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.

Read MISLAID IN PARTS HALF-KNOWN by Seanan McGuire if you love thrift stores, maple syrup, reunions, mischiefs of magpies, classrooms, nonsense, running as fast as you can, dinosaurs, goblins, beautiful girls, seeking justice, vegetarian food, croquet, crushes, and goodbyes.

Seanan McGuire returns to the multiversal universe of the Wayward Children with the ninth installment, Mislaid in Parts of Half-Known. Longtime fans of the series will know what to expect from one of the "odd numbered" entries to the series which continues the overarching narrative of our favorite former-portal fantasy world heroes.

I'm always a bit hesitant going into the one of the more "overarching plot", odd numbered volumes. The previous novellas of this kind have always been the weakest in the series vs. the profound and powerful even-numbered standalones.

Unfortunately, Mislaid in Parts Half-Known proved my hesitations correct. While still a worthy way to spend an afternoon, this might be the weakest installment of this series yet. I in no way regret reading it, but it was a bit dissapointing to wait an entire year for another Wayward Children novella and then to get this.

This novella is essentially two different books colliding into one another, for better and for worse.

The first book, which has the strongest elements, is a sequel to last year's stunning Lost in the Moment and Found (which is sitll one of my all-time favorite books in the series!). This ninth entry continues the story of Antsy as she meets many of the friends we've made in previous books. What results is a cathartic narrative of Antsy's healing as she direclty confronts the trauma (and traumatizers) of her toxic and painful past. Her story is one of my all-time favorites, and Mislaid in Part Half-Known beautifully continues (and ultimatey wraps up, at least for now) the arc that Antsy began last year. I am so happy we got to spend more time with a character I grew to really love and admire, and this novella was more than successful in addressing some of the lingering questions and plot lines that we were left with after Book 8.

Where Mislaid in Parts Half-Known falters is continuing the story-line of everyone else, including Cora, Kade, and Christopher. It is not that any of these characters are bad or that their plot arcs jump the shark; rather, McGuire has brought together much too large a cast for this novella to handle. We spend so much time dealing with Antsy's trauma and healing (which as I said, is great!), that everyone else feels a bit underdeveloped and their arcs are unsatisfyingly put into overdrive.

Having to deal with so many characters also brings the pace to a frustratingly slow crawl, even in the novella format. The first half of this book is actually quite boring, as we have to check in with everyone and remind ourselves who these characters are. This is perhaps one of the problems with this series and its release schedule - because every other novella is a standaone that doesn't advance the main narrative, its really 2 years between "plot progression" entries to this series - which is FAR too long when we are dealing with novellas. After that kind of wait I have not only forgotten what has happened in the overarching plot, but I realize I don't care about it either. And seeing how McGuire deals with the bigger narrative here, she doesn't care about it much either.

As I see it (as a non-author, to be clear!) McGuire has two options to revitalize the series moving forward. Either stick to the standalone format, with other characters making guest appereances when necessary. Or really go all in and develop an engaging and stimulating overarching plot. Either can be successful. We've seen how amazing the standalones can be, but Mislaid in Parts Half-Known also shows that McGuire has a lot of themes to explore with the characters and plots she has already introduced. This novella brings some interesting ideas related to the classification of the worlds that we have been taught, the nature/rules of the Doors, and more. The thing is that McGuire needs to start going all in on one of these, are start pumping out 2 of these novellas a year.

Ultimately, this one was kind of a dud; but then again, McGuire's duds are still thought-provoking and readable. Just don't go into this one expecting the same fast pace and high quality of the previous books. Even the dinosaurs, so prominently featured on the cover, play a pretty minor role in only about 10% of the entire book. Hopefully this was only a one-off weaker entry and the series can right itself again; heck, this isn't the first so-called "bad" entry in the series (books 5 and 6 were also not McGuire's best), so this is definitely not the time to give up on the series entirely!

Concluding Thoughts: McGuire returns to the world of the Doors with an entry that slips a bit because it tries to handle too many characters and too many plot threads in its short page count. This novella fully succeeds as a sequel to last year's Lost in the Moment and Found, but fails to continue the plot and character arcs established in previous entries in a satisfying, meaningful, or exciting way. Antsy's story continues to wow, but everyone else just kind of languish on the page as McGuire struggles to service her growing cast of characters. Don't come for the dinosaurs (they play a small role), but do come for Antsy's cathartic healing. Hopefully future "odd-numbered, over-arching plot" books in this series can recapture some of the magic.

This new installment features a lovely quest and all of our faves. Word gets out about Antsy's secret skill, and one of their classmates demands Antsy use it to find her door. It's not quite that easy, so Antsy bolts with her friends, taking them through a series of wayward worlds until they arrive in one with dinosaurs and several familiar faces. I continue to love everything that comes out of Seanan's brain. I appreciate the relatively low stakes story ambling with the gang. I will anxiously await our next journey with them.

This book was even better than I hoped for! 10,000 stars!!
While I do love every single book in this series, the books where we get our little group of all my favorite characters going on a quest are my favorites.

We are following Antsy whom we met in the previous book Lost in the Moment and Found. She has returned to the regular world with the ability to find lost things. and when a fellow student realizes that she might be able to find the DOORS well that isn't ideal. So Antsy and the rest of our favorite group end up on a quest!

I really loved Antsy and how she looks as the world, and what shes willing to do to help others. I love getting to see Kade, Sumi, and Cora, and enjoyed getting to know Emily better. The quest was full of fun, friendship, emotional moments, and Sumi as always the comic relief whom nobody knows when shes being serious or not. I flew through this and loved every single page. This is one of my top favorite series, and I can't wait to see which wayward child we are going to be following next!!!

I love the creative word-building that McGuire has done in the Wayward Children series. Some of the books focus mainly on one child and their world, but I prefer the stories that involve the group of students from Eleanor West's school. I like seeing their interactions and how the different, quirky personalities blend! Although the school has a "No quests" rule, Kade leads another one. I won't ruin any surprises, but this book continues Antsy's story. More worlds are explored, with surprising results. The students examine their feelings about the question, "If you could have someone lead you to your door, would you?"

McGuire's books pack A LOT in smaller volumes, which says much about her talent. The books have depth and are beautifully imagined. This is a great addition to the series.

“Children of the doors know about being mislaid.” Here are reasons to read the Young Adult Fantasy book:

9th in Series - In this 9th book in the Wayward Children series
Lost Girl - We again follow Antsy, in a continuation of the previous book
Fit in - She is now at the Wayward school and trying to fit in especially now that she has a gift to find anything that is lost.
Connections - Through connections with the other kids, she finds another quest.

This is a relatively short book so let me try to sum up without spoiling. I highly recommend reading at least the previous 2 books - Where the Drowned Girls Go and Lost in the Moment and Found as both Antsy and Cora fit pretty heavily into this book. There are quite a few other characters we have met before and they find themselves on another adventure, and it has to do with Dinosaurs! I continue to love this series and will still be picking up all I can.

‘No Solicitations, No Visitors, No Quests’ has really gone out the window now! This is another quest if ever I saw one.

I loved how this followed on fairly directly from Antsy’s story in Lost in the Moment and Found, while simultaneously winding together the previous novellas in the series. The stories are all so beautifully intertwined between the past, present, and future, and I love seeing how each new piece slots into the wider world of the Wayward Children.

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known gave us more insight into some of our favourite characters as well as a closer look at some of the newer ones. It showed us a greater slice of the worlds than we have previously seen, and hinted at more information to come - particularly for Kade and his compass. It was a twisty-turny accidental adventure, which turned into a righteous quest.

As ever, I adored Mislaid in Parts Half-Known and can’t wait for the next book in the Wayward Children series!

I really love this series.

This book continues Antsy's story while also bringing together a number of the crew we have grown to know and love over the course of the series. Of course there are also DINOSAURS although perhaps not enough time with them.

We have the expected blend of magic and emotion with bittersweet moments for some of our characters.

This is tied with Every Heart a Doorway for my favourite book in the Wayward Children series. It's also the only one that I would say you have to have read the prior two books minimum (Where the Drowned Girls Go & Lost in the Moment and Found)

We get to continue following Antsy's journey (unlike most of the other "Door-book") which was very satisfying, as well as have the ensemble cast of kids back together.

We find out more about the Doors, and I can't wait to see where the story goes next. If you're a fan of portal fantasy and you haven't picked this series up, you definitely should. And even though this is book 9, because they are all novellas it's not too much of a length commitment to catch up with the entire series.

My reading order continues to be 4, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Thanks to Tor on NetGalley for this eARC