Antsy is now at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children and doing her best to fit in. She has the ability to find anything although she refuses requests to find doors for children who want to return to their worlds because she knows from her own experience there is a cost each time one opens a door. a loss of time which has resulted in her looking sixteen although she is only nine. Despite this, the school’s literally irresistible mean girl is determined Antsy find and open doors for her. To prevent this from happening, Antsy and her friends escape through doors themselves but taking turns opening them so no one loses too much time and soon they are on a wild adventure that will take them to both new and old worlds including Antsy’s own.

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is the ninth book in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children. Its been a while since I have visited the series and it was like returning to a beloved old place to reconnect with old friends which kind of raised some concerns. Would it be like the old adage says that you can never go home again. I needn’t have worried because I was immediately gripped by the tale and the characters, some of whom I remembered, some who were new including Antsy. but I found myself invested in all their stories. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Jesse Vilinsky who does an amazing job of making the voice of each character distinct.

After ready this novella, I’m left wondering why I’ve taken so long to get back to the series, an oversight I will definitely be rectifying in the future. The books are aimed at a ya adult but has definite appeal for a wider audience.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an early audiobook in exchange for an honest review

I just realized that this is part of series. In my infinite wisdom I asked for this not realizing that.

With that being said, I feel as though I would not give a valid or fair review if I do not listen to all the prior books. I have plans to do so as soon as they are available. I could only find these books at the San Diego Library and there is a wait for them.

From the reviews I have read it is a book series right up my alley and I hope to be able to read this book soon and provide a valid or fair review.

I am only giving a 4 star review based on the reviews I have read and that this books and series is one I am 99.9% positive I will enjoy.

If there’s one book I want from this series it’s Kade’s. And I kind of resent that this book gave us a brief interlude into his world but didn’t actually explore it at all.

While the focus of this addition to the Wayward Children series is clearly a continuation of Antsy’s story, it features a large enough cast from the original school that doesn’t make it feel like the purist version of portal fantasy this series sometimes explores. This is almost a quest book, but it feels like a bit of a disjointed one. I’ll admit that even being novella length didn’t help follow all the characters that appeared here. And I didn’t particularly feel like Antsy’s story needed another book dedicated to the continuation to it anyways.

This is not a book in the series that is going to stick with me, even if I will always love the worldbuilding here that allows for every world possible. And in the meantime, I’ll continue to wait for Kade’s story - in its entirety.

Thank you to the publisher Macmillan Audio for providing an audiobook ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

Thanks to McMillian Audio for an advanced audio-arc of this book.

This book follows up on the story of Antsy (book 8), bringing us back to the Wayward school for another quest (where there are to be no quests haha). This is another lovely book in the series, but it is also one of its more weakest. I love our characters, especially Antsy, and I like the resolution we see for her. Nevertheless, if it felt more like an epilogue than a standalone. It also wasn't the most consistent.

The audiobook was great--Jesse Vilinsky narrated book 8 as well, and I think she may be my favorite. She is a really talented narrator. Her voices for kids are just so perfect and emotionally riveting. I relistened to the entire series, and she really stands out (but known have been bad tbc).

Check out my series ranking to hear my larger thoughts on the series and on how this book compares to the rest of the series. https://youtu.be/ErpO7OPv3So

I always enjoy listening to the audiobooks of this series because it really brings the worlds to life.

I love this series, but this one was a banger! I love Antsy, and I love her ability! These books are top tier!

As deeply charming as the rest of this series, with no signs yet of things starting to drag, despite this being the ninth work set in this world. Very well-narrated, too, with distinctive but not obnoxious voices for the fairly big cast of characters.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the audiobook for my review.

Full disclosure: I am a HUGE Seanan McGuire fan. I’m predisposed to love anything she writes. I’ve read this whole series and loved every single one.

I also love this book. It’s not really a stand alone book, though. You’d be lost if you didn’t know the back stories. And the story itself is a little…adrift? I’m not sure what the main point of the story is.

Other books in the series are solidly based on telling the stories of a child and the world they encounter or want to get back to. Or a quest into a world. This book starts as Antsy who can find anything being threatened if she won’t find someone’s door. Then that gets abandoned. Then they are traveling between worlds for? We don’t know really. Then we stumble on Antsy’s previous world, and that episode ends the book. So maybe that’s the main point?

Regardless, it’s still an amazing book. The characters are rich and the worlds are vibrant and McGuire has a talent to create entire universes that you simply can become absorbed into. Can’t wait for more!

This series is one of my absolute favorites and Mislaid in Parts Half-Known did no disappoint. It is one of my go-to recommends and I really enjoyed spending time with Antsy. Can't wait to get this in some of my customers hands.

The Wayward Children books rank up there as some of my favorite books ever because they touch my heart like nothing ever has. I used to dream of finding a door and stepping through, and Seanan McGuire captures perfectly what it's like to need that escape so bad you can almost taste it. Her stories are whimsical and magical and also haunting because she perfectly captures the hidden costs things can have and what it's like when the things you love and take for granted are taken from you.

Be sure.

This is not my very favorite of the Wayward Children books - that would be in an Absent Dream followed by Where the Lost Things Go. The stories like this one, that are quests rather than self-contained stories about a world, are a little harder to pinpoint as favorites because it's a continuous storyline that doesn't really have a clear beginning and end like the standalones do.

But saying it's not my favorite is like saying nectarines aren't my favorite fruit. I still love them more than just about anything else that's not fruit. Is this my favorite Wayward Children book? no. Is this leagues above most of the books I love that *aren't* Wayward Children books? yes.

I love that we get to see Antsy again and explore what happens after she leaves her world. I love that we get to see her accept what she lost and gain the confidence to go back and make changes. I love that we get more Kade and Cora and Christopher and Sumi and Emily.

The story Seanan McGuire has been telling throughout the whole series is still building, and each new puzzle piece we get to add broadens the view a bit and brings it a little more into focus. And have I mentioned how much I love it?

Every time I think she can't make me love her world and characters more, and every time I am proved wrong. And every time I *feel* the story so much that I end up crying and getting chills.

Seanan McGuire's writing is absolutely gorgeous and the narrator did a fabulous job bringing it to life. The characters' voices are easily identifiable and consistent with previous books in the series. The narration enhances the story and gives weight to the words, emphasizing all the profound parts. I loved it even more listening to it. I will definitely be listening again.

15/10 Highly recommend.

(Also read the ebook ARC)

This series is truly one of my all time favorites!

I absolutely adore each and every character that is introduced in this series, and Seanan McGuire’s latest one - Mislaid in Parts Half-Known - definitely did not disappoint! I enjoyed continuing to see Antsy’s story play out and get her ending.

I also loved seeing the group back together for another quest! Kade, Sumi, Cora, and Christopher (and the newly joined Antsy and Emily) were all so fun to follow through their adventures and seeing how they overcame certain tough situations.

As always, McGuire’s language that she used in this book moved me. I smiled, laughed, and teared up. I loved every minute of listening to this book! I also really enjoyed Jesse Vilinsky's narration!

(Now I’m DYING for Emily’s book!)

"You can't live a life on maybe?"
"Why not? Everyone else does."
Reading any book in the Wayward Children series settles me right back into my childhood where nonsense was magic. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known was no exception. There are huge, deep themes (not so) hidden in these books though, and I find myself reflecting on what I believe about right, wrong and belonging through each and every reading experience.
It's hard not to fall in love with Antsy in this installment, but what sent me over the edge was DINOSAURS! Just like the other 8 books in the series, Mislaid also maintains a theme of friendship and "found family" that I enjoy. You truly do enter into a world of McGuire's making full of whimsy and heart. I hope this series never ends!

Mini synopsis: for this installment, we’re back with Antsy. In true wayward children fashion, it’s quest time! This time, Antsy leads the group on a quest for safety from the students who want too much from her.

I just love this series & expanding the worlds. In the previous book, we met antsy who went to the place where lost things go & is able to find lost doors & open them. I always love the quest books bc we get a little glimpse into other worlds. This time we get to see a little bit of a world that’s been hinted at since book one!!! Without spoilers, it was the perfect little slice & leaves it open to revisit. We also get to see a dinosaur world 🦕 and learn more about former students met in the previous books. This is a horrible review but these books make my heart so happy!

As a long time fan of the series this keeps getting better and better with the rotation of characters. This continues Antsy’s story returning to her world of a large shop that contains missing items. Antsy and several other students that we have seen before in the series have to run from another student and the way back leads through the store. But things are not how she left them. Along the way they go to Kade’s world, and we find out more about it. I’m sad about some things in the book but won’t say them here but the biggest thing is now it is spelled out just how the doors power themselves.

“Welcome…to Jurassic Park.”

You knew exactly what we were all thinking, McGuire. Now, please, give me another WC book about just dino world! I want to see more of the raptor family!

But this book spends, sadly, little time in dino world. That isn’t to say it’s a disappointment! I’m glad I went into this one without reading the blurb, because it was a delight to return to the story of the previous book, “Lost in the Moment and Found,” and to wrap up the story of Antsy.

Antsy ran away from a monster, not too long ago. She found a place that let her grow up in safety. But that wasn’t its gift. That was its price. She’s back on Earth, with a little skill: she can find anything…even the Doors. And knowing how children can return to their world makes her powerful…and vulnerable.

Returning for her second book in the Wayward Children series is Jesse Vilinsky, chosen for a repeat as this book is so intrinsically tied with her other part in the series, tying up the story of Antsy. She’s got a lot of emotion to get out there, portraying a little girl who sounds far older than she is, and she nailed it. Antsy is lonely and scarred and determined. She’s brave and full of sorrow. I know just about every book in this series has a different narrator, for each child, but I’d love to see Jesse return for more recordings!

Advanced audio copy provided by the publisher.

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is the latest in the Wayward Children series, and it does not pull its punches. This book follows right on the tails of the previous entry, Lost in the Moment and Found, and continues to follow Antsy after she arrives at Miss Eleanor's school. It becomes a world-hopping adventure much like the previous entry, Beneath a Sugar-Spun Sky, and similarly features old favorites like Kade (!!!) and Sumi, which always makes one of these books better. The story fits quite well into the series, and though some moments felt slightly forced or silly, there are a lot of profound moments as well.
The audiobook narration is incredibly solid and well-paced, and character voices stay consistent to previous entries.

Another whimsical installment by Seanan McGuire. I feel like she is running out of ideas for her novels however and the books are getting shorter and falling flatter the more of the series she writes. This one didn't have as much world building or character building like her other ones. It just didn't hit me where the other ones in the series have. It flowed well and was fast paced and kept you engaged however

I think this series is fun and light but I am perhaps over it by this point, which is unpopular. Or maybe I wasn't in the mood for it.

We follow a girl named Antsy this time, who can find things others have lost. Of course, people look to take advantage of that. And then there are dinosaurs! So that was neat.

There was nothing I *didn't* like about this, but I mostly just found it kinda fine. If you already like the series, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Seanan McGuire is the queen of portal fantasies and her Wayward Children series answers the question of what happens when children like Dorthey returned from Oz, or Alice left Wonderland. In this 9th book of the series we return to Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children and to many of our favorite characters, including Antsy. When we previously met Antsy she was opening doors in the Shop Where the Lost Things Go, but now she's at Eleanor's school and trying to find her place there. Unfortunately, one of the mean girls at school discovers Antsy's gift for finding anything includes doors and Antsy and her friends must flee. Traveling through several doors and several worlds the reader gets to learn more about some of our favorite characters, and more about the doors themselves. They end up back at the Shop and Antsy has to decide where she truly belongs. McGuire is a master at packing a ton of feeling into a small book and this series absolutely has my heart. Mislaid has the honor the the first book to make me cry in 2024 and I look forward to hearing what other readers felt about it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I didn't realize when I requested this ARC it was #9 in a series. However, I do not feel as though you need to read the other books to know what is going on in this one After reading this story, I will certainly be picking up many of the others to uncover more about the worlds.

The main character, Antsy, can find anything. She gets a feeling of static in her head and is drawn to the thing she is looking for if it can be found nearby. When the children of the school for Wayward children discover her gift, they want her to find their doors so they can return home. Though she is hesitant, she also realizes she has some things in her past she needs to resolve as well.

Overall, I really liked this story and thought the audiobook was incredibly well done. if I were to offer a critique, it is Antsy does not come across as a 9 y/o and if you want to know why this is important, please read the story. If you want an easy engaging read that will draw you into a YA world, this could be perfect for you.