I absolutely adored Lost in the Moment and Found and this just feels like a continuing chapter. It takes place basically moments after the previous installment and really builds on the themes of cost and knowledge. Of the importance of informed choices. Beginning with the idea that we want isn't always what we need, Mislaid in Parts Half-Known only continues in wisdom. It explores the prices of choices. The weight of adults in our lives to make sure we know about the costs and consequences.

My Rating: 2.5/5 stars

“I don’t think we get second chances with our own injuries” said Sumi. “All we can really do is try to clean up all the broken glass before someone else gets there.”

Mislaid in Parts Half-known marks the ninth and penultimate novella in the Wayward Children series, and is one of the few that actually reads like a sequel to its predecessors, and cannot be read easily as a standalone. Our story takes place directly after the events of Lost in the Moment and Found, and follows the continuation of Antsy’s story. As established, Antsy has a talent for finding Doors and that talent is put to full use when she takes the Wayward-gang on a world-hopping adventure. As you’ve come to expect from the series; friendships are to be built, and life-lessons are to be learned. As you may or may not have suspected from the cover; this time, dinosaurs are involved as well.

Full disclaimer: I’m not a Wayward Children’s fangirl…I can see its mass-appeal, but ever since Every Heart a Doorway it’s been a 3-star series for me. To speak in McGuires own terms; these books are high-whimsy, medium-logic and low subtlety. Although I love her imagination in the worlds and atmospheres she crafts, the message behind each of these novellas is so heavy handed that it often irks me. That being said, book 8 stands out as my favourite of the bunch, and I was actually excited to see the resolution to Antsy’s narrative.
Book 9 does provide that resolution, but does it in a far more whimsical, playful and weirdly low-stakes manner. We see the crew adventuring, and (literally!) running with dinosaurs. Yet as far as development goes: this felt like it could’ve been shortened and incorporated into Lost in the Moment and Found without losing too much.

Do I recommend this book? Maybe… If you’re a diehard Wayward Children’s fan, it’s an essential in the collection. It may not pack as much of an emotional punch, but the adventure-romp it does bring is a welcome breeze of fresh air after the previous two more intense novellas.
If you’re on the fence on the series, this one isn’t going to convince you. Taking into account their extremely steep pricetag (honestly, these novellas are among the most overpriced and capitalistic suckers in current publishing and we NEED to call that out), this would be more of a library-borrow than an immediate purchase for me.

Many thanks to Tordotcom for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

“I’m always sure.”

I read this book weeks ago and I’ve wanted to gush about it ever since, but life postponed me. Distance between reading a book and writing a review tells you if the book’s glow fades with time, though. If anything, I appreciate this book more now than when I finished it and that’s saying a lot.

Before I ramble about the book, I need to say something about me. It’s my review so I get to do that. When I first started writing book reviews, I fantasised about the future and what outrageously impossible things I might find there.

This book fulfilled a dream that I only shared with one person because I was so certain it wouldn’t happen: that I would be given the opportunity to read a Seanan McGuire book before the publication date. That it happened at all still makes me smile at random moments. That it’s a Wayward Children book, the series that introduced me to Seanan, that’s perfection right there.

“And we’re getting off topic, which is a neat trick when we haven’t managed to get on topic yet.”

I need to find someone in my world who I can get all spoilery with because they’ve read it too. Until then, I need to talk about some takeaways.

Dinosaurs. Yes, there’s a dinosaur on the cover. Yes, you will travel to a world with dinosaurs. No, this is not a dinosaur book.

The story. This is the continuation of Antsy’s story. You met her in Lost in the Moment and Found. If you don’t know Antsy, please introduce yourself to her before reading this book.

In fact, if you haven’t already attended Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, now would be a really good time to binge the series. Some of the Wayward Children books can be read as standalones if you really want to, although I’m not sure why you wouldn’t simply read them all. This really isn’t one of them. It refers to characters, worlds and events that you really had to be there for.

Antsy. A part of me is still a little bit broken from knowing why she ran.

“No quests.”

Of course there’s a quest! Would you have it any other way?

Doors.

“Every door is a little different, and every world they take us to is very different indeed, but they all ask the same thing of us, and they all break our hearts, in the end.”

I thought I was obsessed before. This book fuelled my need to know everything there is to know about them. I have decided I need a companion book, Door Lore. It will explain the history of Doors, how they work and how different cultures and worlds understand them and tell stories about them. There will be an entry for every world, which will include where it sits on the Nonsense, Logic, Virtue, Wickedness spectrum. It will be encyclopaedic and glorious!

Kade. This is not Kade’s story but I learned more about him and the world behind his Door. I still can’t wait for Kade’s book but don’t want to say goodbye to him either, so I’m trusting Seanan to give us his story when the time is right.

Sumi.

“You have to listen to me. I died, and that means I’m clever now.”

I have loved Sumi since the day we met. Her nonsense was strong in this book, as it usually is, and I adore it and her more every page we spend together.

Harvest. I need to go there!

The ending. It hit me like a tonne of bricks. Even though I probably should have, I was not expecting it. I definitely wasn’t expecting the sneaky ugly cry.

Be sure. The worlds can be sugar sweet or they can drown me. The characters can (and will) break my heart, time and time again. I will always be sure. I will not stop looking until I find my Door.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor for the opportunity to read this book.

All of the Wayward Children books are excellent, but this one has that little bit extra thanks to finally getting into the doors. How do those spooky guys work? Antsy might know. We might be figuring it out, too.

For the most part, this series can be read as standalones. I don't think that applies here, it really does require the build-up of the previous eight books to set the stakes, and it does follow pretty directly from #8 in the series. So don't read this one first, is what I'm saying.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy. Of course, now I have to wait even longer for the next one...

Ahoy there mateys! I say this every time I finish one of these novellas but I seriously could read dozens of books set in the various worlds.  This is the 9th book in the series and a direct sequel to book 8.  This cannot be read as a standalone and has spoilers for most of the other books in the series.

Antsy arrives at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.  Problems ensue when other students realize that she can find all Lost things.  Does that mean she can find their Doors?  Well Antsy can but should she?

This book was lovely.  Antsy has problems dealing with other children, especially given her aging process.  Favorite characters are pulled into an accidental quest.  There are LOTS of awesome answers about how the Doors work.  Several characters have their storylines resolved in satisfying ways.  I can't give further details cause spoilers.  But I was so glad to read this one and already wish I had the next novella.  Arrr!

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is the continuation of Antsy's story from Lost in the Moment and Found. This time she's joined by the gang from Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children as they embark on a quest that leads them through Fairyland, (Not) Jurassic Park, and back to the Shop in the World Where Lost Things Go. I can't say too much else about the plot in fear of spoiling things about the previous books, but I really enjoyed the journey that McGuire continues to take us on.

The previous installment was one of my favorites in the entire series, so I was really delighted to get more of Antsy and the Shop. Finding out more about the Doors has been so intriguing, and seeing her develop a stronger relationship with some of the other main characters from the series feels like a full circle moment. I can't wait to see what Kade, Sumi, and the others do with their expanded knowledge of the Doors and Nexus Points.

As always, Seanan McGuire knows how to pack a punch with such a little book, and I continue to look forward to the next in the series!

I really enjoyed this installment of the Wayward Children series. I liked the quest they went on and was glad to see some characters pop back up. I love this series so much!

This entire series a gem. It is truly an experience every time a new installment is released. Sean an McGuire has found a way to take very difficult and sometimes dark topics, and discuss them in a way that gets the point across clearly, while keeping a healthy dose of child-like whimsy.

This story is about a young girl who is already dealing with grief and finds herself in a situation where she is forced to save herself, because she can not trust the adults around her.

When Antsy takes matters into her own hands, she finds herself at the door of a store that literally has everything… including a talking magpie. She is taken in, given a job and a safe space. Once she settles in and becomes accustomed to her role in the store, she believes that she has found home. Antsy is happy with her new life until she begins to notice unexplainable changes in herself and finds out that the ones who are claiming to protect her, are using her and can no longer be trusted.

Antsy runs away again and seeks out Elenor West’s School for Wayward Children.

The school and the students seem like a safe place to land, until a few of the students begin to notice Antsy’s strangeness and want to use her for their own benefit. this threat prompts Antsy and some of her new friends to embark on a journey that will force her to revisit her past, consider her future, accept her strangeness and make her way in the world. Along the way, they visit a world inhabited by dinosaurs, meet a long lost friend and fight for their freedom to be themselves.

It was beautifully vivid and heartwarming.

These books never get boring or repetitive. The creativity of the worlds is always impressive and it's so nice to return to these characters. Spending time with them is great even when it's bittersweet to read of their stories or time at Eleanor's school being over.

Loved this series and was so excited to get my hands on an ARC of Seanan McGuire’s latest portal book baby.
Fantastic world building and I loved how we got to see Antsy use her door finding powers. It was such a wonderful novella adventure! I would have loved more dinosaurs though!

let me start this review with something that is probably going to make you all very happy and then something that might make you all not happy!

the happy: some of this book actually takes place in kade’s portal world (which i know i have been begging for since day one), and it was truly the most amazing glimpse that left the reader wanting so much more.

the unhappy: now… this did not bother me whatsoever, but basically it takes 100 pages until the reader gets to see a dinosaur in this book. and truly? it is a very small glimpse for maybe 20 pages? the cover of this one probably wasn’t the best choice, even though it is very beautiful.

okay let me actually type what this book is about! so i was very surprised when i started this, because it really does pick up right after the events of Lost in the Moment and Found, where we see antsy recounting things to eleanor, before she starts classes at the school. But then we get a six month jump, after the rescue mission of Where the Drowned Girls Go, and we get to see antsy with so many new and old beloved kids at this school. But once some people find out what magic antsy’s nexus has given her, our crew goes on a quest to protect her and the school at all costs.

all wayward children books have a different powerful message inside their amazing stories, and i feel like this installment’s was all about breaking cycles of abuse. from realizing healthy ways to feel safe and heal from abuse that was done to you in the past. to reclaiming a childhood that was taken from you, instead of feeling like you can repress the way the world made you grow up too quickly. to having a responsibility to protect children and the generations to come, and not use your abuse as an excuse to continue the cycles of abuse. And ultimately be able to listen, and grow, and be better, continuously and constantly. and I also think there is an underlying message too of how everyone heals from things differently, and we should allow people to heal and live how they want to live, and how there is no time limit on making different choices – just when you’re reading to make them.

overall, i had a good time with this one, but i didn’t love it as much as some of the other books in this series (especially with Lost in the Moment and Found being a five star read for me). but seeing antsy’s power and some different worlds (some we know, some we know about, some brand new) was so beyond cool. also, i just love sumi so very much.

trigger + content warnings: mentions of loss of parents & loved ones in the past, depression, grief, ptsd, nightmares, abandonment & loneliness, a one sentence brief mention that hints at disordered eating in the past, talk of colorism, mind altering magic, one sentence mention of chemotherapy in past, implied transphobia in past, implied mention of pedophile in past, mention of chronic pain, blood depiction, talk of death and murder, and just a lot of mentions of bad parenting and child abuse.

I can’t even get enough of this series and Seanan McGuire’s writing. I’m already dreading the arrival of the final book of this series, I’m going to be beyond sad when it ends! While some of the books in this series can be read as standalones, this one is very much a continuation of book 8, Lost in the Moment and Found so I’d definitely recommend at minimum having read that one before starting this. This one is more of a quest plot, with multiple students as MCs instead of a single child finding a door. I greatly enjoyed this book and was definitely choked up at its end. Plus, DINOSAURS 🦖 Need I say more? 😂

As a new student at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children, Antsy struggles to fit in with the other kids after spending her childhood (or lack thereof) at the Shop Where the Lost Things Go. But, friends and enemies are found when the other students discover that Antsy can find just about anything.

While this was far from my favorite Wayward Children book, I still had a good reading experience. I don't enjoy Antsy as a character as much as I did earlier protagonists (Jack and Nancy in particular), but this latest installment in McGuire's series of novellas is still imbued with the same sense of found family as the main group of Eleanor's students adds another to their bunch.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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CONTINUITY COUNTS
By and large, the Wayward Children books can be read in any order—sure, things will mean more if you read them in order of publication (so far, anyway). It's easier that way to catch allusions, understand the depth of relationships, come close to tracking what Sumi is talking about, etc. But you can get away with skipping around.

But you really need to read this one after Lost in the Moment and Found . It's the closest thing to a direct sequel that we've had in this series. It's also kind of a follow-up to Where the Drowned Girls Go (and, as always, touches on several others).

This is largely Part II of Antsy's story—the story is shared by a group of the students (my favorites in the series) on one of those quests they're not supposed to undertake—and whoops, I've started writing the next section.

WHAT'S MISLAID IN PARTS HALF-KNOWN ABOUT?
Antsy is having a hard time adjusting to life at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children, almost as much trouble as she'd be having adjusting to anywhere else on Earth. Part of that comes from not being as honest about her circumstances as she could've been—understandably so, I think—which just made everything worse.

Still, there are signs that things may get better, helped a little by Antsy being able to find anything for people. Then Seraphina (who can get anyone—with one or two exceptions—to do what she wants) decides to use her abilities on Antsy to get her to find her Door.

Ansty, Sumi, and some others (I'm not going to name them to keep your interest piqued) manage to slip away using Antsy's ability to find things and her knowledge of how Doors work, eventually getting back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go. Which wasn't exactly where Antsy wanted to be—and she learns that things there hadn't gone as expected when she left and a whole new quest develops.

NOT ABOUT JIM MORRISON'S BAND
When I wrote about Lost in the Moment and Found earlier this year, I said:

This entry would be a worthwhile read for fans if only for this one thing—we learn more about the Doors and how they work. I’m not going to go into it, obviously, nor am I going to promise that every question you had about the Doors will be answered—actually you’ll likely end up with new questions, but they’ll be informed questions.


That's true here, too. In fact, we learn so much about them that I almost don't want to learn anything more about Doors for another 8+ books so they don't get too demystified. McGuire being McGuire, I know that if she reveals a whole lot more in the next book, I'll end up repeating everything I said prior to this sentence—and I'll be happy and equipped with more questions.

Regardless—what we do learn here is fantastic. It both makes utter sense—in the way that maybe we all should've guessed it already (maybe some did)—in terms of storytelling, worldbuilding, and more. I wonder what (some of) the students understanding this is going to do to things going forward. If anything.

FUTURE CONTINUITY
Speaking of things going forward, something major is on the way for Eleanor West. It's been hinted at before, but so many things in this book point to it happening soon (but in Wayward Children-time, it could take 3-4 novellas for us to get to "soon"). I'm eager to see it, as much as I'm dreading what it might mean.

ONE QUICK CHARACTER NOTE
Every protagonist of these novellas—and a significant chunk of the supporting characters—has been wonderful. With the exception of Seraphina and her crew*, I like all the students we've met at the School and want to know more about them all.

* I'm waiting for McGuire to decide it's time to humanize them so we readers will root for even them, and we'll feel bad for not doing so earlier.

But...from the moment we met her, Sumi's been a favorite of mine. I should probably use the definite article there, actually. So I'm not unbiased when I say that in Mislaid in Parts Half-Known she is glorious, but she really is. She's funny, she's loopy, she's brave, and she's wise. Hard as that last one might be to believe. She's also rather clever and displays that at the end.

The main parts of the story belong to Antsy and a couple of other characters—but Sumi stole every scene she was in and I really just want a few in a row featuring her.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT MISLAID IN PARTS HALF-KNOWN?
This is not my favorite Wayward Children book, but it's close. There aren't one or two big emotional moments like there typically are in these (at least not that hit me...your results may vary). But there were a handful of small emotional moments that worked so well—in terms of what happened to someone, how it impacted the other characters, and the way that McGuire wrote them—that I don't care. It might even be better this way.

The worlds we saw were wonderful—really, you could set an entire fantasy trilogy in them without reference to any other. The world hinted at on the cover, for example, could easily sustain a 1,500-page trilogy full of whimsy and danger.

There's probably more humor and smile-inducing moments here than several of these books combined sport. Which was a nice bit of fresh air (in a series that really doesn't need it, but that doesn't mean it's not welcome).

Naturally, there are characters we're not likely to see again due to the nature of these books, and I'm going to miss them. Although the endings they got were well deserved and well executed.

