Book Review: ADRIFT IN CURRENTS CLEAN AND CLEAR

TITLE: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear

AUTHOR: Seanan McGuire

146 pages, TorDotCom Publishing, ISBN 9781250848338 (hardcover; also e-book and audio)

MY RATING: 4 stars out of 5

 Since this is the tenth book in the Wayward Children novella series, perhaps a quick recap of what the series is about is in order. Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children is for children who (like Dorothy, Alice, and the Pevensie clan) have journeyed through a Door to another world and returned to a home they no longer fit into. Disbelieving parents send these “troubled” kids off to boarding school – and if the kids are lucky, that school is Eleanor West’s, where they will find refuge, respite, and adults who understand them while they await the day their Door will find them once again. The odd numbered books in the series take place in the characters’ present day and usually involve a core group of students going on a quest to save a classmate (even though Eleanor has a “No Quests” rule they find ways to work around). The even numbered books, like this one, focus on one student’s backstory – their portal adventure.

As such, Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is a great jumping on point for readers new to the series who may not realize it’s part of a series. We have one focal character – Nadya, who in the odd numbered present-day sequence last appeared in book 3, Beneath the Sugar Sky – and one new world to explore, Belyyreka also known as the Land Beneath the Lake.

We got little of Nadya’s backstory when she appeared in Sugar Sky. Basically we were told that she had spent a “lifetime” in Belyyreka and then fell in a river and found herself back on Earth. So this volume gives us her complete story. Again, I won’t spoil the plot of the current book, but McGuire has a lot to say about both living with a physical difference you don’t consider a disability but others do (Nadya is born in Russia missing one arm, but doesn’t consider herself to be at a disadvantage because of it – but she also recognizes that the kids who are not missing limbs are the ones who are more likely to get adopted and she does what she can to help them make the good impressions they need to make) and how not every adoption experience is the beautiful, loved filled, all-for-the-right-reasons 1980s television movies of the week (and Lifetime or Great American Family Channel movies in the current day) would have us believe (Nadya does eventually get adopted, but for what is obviously all the wrong reasons). Going through the Door that manifests in a turtle pond brings Nadya eventually to a different sort of adoption experience, and we as readers get to see the effect going from a situation in which a child is not understood into one in which the child is accepted as is can have on a child’s mental health and self-image.

Belyyreka is another fascinating McGuire creation, a world where everyone breathes water (including, automatically, anyone who stumbles through a magic Door from an air-breathing world). McGuire’s worldbuilding is always rich and detailed and Belyyreka is no exception. I’m sure there are folkloric antecedents McGuire built this world off of, but I am unfamiliar with them and haven’t had a chance to research before posting this review. The society Nadya finds herself a part of involves humans who fish and farm with the aid of giant turtles. Yes, you read that correctly: giant turtles. Prior to this book, my favorite giant turtle was Gamera. I think now (without spoilers of any kind) it's Burian.

To be clear: reading Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is a complete experience – one could read this and not read any of the other books in the Wayward Children series, and not feel cheated (just as one can read the first Oz or Wonderland or Narnia books and feel like a complete story has been told). But I hope that readers coming to the series through this book will want to seek out Beneath the Sugar Sky to see where Nadya’s story goes next, and then be intrigued enough to read the rest of the series. It definitely made me want to re-read Sugar Sky.

I received an electronic advance reading copy of this book for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review: LOST IN THE MOMENT AND FOUND

TITLE: Lost in The Moment and Found (Wayward Children #8)

AUTHOR: Seanan McGuire

146 pages, Tordotcom Publishing, ISBN 9781250213631 (hardcover, e-book, audio)

MY RATING:  5 stars out of 5

SHORT REVIEW: Lost in the Moment and Found may just be the most heartbreaking entry so far in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series, commenting as it does on the ways in which we lose our innocence: sometimes suddenly (the unexpected death of a beloved parent; the unwanted advances of a dangerous adult) and sometimes so subtly we don’t even notice the change is happening. Content Warnings for: gaslighting, grooming, death of a parent, childhood trauma, emotional abuse of a child. But Antsy runs before anything can actually happen, and the Door that appears to her takes her to The Shop Where The Lost Things Go. Not every Door leads to Grand Adventure, but sometimes mundane things can be just as dangerous. Lost in the Moment and Found isn’t the easiest book to read in the Wayward Children series, but it is an important one with what it has to say about the ways children are manipulated and taken advantage of and about how we start on the road to healing from trauma.

LONGER REVIEW: Lost in the Moment and Found may just be the most heartbreaking entry so far in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. Which is not something I thought I would ever say after reading the end of In An Absent Dream (book #4), but there you have it. Because the even-numbered books in this series are stand-alone stories set in the characters’ pasts and can be read in order, I’m not going to assume anyone reading this review has read Absent Dream and spoil that ending – suffice to say, the conclusion of Lost in the Moment feels like Absent Dream’s opposite twin. People who have read both will understand what I’m getting at.

Lost in the Moment and Found is the portal story of Antionette, called “Antsy,” and it starts with the heartbreak of a child witnessing the death of a beloved parent. This is not a spoiler, as it happens in the first few pages and sets the stage for everything that will come after, but more of a Content Warning: if childhood loss of a parent disturbs you, you should go in to this book forewarned. In fact, this is one of several Content Warnings. All of the Wayward Children books deal with heavy topics, but this one involves gaslighting, grooming, emotional abuse of a child, and the clear intimation of impending sexual assault of a minor. But McGuire also assures us in an opening note: “Antsy runs. Before anything can actually happen, Antsy runs.”

And when Antsy does run, the Door that appears for her, with the traditional admonishment to Be Sure written above it, takes her to The Shop Where the Lost Things Go. Unsurprisingly, this is yet another of McGuire’s intriguing and deeply-developed portal worlds – but with a difference. There is no Quest for Antsy to go on to save the locals from a Great Evil before she can go home; there is no clear villain to overcome. There are just lost things to be catalogued and shelved until the person who lost them shows up to claim them, or until they are so forgotten they can be sold to someone else. The Shop has two other residents: a secretive and commanding old woman named Vineta, and a talking magpie named Hudson, who hire Antsy because of her ability to open the Doors that appear throughout the shop, allowing Vineta and Antsy to go shopping across myriad portal worlds. (Most of the worlds Antsy visits are worlds readers of the series have not seen before that I hope we’ll see more of – but I have to admit I might have squealed a bit in delight at the brief appearance by my favorite of the portal worlds we have seen before. I won’t spoil which one, or when it appears. It’s a fun call-out to earlier books.)

Also unsurprisingly, all is not as it seems with the Shop or its residents. The question that drives the narrative is whether or not Antsy will figure out what’s going on before it is too late for her to return home. The reader, of course, realizes the danger Antsy is in long before she does, but the reveal of the depths of that danger and its origins is beautifully revealed.

Lost in the Moment and Found comments on the ways in which we lose our innocence: sometimes suddenly (the unexpected death of a beloved parent; the unwanted advances of a dangerous adult) and sometimes so subtly we don’t even notice the change is happening (one of my favorite quotes from the book: “That’s one of the things about living in a body. It can change, but the ways it changes today will be the ways it has always been tomorrow. If the modification isn’t noted in the moment, then it can be all too easily dismissed.”). And while I found the book heartbreaking at multiple points, I also found it poignant and personal and imbued with hope that Antsy (and all of us) will eventually find the happiness and love she has lost.

Lest you think the book is a complete downer: there are plenty of moment of intrigue, of joyous exploration, and, without spoilers, comeuppance for at least some of those who deserve it. There are also hints at the nature of the portal Doors and why they appear to whom they do.

Lost in the Moment and Found isn’t the easiest book to read in the Wayward Children series, but it is an important one with what it has to say about the ways children are manipulated and taken advantage of and about how we start on the road to healing from trauma.

I received an advance reading copy of this book for free from TorDotCom Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Lost in the Moment and Found releases today, January 10th, 2023.

Book Review: INTO THE WINDWRACKED WILDS

TITLE: Into the Windwracked Wilds (The Up-and-Under Book 3)

AUTHOR: A. Deborah Baker

213 pages, Tor.com Publishing, ISBN 9781250848444 (hardcover/e-book/audiobook)

MY RATING:  5 stars out of 5

SHORT REVIEW: In the third book in A. Deborah Baker’s Up-and-Under portal fantasy series, protagonists Avery and Zib seem no closer to finding their way home – but they are much closer to being actual friends instead of happenstance travel-mates. The interplay between the cautious Avery and the impulsive Zib continues to be the heart of the series, as they work to find common ground and a way of understanding each other. By saying that the kids seem no closer to finding home, I don’t mean to imply that their journey lacks momentum or change. Zib and Avery are growing and learning throughout this adventure, as they leave the Saltwise Sea behind and enter the Land of Air and face an encounter with the Queen of Swords. Each encounter with royalty of the Up-and-Under so far has been dangerous, and this one is no exception.

LONGER REVIEW: In the third book in A. Deborah Baker’s Up-and-Under portal fantasy series, protagonists Avery and Zib (two children, one boy and one girl, the same age but very different in personality, who lived three doors down from each other but who had never met until they climbed Over the Woodward Wall in the first book of the series) seem no closer to finding their way home – but they are much closer to being actual friends instead of happenstance travel-mates.

To rules-following Avery, the Up-and-Under continues to be confounding as there are no obvious consistent rules to follow and every time someone explains how things work he just gets more confused. But even adventurous Zib is nearing her wits’ end as obstacles to completing their journey crop up and her impulsive responses make situations worse instead of better. The interplay between the cautious Avery and the impulsive Zib continues to be the heart of the series, as they work to find common ground and a way of understanding each other. As with the best children’s literature, there are lessons to be learned – about friendship, about patience, about really listening, about not giving away things that don’t belong to you, about being careful what you wish for. None of these lessons are bludgeoned over the reader’s head; the author is too capable and has too much respect for the intelligence of her audience (regardless of their age) for that – but they are present nonetheless.

By saying that the kids seem no closer to finding home, I don’t mean to imply that their journey lacks momentum or change. This is not a series where the status quo is maintained and each book ends with the characters right back where they started. Zib and Avery are growing and learning throughout this adventure, as they leave the Saltwise Sea behind and enter the Land of Air and face an encounter with the Queen of Swords. Each encounter with royalty of the Up-and-Under so far has been dangerous, and this one is no exception. While I had faith that Avery and Zib have a certain amount of “plot armor” (which doesn’t mean they can’t be hurt, just that they’re more likely to survive the series), I genuinely feared at one point for the continued health of their friend the Crow Girl, especially due to the Crow Girl’s history with the Queen of Swords. No spoilers as to how that turns out, of course.

The fact that I was concerned, though, should tell you just how well developed the supporting cast (Crow Girl, Niamh the drowned girl) are. They are as important to the forward momentum of the series as the two leads, and their mysteries drive the narrative as much as Avery and Zib’s simple wish to find the missing Queen of Wands and finally gain access to the Impossible City that will lead them home. The supporting cast continues to grow in this (I believe to be) penultimate book in the series, and I think my fellow readers will be intrigued by the newest addition to the team.

The series as a whole, but this book in particular, also seems to have a lot to say for how adults prepare their children for the world. Avery’s parents were very strict and controlling (but not unloving), while Zib’s gave her more free rein (which does not indicate a lack of care). The fraught relationship of parent and child is really explored in this volume, and it gave me a lot to think about (as an adult with no kids of my own, but a small army of nieces and nephews I would place myself in grave danger to protect).

It probably should be noted that the Up-and-Under books are written by Seanan McGuire under the pen name A. Deborah Baker, because in the world of McGuire’s novels Middlegame and Seasonal Fears, Baker’s children’s series is as well known as the Oz, Narnia, and Wonderland books are in our world. You don’t have to read the two novels to understand anything at all about these books other than knowing why McGuire chose the pen-name she did. If I recall correctly, the Up-and-Under is a long series (12 books? 16?) in that world, but McGuire is only planning to write the first four for us. I anticipate a lot will happen to Avery, Zib, and their friends in the final book before the kids find their way home, and I look forward to reading it in late 2023.

I also can’t close out this review with complimenting the cover art of the series so far. David Curtis’s covers are beautiful, evocative, and so perfectly consistent in design that I would love to own them as posters.

Book Review: WHERE THE DROWNED GIRLS GO

TITLE: Where the Drowned Girls Go (Wayward Children Book 7)

AUTHOR: Seanan McGuire

160 pages, TorDotCom, ISBN 9781250213624 (hardcover, also in e-book and audio)

DESCRIPTION: (from the Goodreads page): Welcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you've already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company.

There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again.
It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children.
And it isn't as safe.

When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn't save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitehorn, the Headmaster.

She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming...

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5.

MY THOUGHTS: Seanan McGuire’s “Wayward Children” series has settled into a comfortable rhythm: the odd numbered books are set in the present and usually involve several students going on a quest, while the even numbered books show us someone’s portal adventure – usually a character we’re already familiar with. In Book 6, Across the Green Grass Fields, McGuire veered from expectations by giving us the portal story of a brand-new character with no ties to the “present day” volumes. She continues to break expectations in Book 7, Where the Drowned Girls Go (releasing tomorrow, January 4, 2022), by having a student we’ve come to love decide that Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children is no longer a place she wishes to be and requesting transfer to the other boarding school we’ve heard mention of. Cora’s had enough of quests, enough of trauma, enough of other beings trying to gain control over her life. It’s not a spoiler to say that despite Eleanor’s most persuasive arguments, the transfer goes through; the book isn’t focused on whether Cora will leave but rather what happens when she does.

I don’t think it’s out of line to call this Seanan’s “gothic romance without the romance” installment of the series, as opposed to the gothic horror of Down Among the Sticks and Bones and Come Tumbling Down. I love the Moors. I want an entire series set in the Moors. I don’t honestly think we’ve seen the last of the Moors. But this is not that kind of gothic story. No vampires, no revenants, no deep-dwelling elder gods (the last of which is exactly what Cora is trying to escape being controlled by). What this story has is a mansion walled off from all surrounding civilization, with dark drafty halls and stern unsmiling adult caretakers and rooms students aren’t allowed to visit and a headmaster with a secret; it has a scared and unhappy girl who thinks she has nowhere else to turn falling under the sway of someone who turns out to be at least as controlling as what she’s running away from and who must find her way out before things go from bad to worse. (And this is a Seanan McGuire book, so you know things are going to get worse before they get better.) I loved all the gothic tropes McGuire incorporates and occasionally upends. The Whitehorn Institute has an embedded, palpable sense of menace. I don’t know that I would describe Eleanor West’s Home as particularly joyous (the students are mostly happy, yes, many seem as content as kids waiting for a portal to reopen to the place the truly feel at home can be, but joyous? No.), but it looks like a constant carnival compared to the Whitehorn Institute. So dour and grey a place must haunt us going forward, and I have no doubt that we haven’t seen the last of the place or of its staff, remaining students, and headmaster.

The wonderful thing about the “Wayward Children” series is that the installments really can be read in any order. Each installment includes whatever information a reader might need to “catch up” on previous volumes without having everything about those previous volumes spoiled. In Drowned Girls, we are reminded of (or introduced to) the bits of Come Tumbling Down and Beneath the Sugar Sky that are pertinent to Cora’s present journey, and they are enough to refresh ongoing readers’ memories and hopefully intrigue new readers.

And this is Cora’s journey we’re on. Mood and classic tropes can only take us so far if we don’t care about the character we’re following into the place. And we do care about Cora. Even if you haven’t read any of the previous books she’s appeared in, you’ll care about her within the first few pages. You’ll recognize her fear that the home she loves is out of her reach, that she’s stuck in a world that doesn’t understand her, that she’s drawn the attention of otherworldly beings who might, through her, find a way to lay waste to the home she loves. (Okay, yeah, most of us don’t encounter that last one – but many of us do encounter thoughts in our own heads that feel otherworldly and controlling and that we’d do anything to escape from. Has McGuire given us ocean-dwelling elder gods as a metaphor for mental illness? I think maybe she has.) You will recognize her need to do something, anything, to change her situation because her situation has become unhealthy and untenable. And you will recognize all the doubts that come along with the thing she does, and the steps she takes to make things as right as she can.

Cora is not the only familiar character appearing in Where the Drowned Girls Go. But telling you who else shows up and what roles they end up playing is a level of spoiler to which I will not descend. Because of when I’m posting this, it’s likely the book is already available in e-format wherever you are, with the print edition easily orderable. So get to it. You won’t be disappointed if you like gothic tales, boarding school tales, tales with magic and danger and in which portals are not the only way to find adventure.

NOTE: I did receive an e-ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley.