(4.25/5 stars)

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire is a portal fantasy novella and the tenth book in the Wayward Children series.

As an even-numbered book in this series, it is a stand-alone and does not progress the chronological plot line of the series forward. I listened to an audio review copy narrated by Barrie Kreinik.

In this installment, we follow Nadya. The disability rep here is great: Nadya was born with a limb difference: her right arm stops below the elbow. She grew up in a orphanage in Russia until she was adopted by an American couple via a Christian missionary program.

McGuire does a really great job with atmosphere and painting a picture with her words. I loved the aesthetics of Belyyreka, the Land Beneath the Lake, where there is water all around, of different densities. There are also sentient animals--including turtles who you can befriend until they grow to large enough sizes to carry you or a whole boat!

This whole series is pretty bittersweet ESPECIALLY the even-numbered installments that provide backstory. We know these kids got thrust back into the "real world," and I thought the ending here was very well done.

This newest edition to the Wayward Children saga is another side quest. My favorites are when we spend time at the school and with the core cast. But the side quests are also fun. I do wish the endings were more hopeful. The stories are always fabulous and richly immersed and then they always just abruptly end. Anyway, I hope these weird little novellas never end.

I was not expecting to love this book.

It is a folkloric fantasy about a Russian girl whose teenage mother abandons her because she is missing an arm. She is adopted by an American couple who try to fix her by teaching her English and getting her a prosthetic arm. She doesn’t like it that they don’t ask her about her opinion or needs. She falls into a lake trying to check on a turtle that has a carving on her shell saying “be sure” and ends up with drowned people who live in the other side of the door.

It is a very fast read and it’s hard to put down. The simplicity of narrative makes it more captivating and powerful and reminds me of the giver by Lois Lowry, one of my all time favorite series.

Audio narration is very good and has a Russian accent that makes it mystical.

A book about being accepted and loved as you are without people trying to change you for your own good, something most people are struggling with.

This is part of a series but I enjoyed it as a standalone.

I should say though that I bought the first in the series and intend to read the whole series.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the copy.

🌊📖 Four-Star Fantasy Adventure Alert! 📖🌊

✨ “Nadya had three mothers: the one who bore her, the country that poisoned her, and the one who adopted her.” ✨

This book swept me away like a current I didn’t want to escape. 🌊 Nadya’s journey is haunting, raw, and beautifully told, blending fantasy with deep emotional truths. Her struggle with identity, autonomy, and belonging hit hard—especially with the complex feelings surrounding her prosthetic arm. 💔

The worldbuilding? Stunning. Imagine a water-soaked dreamscape filled with giant turtles, child-eating amphibians (!!!), and ships that sail beneath the waves. 🐢⛵️ It felt whimsical yet dangerous, the perfect mix.

I knocked off a star just because I wanted something a little more eventful through the middle of the book. It was like we fast-forwarded and then boom...end of the book.

#Bookstagram #FantasyReads #YAbooks #BookwormLife #MagicalReads #TBR #BookTok #DisabilityRep #MustRead

This book was my favorite in the series so far and an easy 5 stars. I absolutely loved the main characters and the pacing was spot on. There was a full backstory allowing you to get to know the characters and world without it taking up too much of the story and rushing the ending. The ending was spot on and packed such a punch. Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear had me hooked the whole way through and looking forward to more from this series. I also really liked that this one can be read as a stand alone.

I've also shared this review to my Instagram account, @daydreaminginpages under the "2025 Reviews" highlight.

In this book, we’re following Nadya, orphaned as a child by her mother and then again by her country. Her adoptive mother fits her with a prosthetic arm that she’s not comfortable with. Frustrated, she finds herself in an underwater world among the turtles and people she identifies with.

I love anytime I get a new book in my favorite series! And I really really enjoyed this book. I loved nadya and her search to find her people. It was heartbreaking along the way but I loved the journey. Anytime we are with the children in their worlds it’s a little sad bc you know what the outcome is gonna be! 😢 I loved watching her find her place in the world. And then broke my heart knowing it’s falling apart. I really hope we get more from nadya in future books

I continued my tradition of reading the newest in the Wayward Children series books on New Year's Day. These books have continued to get darker each time and the conversation of not only disability, but how the church tries "to save" the orphans in the name of Christianity. I loved the world and there was more than once where I chuckled as I was reading it. My favorite stories are always the origin stories and this was no exception.

My least favorite yet. I used to love this series. Do I give it up?

Boring. Russian inspired. Narrator's accent is terrible. Can we not hire someone that speaks the language or is from the diaspora?

I should like the story of a Drowned Girl. I was curious enough last time they were mentioned. Somehow they made this water world boring.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

Seanan McGuire is the cream of the crop when it comes to fantasy. These books. I cannot eat them up fast enough. I got approved for the audio arc and started it not 24 hours after.

Nadya has been one of my favorite characters through the series since she made her appearance and I felt like FINALLY we get her story and it did not disappoint.

The details of the worlds in each and the way that Seanan McGuire moves through a story that amasses years and years in a short amount of pages is such a skill.

I look forward to these releases every year and this one was another great book. I do hope they never end because I will read them forever if I can.

The Wayward Children series is AMAZING! This is the 10th in the series and WOW! It was so good! I have loved all of them so far so it was no surprise to love this too! These are short stories filled with dark fantasy. BE SURE you are ready before you read! The narrator did GREAT! Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen in exchange for a review!

Every year I excitedly wait for the next book in the Wayward Children series, and every year I am never disappointed. I just loved Nadya's story, returning to her world and finding out more about it. It was magical. The way her "disability" is handled is smart. She never considered herself to have one so why should anyone else. The audiobook narrator really brought Nadya's character to life and her accent really made me feel like I was in Russia. Reading this book was a great way to start off my reading year.

Oh my heart! This book was beautiful and heartbreaking and heartwarming just like so many other books in this series. I am constantly impressed by the way that McGuire creates new and compelling world that fit these characters so perfectly. I now want to go back and reread the first few books, so I can relive all the other scenes with Nadya. This is definitely one of my favorites.

The Wayward Children series is an easy 5 stars to me. McGuire connects the reader to traumatic events that shape a person and show how the gift of escape for each of the children was needed at the moment their doors arrive. Their return to their birth world can be equally traumatic, and you can feel their deep heartache as their yearn for their lost worlds. Nadia is like all the other children who are different in their birth world, a fish out of water if you will. She yearn for a place where she was accepted for being her. Don't we all yearn for that same feeling. High praise for McGuire and how they make me feel so much with each Wayward book!

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire, audiobook narrated by Barrie Kreinik.
Publishing date: January 7, 2025 (happy publishing day!!)

I wanted to try this book because I have been wanting to read Seanan McGuire for quite some time. I understood the author to be a prolific and popular fantasy writer. So when I heard she is coming up with a new book, I jumped on it. I have never read her books before, and I didn't realize this was a part of a well-loved Wayward Children series, I also did not read synopsis.

Nadya was born to a young mother who left her in a Russian orphanage. Born without an arm, she finally gets adapted by righteous couple in Colorado. The story develops to her new life in Colorado and a fantasy world which I later learned that is to be expected in this series.
I really enjoyed the first third of the book. I thought the storytelling was clear and interesting, if stressful at times to read about orphans. I also liked animals in the book, and enjoyed her writing. About a half of the way though, the plot went in a direction that bothered me (The story is pretty short, so I am trying not to comment too much of the story line to spoil the plot.) . From there on, I felt the chemistry between some characters are rather weak, and the story hurried. I also didn't care for the ending personally. I started this book being a solid 4 of 5 stars, then slowly more and more disappointed as it goes on. Overall, I still enjoyed her writing and would rate the book 3.5 stars rounded up.

There may have been common themes/characters in the story from the other books in the series. I would have missed all those. On the other hand, I felt this book can be read as a stand-alone. I didn't feel confused.

I received a copy of this audiobook for review courtesy of NetGalley and Macmillan Audio. all opinions are my own.

My favorite part of January is always picking up the next Wayward Children. It is amazing how a series of worlds built over a series of novellas can feel as well developed as some massive series. This addition drew me in quickly and I finished the audiobook in an afternoon because I couldn't stop listening. I thought the narrator's Russian accent was perfect for the audiobook and it really made me feel like Nadya was telling the story. This series always leaves me wanting more!

I guess I was hoping to see the characters we have seen in the past. It was ok I feel like it didn’t really tell much of a story.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillian for giving me the opportunity to listen to the ARC of Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear.

Nayda’s life began from grim and bleak circumstances. Abandoned, placed in an orphanage and then adopted. Her new parents were contrast in various ways. One of which in regard to her emotions and perspective as a child. Much less a child from another country that would be considered handicap.

This story is my favorite from this author. I felt submerged in Nayda’s world. I could visualize her environment and understood her emotions. The detailed descriptions of different situations and how Nayda described her thoughts and emotions was heartfelt.

I enjoyed this audio book. The narrator did a great job voicing the different characters. I felt I was listening to conversations by different people. The emotions matched, as well as the accents.

I give this 4 out 5 stars. Ihighly recommend listening and or reading this book.

McGuire delivers once again on a wild and whimsical world that works both as a stand alone and within the greater world that she is building.

Reading anything within this series feels like coming home. The style of story is whimsical enough to capture one's attention while being rooted enough in the real world that readers can't help seeing the magic in the mundane, too.

This will be an easy win for readers who are already captivated by the series.

Every single book in the Wayward Children series will never disappoint. I want, no NEED, this series to go on forever.

Thank you always Netgalley and Macmillan for blessing me with this!!

This is the next installment of the wayward children series. In this one we learn about Nadya and her door. I thought that her world was very interesting being a world under the lake where you can breathe water as if it was air but some you can't. There are turtles that you can befriend and they can basically swim through the "air". It was a really interesting concept. I also loved that the story centered around a girl with a disability, which was that Nadya was missing part of her arm. She did not let this stop her in the slightest. I loved that body positivity aspect. Overall another great addition to the series and I can't wait to see what happens next. So be sure to check it out tomorrow!

Audiobook specific: the narrator was very good. I liked the voice and the pacing. I thought it fit the character.

Content warning: ableism, minor/quick mention of animal cruelty (turtle), minor mention (not depicted) of animal death (fox)