I almost always walk away from a Wayward Children book feeling satisfied and a little in awe of McGuire—I think that feeling is larger this time just because of the number of emotional and story notes she managed to hit, the storylines she was able to incorporate and resolve, the ones she just moved forward, and...everything else in 160 pages. It shouldn't be possible. This book (like most in the series) is bigger on the inside.

A few paragraphs back, I said that this wasn't my favorite in the series—but at the moment, I'm having trouble understanding why (but I'm going to trust my earlier impulse). But it is so, so, so good. I'm having trouble coming up with adequate adjectives at this point.

Go get this in January. Order it now (and/or request it from your library). If you haven't read these books yet, go. At a bare minimum, get the first, Every Heart a Doorway, and then Lost in the Moment and Found, so you can be ready for this one when it's released. You can catch up on the others later.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Tor Publishing Group via NetGalley—thanks to both for this opportunity. The opinions are all mine.

I really enjoy The Wayward Children series, so I was very excited to see the next installment in the series being released. I enjoyed this book. I like Antsy as a MC and I really enjoyed seeing her interact with the other wayward children. I also really liked the discussions around aging and knowing what you're trading away as you open each door. All in all, this was a fun installment and anyone that is a fan of this series will likely enjoy it.

This woman's brain is endless... I'm convinced McGuire's mind is the world of Doors and we're slipping through each one with each book in this series.

As if I couldn't love this series more, in this installment we get freaking DINOSAURS! As always, the gang is off on another quest despite Elly Eleanor's strictly written rules, this time to escape the danger of a student who wants to abuse Antsy's gift of finding. We get a glimpse into Kade's world, and we're running through the dense forest with dinosaurs before we're taken back into the shop where Antsy is confronted with the realities of what happened once she left.

The world building and telling is magical as always but what makes these books slap is the messages that McGuire includes. This story was largely rooted in the idea that just because you've been hurt does not warrant you the liberty to hurt others. She discusses adults who continue abuse and the cycle that is too often present. And we get some wonderful, hopeful endings for a few of our friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom for an eARC of this highly anticipated 2024 release! Now I'm left wondering and hoping for the next in the series!

I'll be forever grateful to Tor for allowing me the opportunity to read almost every book in this series early! This one is all about finding your place and purpose in the world, and I loved seeing Antsy come into her own and see the others make realizations as well. This novella takes place right after the events of Lost in the Moment and Found, and you can really see the threads of all the different novellas coming together and I just know that great things are coming in the future novellas! I will say if you're expecting to see a lot of dinosaurs based on the cover, they really only make a brief appearance and they aren't the main focus of this story. I'm always impressed by how good this series continues to be, and I'm very much looking forward to book 10!

4.5 stars rounded up

I love this series so much and am always happy to be back in the world and with these characters. This was interesting because it picked up with Antsy's story where the last novella left off and brought along several of our well-loved characters on an adventure that includes a world of dinasours! I found this to be an enjoyable and satisfying installment in the series, though not my favorite of them. The audio narration is fantastic! I received an advance copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm going to start off with saying I love this series. It's my favorite book series and I still plan on reading every single book that is released.

With that said, this one was not my favorite. I didn't mind it, and I can't say it was bad, it just didn't hold my attention like the other books in the series. I still really enjoyed it and can't wait to continue on with the series.

This is not a series that has to be read in order, or even have all its books read to understand them. However, I strongly do not recommend starting with this one. I think going into this one without the last book, Lost in the Moment and Found, would be very confusing as they directly tie into each other intimately.

In the ninth entry in this series, Seanan McGuire returns us to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children as Antsy (protagonist of book 8, Lost in the Moment and Found) starts getting settled in. But when the school's irresistible mean girl discovers Antsy's ability to find anything, including the doors for which all of the school's students are seeking, Antsy and her new friends are forced to flee to the Shop Where Lost Things Go, which is the last place Antsy wants to be.

I'll be honest — I read this book a couple of months ago, so my memory of the details is a bit hazy. However, like all of the other books in this series, it's a solid story built on the foundation of boundless imagination and wonderfully imperfect characters. You can't read this one as a standalone, but the series is well worth a dive to get here.