting and the turtles, but like the rest of the books in this series it's really the characters that shine! This book is Nadya's backstory, who we first met back in Beneath the Sugar Sky. Nadia was born in Russia with one arm, was abandoned by her mother to an orphanage and adopted by an American couple through a Christian missionary program. As you can imagine, she's gone through a lot in her short lifetime, and when her adoptive parents get her a prosthetic arm that she doesn't want she finds her door. After having a few books that really advanced the plot of the series overall, it was nice to get a story that was backstory again, and this book can be read independently from the others if that's something that interests you! The ending of this one was so heartbreaking, and I feel so awful for what Nadya has gone through.

I'm so grateful to Tordotcom for allowing me to read and review arcs for this series, it's one of my favorites for sure!

Seanan McGuire is always phenomenal and this story is just another example of why that is. This is another great addition to this series for existing fans, and could be a good jumping in point for new readers. This is one of my new favorites of this series. The world is interesting, the characters are extremely likeable, and the ending left me on the edge of my seat. McGuire's prose, as always, is beautiful. I have absolutely no complaints about this book!

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is an even-numbered installment in the Wayward Children series, and as such it is a portal fantasy in which we get to see one of the children first find their Door. This book follows Nadya, a Russian orphan who loves turtles.

Without getting into spoilers, I really enjoyed Nadya's character. She's tough, confident, and fiercely independent. I especially liked the discussion around her being born with a physical disability, but she doesn't see herself as anything less than whole, regardless of how others might perceive her.

The world that her Door leads to was pretty fascinating as well. I really liked the somewhat surreal quality of the environment and breathable atmosphere, and as always in McGuire's portal worlds, there are inherent dangers that come along with the more wondrous elements.

I would recommend this book for those who have enjoyed the Wayward Children series thus far, for fans of portal fantasy, for anyone who especially loves turtles, and for those who feel like maybe they don't always fit neatly into our world and enjoy stories of finding a sort of belonging.

Seanan McGuire’s Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is a heartfelt and beautifully written addition to the Wayward Children series. This novella, which is a portal fantasy, dives into themes like disability, identity, assimilation, and adoption. The story follows Nadya, a Russian orphan with one arm who we first met briefly in Beneath the Sugar Sky. Having met her previously, we know she is ultimately cast out from Belyyreka, a world of giant turtles, talking foxes, and found family.

Unlike the other novellas in the Wayward Children series, this one is not a quest. Belyyreka is also less dangerous than other worlds in the series. This might make the story less compelling to some readers. However, I think McGuire's exploration of Nadya and her developing sense of agency makes the story interesting. In particular, I enjoyed the conflict of Nadya's adoptive mother projecting a sense of "incompleteness" on Nadya. There is also some exploration of the performance of parenthood.

Many thanks to Tordotcom and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear.

Great addition to this series! This one really tugged on the heart and made a lot of things about Nadya clear and easy to understand. Loved it. I loved getting to experience the drowned world. And I really want talking turtles. I am really glad to be back enjoying the various worlds. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

An ardent fan of this series, I enjoyed this one, until the very end. It ended rather abruptly and I wanted just a little bit more.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Wayward Children series, now in its 10th iteration, follows children who venture into portals to far distant realms. Sometimes the stories are about the aftermath, the often tragic return of the children to an Earth that they no longer consider home, or about how they came to cross in the first place. A few of them, I regard to be among the best novellas I have ever read; others fall flat. This one falls in the middle.

Nadya, born without an arm, doesn't miss the limb as she grows up in a Russian orphanage. Strong willed and pleasant, she has no expectation of am adopted home of her own, but is glad to help others find families. But when a Christian adoption agency comes, Nadya gains their attention because of her one arm. She is soon in Colorado, living awkwardly with people she must call Mom and Dad, missing the tortoise she raised to health back in Russia. Her one sanctuary is a nearby pond with turtles. After her parents force her to don a prosthetic arm--never asking her what she wants--she falls through a portal in the pond, landing in a world where water is strange and massive turtles form special bonds with their people.

One of the problems with the series conceit, really, is that all too often, the end must be tragic. I won't go beyond that, just in case this book is someone's first foray into the series. Here, however, the end is not only disturbing, but painfully abrupt. I was left feeling almost as if pages were missing, but there weren't.

Something I loved about this book was how it depicted disability and how it shows how different people regard disability. There is a powerful message here about agency, empowerment, and the importance of choice.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

Beautifully written, this continuation of the Wayward Children series is pretty much what we've come to expect: a dark story about a child who didn't fit in to their world, transported to another world where their differences are what makes them fit in. Great world building.

A Naria-esque tale about the wayward journeys of a "drowned girl" who finds her door. This novella is worth dropping everything to spend an afternoon learning from talking foxes and adventuring with giant sea turtles. While it is the 10th installment of Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children Series, it can be read and enjoyed by new fans of the series who have not yet experienced books 1-9.

This might just be my favorite in the Wayward Children series yet! Nadya just had me so in my feelings with her thoughts on her adoption and the performative nature of her adoptive parents. I truly loved this one. And I cannot wait for the next? Hopefully there is another!