Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is the newest installment in the Wayward Children series and a more direct follow up to Lost in the Moment and Found. We follow Antsy in this book as well as she starts at the Home for Wayward Children.

Lost in the Moment and Found was probably my favorite installment of the series so far so I was quite happy to return to Antsy so soon. It makes sense as Antsy's power of finding anything would stand out to the other students. Because if she can find anything, she could find everyone's door, couldn't she? Having to explain that doesn't quite work that way, isn't easy to students that are quite desperate. It would be hard to continue to navigate that power. Yet I'm still sad that her story is already at an end. I found Antsy a great character to follow.

It was interesting to go through various worlds. Kade's world for instance! Getting more on what he went through was a good thing to have. And going through a world with dinosaurs was really cool too.

Returning to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go was interesting because there should have been repurcussions after Antsy left. Yet Vineta seemed to have carried on just like before with a new girl. Learning more about Hudson's kind and Ansy's role to play in the shop was interesting. And it was a good wrap to Antsy's story. I'm just sad to not get her back.

There was also another wrap to someone else's story. And it really ups the anticipation because, does that mean that we will finally get more of a focus on Kade and Christopher?

In which we learn, in no preferrential order, more about Kade, more about how (and why) Sumi can make sense, a further unraveling of Elly-Eleanor's ability to discern Doors, a rather logical explanation about Doors and what is (and isn't) required from them...

...and a bit about the Moors I should have realized but never did.

Eleanor West doesn't allow quests in her rules, but as our ever growing and changing band of questers finds, even if you aren't looking for adventures, sometimes adventure is necessary to protect those you love.

This series as a whole has always been about finding yourself, finding what it is about your life you are missing or need to make you Sure about your choice. What the series has been hinting at, but didn't make explicit until Antsy's book (book 8: Lost in the Moment and Found), was the TOLL levvied. Not that McGuire hasn't spent every book, both implicitly and explicitly, stating that these Travels the kids go on and the adventures they have, they have a price. In Lundy's book (Book 4: In an Absent Dream), as well as Lundy's explanation in Nancy's book (Book 1: Every Heart a Doorway), we get an idea that a Price is paid by some of the kids according to the Laws of the Door they find themself in.

We know for Christopher, when he goes home to his Skeleton Girl, his price for his Happily Ever After, for him to Belong, is to shed his flesh and blood. For Kade, his price to Belong in Prism was to be someone he never wanted to be. These are more extreme examples, but these are things the kids must be Sure of because this is the Price their Door requires. It was even something Nancy had to grapple with, in her own way, before she could return.

But these are not the only Prices. Antsy learned what the Price that all Doors require, but few ever really have to worry about (something Sumi explains quite well) because they only go through their Door a handful or two times. Barely anything is taken because barely anything happens in 3 days to make note of. And when your Door is asynchonistic to Earth anyhow, would you really notice if you grew three days older?

And now...well. We come to the reckoning as it were. We come to where Antsy explains it all out for everyone to understand and we see the consequences of that knowing. This feels more linear then the others, but that might be a little misleading as the last book was Antsy's and this one also was a bit Antsy's and a bit Cora's and a bit Sumi's.

Though I'm not sure how I feel about Christopher's casual acceptance that if he can't return to Mariposa and his Skeleton Girl he'll have a perfectly splendid career as a serial killer.

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

The Wayward Children return, this time with no new kids, but with yet another great adventure that uncovers just a little more about how the Doors might work, and visits to a couple of worlds that we have seen before. This fascinating series continues to keep us enthralled and hoping for more.

Another excellent addition to the Wayward Children series! I loved the new directions opened up in the storyline, as well as the time spent with both new and familiar characters. This book is not a place to start the series, but for those who've read all the previous books, Mislaid in Parts Half-Known will be a total treat.

I love this series, and the last one (Lost in the Moment and Found) was one of my favourites, but this one lost me a bit. I'll be interested to see more reviews because I'm not sure if it was just my mood or the book. It has a ton of everyone's favourite characters, and some door travel which usually slaps, but I found myself bored and desperate to finish which is not great for a novella!

I really like Antsy and I'm glad we get more of her after Lost in the Moment and Found. I'm not sold on the dinosaurs kind of like I wasn't sold on the horses in Across the Green Grass Fields (though it's not quite the same) but McGuire's writing makes up for it. I still love this series and already can't wait for book 10.

The 9th book in the Wayward Children series, Mislaid continues Antsy’s story and fills in a little more knowledge of the doors. Portal fiction can take a bit to get used to, but McGuire knows her way around.

There are undercurrents of abuse, but nothing explicit, and everything makes sense and boy howdy, is there a satisfying conclusion! Another series about a found family and aftermaths, this is a series that will linger far after the last page is turned. Recommended!

I received a free copy from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion.


#MislaidInPartsHalfKnown #NetGalley

I got an ARC of this book.

I read this in one sitting. I couldn’t stop once I started. It isn’t a super long book, so it wasn’t detrimental to my health. I am just warning you, it is that good. It is one of my favorite books in the series so far.

This one really brings up so much emotions. What happens when you have access to someone who can find the one thing you desire most in the world? There is clear rules to follow, but sometimes cheating is very appealing. Sometimes the call of your deepest desires can have you questioning what is right and wrong. It also raised the question of what makes a perfect world. Is a world perfect if it demands you deny parts of yourself to fit in? Is missing that world ok, even when it clearly didn’t want you?

Add in the few lines about Eleanor starting to be less coherent, which was always already questionable because of her level of nonsense. Even Sumi noticed though. Then finding the lost keys near a certain door just really hammered home how close Eleanor is to leaving the Earth and going back to her true world.

Sumi is the star of this one. I don’t care that Antsy is clearly the main character. Sumi has the best lines. She has the most sense, which is less nonsense than usual. At one point she said something pretty profound and then ended it with reminding everyone how wise she was, because she had already died once. She was not holding back this book. Every time Sumi spoke, it was so intensely perfect.

This is one of the ones that does require reading the ones before to get the full picture. There are references to Sumi dying, to her future, to adventures in the Trenches. There is even a joke about new people not understanding all the quests, despite the no quest rule. It also really expanded the understanding of how the doors work and the worlds attached to them. It gave a bit more structure and answered some questions I didn’t know I had. It did all of this without being preachy or info dumping. It was lovely. The series is still going strong this far in!

While I enjoyed this book, I think it's important to note that it certainly feels like more of a connecting story in a longer saga than a standalone story. My sense is that we're laying groundwork for some big things to come. I have certainly learned to trust McGuire with long plot lines, and sometimes we just need a story to get us from A to B (or in this case A to E via Y, because the Doors are complicated). This is one of those stories.

Antsy's ability to see the Doors is a coveted skill at the School for Wayward Children, and before we know it circumstances have the usual suspects plus Antsy bouncing through various Doors. We see some old faces and new ones on the way, and just maybe set a thing or two right in the process. A couple storylines are tied off and a few questions answered. But the real strength of what I call the Quest books in this series (where the whole crew goes off together) is in seeing how the children support each other in their very unique needs and strengths. There are a lot of wonderful interactions along the way, some definite growth, as well as some further insights into specific characters for us as the reader.

If you likes stories about lost things being found and found family coming together to fiercely support one another, I think you'll enjoy this installment of the Wayward Children.

Another absolutely stellar addition to the Wayward Children series! We will definitely be purchasing for the library.

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is the latest fantastic installment in the Wayward Children series. I absolutely love this series and every new story gives me so much joy! Antsy has made it to Eleanor’s School for Wayward Children, but she struggles to find her place. Fortunately, she soon starts to connect with Cora, Sumi, Christopher, Emily and Kade. It quickly becomes known that Antsy can find almost anything, and some classmates wonder whether Antsy can find their doors home. To escape, Antsy and her friends flee through a series of doors.

This series is one of my all-time favorites. It’s magical, joyful, whimsical, with LGBTQ+ rep, and found family. I loved seeing how Antsy was able to return to the Shop. Antsy’s understanding of the doors and ability to find things is so compelling; I couldn’t put this book down! Cora is one of my favorite characters and I was so happy with her arc in this book! I also enjoyed learning more about Kade’s time in Prism, heartbreaking as it was. Amidst the magic, Seanan McGuire makes important points about not continuing cycles of trauma and how important it is to keep looking for what you need, not just what you want.

Reading any book in this series feels magically transportive, like readers have come through a Door to find themselves perfectly at home. I highly recommend this series to anyone, especially readers who seek imaginative fantasy with a twist and found family. I’m looking forward to seeing whose story Seanan McGuire writes next in this series!

Thank you to Seanan McGuire, Tor Publishing Group, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

Another delightful entry in the Wayward Children series - unusually, this one follows directly after the last one (Lost in the Moment and Found). Almost feel it should have been one volume, despite the broadening of the cast in this one.

I absolutely love this series and can never get enough of them. The perfect amount of realism and fantasy for an adult fantasy book. Have read every single one of them and they are always my must reads

Antsy returns as she tries to succeed at the school in a body of a teen with the mind of a child. She is beset by Seraphina who figures out that with the ability to find anything, Antsy could find her Door . Antsy and her new friends are forced to escape through a Door and the children must come to terms with how personal choice controls their destiny.
A satisfying conclusion to the Antsy story involving all my favorite children from the School, I ate this up in one sitting.

I still love this series and the concept for it, and I was relieved to get a followup on Antsy's life, but I wished I had brushed up a little bit on all the previous books before reading this one since it involves a lot of Lore from previous books. Still: a good read and a thoughtful depiction of breaking the cycle of generational violence (with bonus talking animals).

The Wayward Children series feels very similar to me to an old friend, one that you only see once a year but every time you see them it is a true delight and you spend as much time as possible catching up and just soaking up their presence until they have to go again.
This year's installment, 'Mislaid in Parts Half-Known' is no exception, I had a wonderful time reading this novella. We follow on from the ending of 'Lost in the Moment and Found' and follow characters old and new on a quest (even though we all know there is a rule against questing). It felt to me like more and more aspects of the world building are starting to coalesce into something resembling an overall plot which has me very excited for any and everything that comes next.
Readers who already love this series will not be dissapointed - especially given that there are dinosaurs on the cover?! And for all those who have yet to fully sink into the wonder that is this series I have to say picking them up continues to be one of the best decisions I made as a reader. I would say to go back and read from the beginning as this particular book would make a confusing start point but you do you!
Overall I highly recommend not only this book but the whole series to anyone who loves to use fantasy books as an escape. May we all find our doors one day.
My rating: 5 stars
I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for the ARC! The ninth book in Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series, Mislaid in Parts Half-Known concludes Antsy's story. While escaping the manipulative abilities of Seraphina, Antsy and a cohort of wayward children flee into a door (that just so happens to be Kade's) and end up back in the Shop Where the Lost Things Go. Antsy is anxious to see if Vineta and Hudson have kept their promise, which leads them onto other adventures (including a door with dinosaurs). This book reveals more about the doors and how they can potentially return to their worlds. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is at parts thrilling and moving with emotional highs and lows as the children long for their lost homes, but become family within the school.

This is my favorite world to curl up in. Every book is a breath of fresh air, seanan mcguire packs so much life and love and lessons into so few pages. I’m always left falling more and more in love with the characters I know, and attached to the new ones I meet along the way. LOVE. Already dying for book #10

Unlike other parts of the Wayward Children series, which are more loosely connected and for the most part could function as standalones, Book #8, Lost in the Moment and Found, is definitely required reading before jumping into Book #9, Mislaid in Parts Half-Known.

Lost in the Moment and Found introduces us to Antsy, who finds herself in a nexus world (a world where Doors appear and are able to be opened by anyone). We learn more about the rules of the Doors (the fee that is paid every time one opens a door). Reading Lost in the Moment and Found felt like a long prologue. The reason being, we needed all of Antsy's background for the plot of Mislaid in Parts Half-Known.

Books #8 and #9, function as a pair. They complete Antsy's story, while also giving readers more information on how these Doors work.

Overall, I really enjoyed Antsy's story and how McGuire wrapped it up in Mislaid in Parts Half-Known.

This was a wonderful addition to the series because of all the closure we got for a number of characters. Antsy being the main character and POV again made me happy because it felt like she needed more time. We see her slowly adapt to being in the school and get absorbed into our favorite group of Wayward Children.

It definitely seems to setting up for a major shift in management, so to speak. But we get a better understanding of The Doors from someone who understands them better than anyone. I'm extra curious who the next book will focus on, especially after the short stories were released and those who went home in this.book.