Seanan McGuire has done it again.
This is the 6th Installment in the Wayward Children series and It was just as amazing as the first 5. I really loved this one in particular for the setting. Typically I'm not super into horses but I loved all of the creatures in the hooflands and I love how easily I could picture everything in my head. I loved Regan as the main character and how confident she was in herself, even after she discovers she is intersex. Pansy was such a sweet mother figure and I loved her so much. I also loved the commentary in this book about societal expectations and what you are expected to act like as a young girl. Normally in this series, the commentary is quite heavy-handed, which I don't mind, but in this one, it was a little more subtle which I also appreciated. I honestly have no complaints and I just want the 7th book, but this one hasn't even been published yet.

Thank you so much, Tor for the E-ARC!!!

This story was extremely enjoyable, although not my favorite in the Wayward Children Series. Despite knowing virtually nothing about horses ( I did look up a few words just because I am nerd like that) I still found the setting and characters to be very immersive and compelling. The beauty of this adventure is that I had a lovely time even though I would personally like to stay very far away from the Hooflands. The only negative is that this story did feel like there was a lull in the middle but it does feel like a necessary piece of the bigger puzzle.

Another great book by Seanan McGuire even though I would like to know how Regan ties into the Wayward Children series.

If you've never read the Wayward Children series this is a great starting point. Regan ends up in a world of horses that is always saved by a human. However, Regan would rather enjoy being with the centaur tribe she first meets instead of meeting their queen.

There is something about horses that brings out the little girl in me. Not that the writer makes everything rainbows. For instance, unicorn meat tastes delicious. I couldn't blame Regan wanting to be amongst unicorn herders and riding on the backs of centaurs. I felt sorry for Regan in the end but I'm curious to see how she deals with the Home for Wayward Children.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Macmillan-Tor/Forge in exchange for an honest review.

It is no secret by now that I am obsessed with the Wayward Children series. I have yet to read an installment I didn't like and Across the Green Grass Fields is no exception. This is a standalone in the series which is always appreciated, and this book follows the story of Regan, a horse-loving girl who finds her door after a particularly traumatic incident at school. Behind this door is a world of centaurs and unicorns, where humans have a destiny they must fulfill. Regan however just wants to enjoy life with her newfound family.

This is a brilliant installment in the series and I definitely recommend it if you have enjoyed the others. The usual entertaining writing style is here, as are the engaging characters and great worldbuilding. I will say that I found this plot a little lacking compared to the others. I'm not sure what it was but there didn't feel a huge amount going on and the ending left me wanting. This is possibly my least favourite of the books so far, but that really isn't saying much given my love of the series. It's sort of the same as saying light roast is my least favourite coffee-it's still all great.

That aside, there is plenty here to like for fans of the series. Regan gives us a brilliant intersex protagonist. The world is as creative and as fun to explore as ever. I 100% recommend this book and this series for anyone who wants a whimsical but poignant fantasy series with tons of great rep and even greater stories.

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I'm compelled to say that this is not the most successful chapter in the series, but that does not mean it's not a good book. On it's own it's a lovely story about a young girl, societal pressure, family, and finding oneself. The meat of the story is Regan's time in the Hooflands, everything before is prologue and set up for her journey and growth there. And her story in the Hooflands is well told, and the ending is just perfect.

In contrast to the rest of the Wayward Children stories, it oddly doesn't fit because Regan is a girl that up until a fateful 24hs, does fit. She's "average" and happy with that because it means she fits, she's a girl with friends and family that loves her and whom she loves in return. The Wayward Children novellas are stories of children who profoundly misfit with their families, lives, and expectations, novellas of dark fantasy and horror. However, if Regan had not run around she would have experienced significant bullying and an extended struggle of between misunderstanding of genetics and who she is.

Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series is one of my firm favourites, so I was pleased and honoured to have the opportunity to read "Across the Green Grass Fields" early thanks to NetGalley.

"Across the Green Grass Fields" is a stand-alone book in the series, focusing on Regan Lewis, a young girl and later woman who is desperate to be taken as normal. There is no overt reason why she shouldn't be, but McGuire writes as ever with real insight into young peoples' lives (yes, I know writing "young people" marks me as ancient but there we are). In this case, the insight is into that child-growing-up anxiety, bound up with being in and out of friendship groups, in which "normal" isn't so much a state of being as a state of grace. Not to be normal is to be cast into the outermost darkness and Regan sees that happen to a friend when Laurel, queen of her little circle, excommunicates Heather. Not wanting to suffer a similar fate, Regan's development is bent towards staying in favour. Even if Regan's mother assures her that there are many valid ways of being a girl, Laurel's narrow worldview still prevails.

All of which sets Regan up for a terrible fall when she can't, in the end, stay within the boundaries that Laurel draws - sending her fleeing, as Wayward Children must, into a world that welcomes her. For Regan, a keen horsewoman, this is the Hooflands, a world of centaurs, unicorns, kelpies, hippogriffs and other equine beasts. As you'll know if you have read other books in this series, it is not, though, a safe world, a world of cosy wonders. There are real dangers and challenges here and humans are seen as bringing crisis and change. There must be a reason for Regan's coming, and while she bonds immediately with foal Chicory who becomes the true friend she never had among other humans, there's a sense of doom having over things from the beginning.

McGuire's writing in these books always has great heart and generosity, exposing hypocrisy and bigotry - whether in the human world or through one of those doorways - with a scalpel bit also respecting and celebrating friendship and love. "Across the Green Grass Fields" is no exception here, although the message is perhaps more subtle than in some of the others. Ostensibly, Regan's story is a quest - she's a sort of Dorothy, definitely not in Kansas any more - but the real journey she's on is I think one of coming to terms with, of learning to love, herself, normal be blowed. We never actually see the culminations of that - once she has sorted out the problems of the Hooflands - but in a sense it's not needed. We are told enough, and having read the preceding books, can fill in Regan's subsequent story and see how things will go and she will arrive at Eleanor West's school (never mentioned in the book!) without having to be told any more.

In that sense, while completely standalone, this is also a book that should be opened after, at least, reading Every Heart a Doorway, and possibly lone or two more - not because of spoilers, but because these slim, beautiful and true books are all really part of the same wider story. It's one that celebrates difference, loyalty and growth - and I would strongly recommend "Across the Green Grass Fields" (and all the series) to you.

I adore this series! I own every book and I have been getting them since the first book on the day they come out! I was so excited when I got approved for an early copy. I wanted to read the whole thing in one sitting but I didn't cause I love savoring these little treats we only get once every year!
This year we followed a new character through her doorway into the Hooflands. Which just a quick side bar I love the every other book thing McGuire does with this series. Anyway I really loved this story. I loved the land we get to see and explore (despite my deep seaded fear of horses) and I adored the characters. Ragen was the perfect protagonist for this story and I loved seeing her grown throughout this book. McGuire always packs so much into these novellas and I love that.
Her books always take the time to tackle some serious subjects as well. This book also did an amazing job talking about gender and how so much of it is a construct that we taught at a young age. She also tackles destiny and this idea of heroes that we build up in our heads and I love that. Her books are not just fun and unique she also takes time to make you learn and think as you read. This series especially often makes me think of old fables and folk tales just the way whe so seamlessly weaves briliant lesions into these stories of unique far off lands. McGuire is truly a master story teller.

First of all, I have never read any of the other Wayward Children books, so I am extremely grateful that this is a standalone novel. So much of what Regan goes through in the human world reminds me of my own childhood. No, I’m not intersex, but I remember how mean middle school girls could be. Yes, I even had a “best friend” who bullied me into being “more of a girl,” and I wished I could run away to a magical world of unicorns, centaurs, and even kelpies because kelpies are far less terrifying than middle school. For that reason alone, I found myself instantly drawn into this story.

I stuck with this story because it avoids the cliches found in stories like this, and Regan is a well-written protagonist who is neither saint nor villain.

The only reason this isn’t a five-star read in my opinion is because it is too short. It’s a great light afternoon read, but it could have been so much more.

This book pretty much had me in the bag as soon as we found out the magical world is called "the Hooflands." Unicorns? Yes. Centaurs? Yes gawd. This really is a fantasy for the inner horse girl in my heart, plus we get intersex rep to boot. I think this will be a crowd pleaser for all those who love this series, and I personally was jazzed to see the pacing set just right, which has been my main issue with the previous books.

1.) Every Heart A Doorway ★★★★
2.) Down Among The Sticks and Bones ★★★★.5
3.) Beneath The Sugar Sky ★★★★.5
4.) In An Absent Dream ★★★.5
5.) Come Tumbling Down ★★★★
6.) Across the Green Grass Fields ★★★★

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"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."

representation: intersex MC.

[trigger warnings are listed at the bottom of this review and may contain spoilers]

★★★★

This wasn't my favourite in the series, but it definitely wasn't my least favourite either! I'm not a horse girl and never have been but that didn't stop me from loving The Hooflands and all of its interesting creatures such as centaurs and unicorns! It was also refreshing to read about an intersex main character because let's be real, intersex people are severely underrepresented in books.
In this book, we follow Regan as she finds out that she's intersex and that's why she isn't going through puberty like her friends. She finally confides in her best friend but is deeply hurt when she immediately calls her a boy and yells at her to get away from her. So she runs and stumbles across a door and of course, she goes through and finds herself fitting in with a herd of wonderful centaurs who raise her like one of their own. Things change though when the Queen of the Hooflands demands to see her and even attempts to kidnap her and take her away from her new found family.

As per usual, Seanan McGuire's writing is just otherworldly. No one else writes like her and you can immediately tell whenever you pick up one of her books that it's one of hers due to her distinct writing style. It's also so impressive how she manages to flesh out characters and worlds in so few pages. So while I really enjoyed this one, the ending was a little bit anti-climactic for me and therefore wasn't 5 star worthy, but it was still a wonderful read, even if we (unfortunately) don't see any of our favourite characters from the previous books. I can't wait for the next one!

trigger warnings: snakes and snake bites, fantasy violence, bullying, interphobia, kidnapping.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the review copy!

I am a huge fan of this series so I was very excited to get my hands on this new addition.
I love that this is a new character we’re following, Reagan, and we get to explore a world we hadn’t learned about yet.
Seanan McGuire has such a wonderful writing style, even if the stories are short I feel they’re always satisfying, this was no exception.
I understand this is more meant to be a standalone but I was kind of sad we didn’t see more from our original cast.
All in all, i really enjoyed this story and i will definitely be continuing on with the series!

The Title/Cover Draw:
I super love this series so much. So of course I need to read them all! Plus doesn’t cover just scream “wide open spaces?”
What I liked:
There was a new world and new experiences. Plus centaurs!
What I didn’t like:
I felt like this book was over in a heartbeat. While I do like that each book in this series is short, it is sad because the ending comes too quickly.
What kept me reading:
Regan is a new character to the series, so I wanted to find out as much about her as possible in case she shows up with the rest of the children at the school.
The Characters:
Regan is sympathetic, loving and fair. If given the chance, she would make a wise ruler.
The Ending:
Again, the ending was too quick. I wanted to know a little more about her!
Consider if you like / Reminds me of:
If you like young adult novels, quick reads, or fantasy worlds.

I enjoyed the world building in this book very much.. Regan is a likeable character. I only wish that it felt more a part of the wayward children series instead of a stand-alone book.

I love Seanan McGuire. Each time I pick up one of her books I know, deep down, that I will leave happy and fulfilled. Across the Green Grass Fields was no different. Regan was the perfect main character and the Hooflands was such a wonderful world. At times I find the short format of this series a let down. But, then I look back on the story and realize I wasn't missing anything. We didn't need 300 pages to feel the love and friendship that blossomed between Regan and Chicory or to see how perfect the family she found was for her. I think Regan came away from her experience as the most well rounded Wayward child. I can't wait to see more of her.

I received an advance copy of this novella via NetGalley.

The Wayward Children series has been inconsistent for me. The first book ,<i>Every Heart a Doorway</i> is one of the best things I've ever read. And yet, later books in the sequence didn't emotionally resonate in the same way or felt off in terms of plot. Therefore, I approached this one with some trepidation... and ended up delighted and enraptured. I had to read the whole thing in the course of an evening.

These novellas bring a fresh angle to the classic trope of the portal fantasy, a la Narnia: children find doorways into other realms, where they are often saviors or enact some great change, only to find their way back to Earth again years later. Some of the novellas have focused more on the hardship of that return to Earth, when they really want to return to the fantasy/scifi realm that they consider their true home. This one focuses on the life in that other realm: in this case, Regan, in the Hooflands, a realm populated by centaurs, unicorns, and other mythological creatures made real.

COULD THIS BOOK BE MORE PERFECT FOR ME.

I mean, come on, I was a horse-obsessed kid, and I still love horses. The word "Hooflands" alone hooked me in an instant. Fortunately, the book lived up to all of my expectations. McGuire is masterful at writing about the very psychology of her characters. Her children, in particular, feel so real it hurts. Here, Regan is a kid who is friends who a wretched girl, but stays her friend because that's what she's supposed to do. When Regan discovers something about herself and tries to go to her friend for support... well, she finds out the truth of their relationship, too. Distraught, she flees school and finds the doorway to the Hooflands. She's taken in by a herd of centaurs--wow, McGuire does some amazing world-building to make centaurs and unicorns comes across in a fresh way--and resists the call to be the destined human who will save the realm. She discovers truths about friendship, herself, and what destiny really means. There's an incredible message here, but not for an instant is it preachy.

This novella is a beautiful, breezy read, but it's deep. There are layers here. This book could be an academic study on the technical side of writing and how to make it work. And wow, does it work. This is almost up there with <i>Every Heart a Doorway</i>, and that is saying something. For certain, this novella is starting off my list of works to consider for awards next year (as this book is being released in January 2021).

It's not a secret that I'm a tremendous fan of Seanan McGuire's work and no matter what kind of fantasy fiction you might like to read, McGuire probably writes it ... and very well. Her Wayward Children series came on the scene in 2016 and everyone of them has been a really great read. And this, I think, is the best of them all so far. This story is beautiful and powerful and and dark and real. McGuire takes us on an absolutely perfect ride in <em>Across the Green Grass Fields</em>.

Regan is a delightful young girl. She is friendly and loving and loved in return. Her parents always promised themselves that they would not keep secrets from her, as long as she asked for the truth. Regan asks and is told a truth about a personal, chromosomal issue issue that her parents learned when she was born. She takes it in stride, but makes one critical error ... she tells a friend. And no friendship at this age level can withstand the knowledge of something seriously personal. Still Regan isn't looking to escape a bad family life or even seriously wanting to leave her friends, but when a door appears in an unexpected place, Regan steps through.

Regan finds herself in a land where centaur's are farmers and unicorns their cattle. Regan is found by a centaur and brought back to their community - delighted at the glory they will have being the finders of a human. The presence of a human in this land always means one thing ... something bad is about to happen and they will be there until the problem is solved.

Regan spends years with the centaurs and avoids the Queen's spies who are looking to bring Regan to the throne on her own terms. But as the queen doesn't get her way, she makes life miserable for the centaurs.

Leaving her friends behind, Regan begins a yellow-brick-road-like journey to the queen, picking up a few unusual friends along the way. And of course, things are not what they seem when she reaches the queen.

How is possible that someone can put SO much into so brief a book (brief in page count). I felt as though I read 700 pages, given how much happened and the emotional journey we rode.

There was such uniqueness to our protagonist Regan. So often in these characters are cut from the same cloth - horrible parents (if there are any parents at all in the picture), lots of anger, confusion over everything going on around them - but Regan breaks that mold, and the book is so much richer for it.

It's a Wayward Children book, so not surprisingly it takes a dark turn, but constantly I had the thought 'this is real' - meaning that it made absolute sense.

This is easily one of the best fantasies and best YA books I've read this year. Maybe in the past three years.

Looking for a good book? Seanan McGuire's <em>Across the Green Grass Fields</em> is brilliant, sometimes dark, beautiful fantasy - possibly a perfect book.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I received a digital review copy of Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire in exchange for a review.

Despite her mother’s assurances that there is no one right way to be a girl, Regan learns a very different rule from the other girls her age: fit in, be normal, or be shunned. When she tells a secret to the wrong friend in a moment of distress, Regan runs away from school to avoid the repercussions, then finds herself running away from home quite on accident when she finds a door to the Hooflands on her shortcut through the woods. In the Hooflands, Regan finds unicorn-herding centaurs, carnivorous kelpies, and a troubling, unwanted destiny - the Hooflands only steal a human when it needs a hero to save the world. Regan isn’t sure she wants to be that hero because heroes disappear after their heroics are done, but she may not have a choice if she wants to save her friends.

I have enjoyed this series every step of the way and Across the Green Grass Fields is a fantastic addition. It doesn’t intersect with previous books, so you could jump into the series here without having read any of the other books (but you shouldn’t because Every Heart a Doorway is amazing). One of my favorite things about Seanan McGuire’s writing, particularly in this series, is the way she can take a storyline you’ve read over and over, and turn it on its head. The portal fantasy genre is full of humans stumbling into strange worlds that need a human to fix their problems because that is The Way Things Are Done. Across the Green Grass Fields questions The Way Things Are Done every step of the way, both in the Hooflands and in our own world. But mostly, this book is about Regan and the pressures to be and act and live a certain way that society puts on everyone, but especially on young girls. Regan’s experiences are instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever been told they can’t do something because of who they are or stifled themselves to fit in. Regan loves horses and struggles with standing up to her best friend, Laurel, who sets the rules for who is and isn’t performing girlhood correctly and ostracizes any girl who steps out of line. In escaping to the Hooflands, Regan is finally freed from the pressure to “be normal” because as the only human in the world, no one expects her to be a certain way or compares her to any standard of behavior beyond telling her she’ll save the world one day. The quest to save the Hooflands at the end of the story feels almost incidental, but not in a bad way. The story isn’t so much about that quest as it is about rebelling against the rules for what you can/should be. Regan is also the first intersex protagonist in the series, a facet of representation that I haven’t seen much of in YA fiction and that adds an interesting dimension to her struggles with society’s definition of girlhood. Overall, Across the Green Grass Fields was a relaxing escape and an engaging read in a year where I have struggled to read new things. Seanan McGuire has, as always, delivered above and beyond.

Regan loves all things horses, like really loves them, and she's relieved that being a bit horse-obsessed is seen as a fairly normal 'girl thing' to be. Because she would really hate to be seen as different. But even with all her efforts, things still get complicated in her social circle. Then she stumbles through her door, she finds herself in the Hooflands. A world populated entirely by hoofed beings, and a world where human children are treasured because they are the heroes.

This is our 6th in the Wayward Children series, and Regan is unlike the others in that she wanted to belong safely in the world she was born in. Also, we had never met her in past books, and in the earlier portal fantasy installments of the series it was always a wayward child we already knew. (Incidentally, this also makes this book a good standalone option within the series). And Regan is not only is here to surprise us the reader, but she also makes it very clear that heroes chose their own destinies too.

This is a book about identity and knowing yourself, about making decisions and acknowledging the results, and about many amazing and varied equine creatures. Obviously it is a good read for fans of Seanan McGuire and the Wayward Children series, but also great for those who enjoy portal fantasy, horses & mythical hoofed creatures, strong characters and books about choosing your own fate.

If you've ever wondered if an adult book could be written to be accessible to not just YA but middle grade readers, wonder no longer: the book of your dreams is here. ACROSS THE GREEN GRASS FIELDS is a wonderful coming of age story that has all the mandatory trappings: bullying, parental oversight, unicorns, evil queens, and an intersex main character. It's Tanith Lee rewriting Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.

I absolutely loved it. This one-sitting read offers just the cozy safety net I needed to face the world today. I love that it's perfect for kids and adults (mostly because I'm on a mission to talk more adults into reading kid's books and this is the gateway book I needed LOL). The Hooflands are a Chronicles of Narnia-esque dreamscape I didn't want to leave. An extra dose of horse girl vibes just rounds this novella out. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Reagan is the answer to every kid who went through a 'horse girl' phase, but the book is about so much more than that. The Wayward Children series has become one of my most cherished reads, and McGuire doesn't disappoint in Across the Green Grass Fields. Reagan's struggle with a toxic friendship at the beginning of the book--not as the bullied but as the bully's friend--isn't often portrayed in YA books and I'm so happy to see it treated with such sensitivity. The Hooflands are lush and the prose is emotionally exacting. Reagan's tale is one of regret, identity, and learning your own power, and I'm so, so glad I had the chance to read it.