Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire is a YA portal fantasy novella and the sixth book in the Wayward Children series (4.5/5 stars)

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire is a YA portal fantasy novella and the sixth book in the Wayward Children series. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at a little over four hours and is narrated by Anne Marie Carlson.

Regan always felt more comfortable around horses than people. After finding a door bidding her to “Be Sure,” she finds herself in a world populated by centaurs, unicorns, fauns, and other magical equine creatures called the Hooflands. Here, humans are expected to be heroes, but Regan simply wants to grow up within the herd.

Typically in this series, even-numbered books are prequels. This book is not a prequel; it tells us the story of someone we haven’t met before in the series, therefore this is a stand-alone book. The book’s own blurb notes that this installment is a “great jumping-on point for new readers.”

The pacing in this one is great! For all of the previous books, my main complains have been pacing issues. I’m glad to see McGuire has found her stride here.

As per usual, this book has a good amount of casual queerness. In this case, a few chapters in, our main character finds out that she is intersex. She must wade through the waters of being different and finding acceptance for who she is.

Tropes in this book include: portal fantasy, horse girl, intersex rep

CW: bullying, prejudice, abduction, captivity (brief), violence, descriptions of blood

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The Wayward Children series includes:

• Every Heart a Doorway
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones
• Beneath the Sugar Sky
• In an Absent Dream
• Come Tumbling Down
• Across the Green Grass Fields
• Where the Drowned Girls Go
• Lost in the Moment and Found
• Mislaid in Parts Half-Known
• Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear