Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Across the Green Grass Fields

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire

7 reviews

schnaucl's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

It took me a while to get into this one, though I imagine it's a world that would appeal to a lot of horse girls. The centaur society was interesting, and I would have liked to learn more about it.

I was really amused by McGuire's take on unicorns.

I'm always surprised by how little the kids miss their parents. I get it for the kids with distant or unfit parents, but Regan seemed to come from a pretty loving home and got along with her parents.

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matcha_cat's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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twistykris's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I was a little bit of a horse girl growing up, but not to the extent as our main character, Regan, so I guess this story was a little.. underwhelming for me. Again, as with previous books in the Wayward Children series, the world-building is fantastic and the prose is lovely, but this book was more ~vibes~ than plot for a lot of it. The inclusion of an intersex character was wonderful, and I loved how Regan's parents are attentive and loving and supportive, unlike some children in previous books. I also loved the found-family aspect, with the centaurs taking her in without question. Chicory was my favorite and I loved every interaction with her.

The ending (pre-epilogue) is what disappointed me the most. It felt like this huge build-up only to have an unsatisfying conclusion.

The epilogue was pretty gutting, and I really thought there would be some mention of Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, but there wasn't. Maybe Regan will be brought back in a later book. Overall, my least favorite in the series so far.

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anni_swanilda's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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francesjanviers's review

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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bluejayreads's review

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I want to know what witch, demon, deity, or other supernatural being Seanan McGuire sold her soul to in order to make her writing this relatable, but I swear each Wayward Children book is more relatable than the last. This one is a standalone, with the same concept of children falling through doors to other worlds but none of the reoccurring characters from the previous books, but I enjoyed it just as it was.

If you're familiar with the idea behind Wayward Children, every kid has some reason that they "need" to go through a door. Regan is having trouble with feeling like she doesn't fit in and a friend group that's not exactly healthy. When she reveals to the girl she thought was her best friend that the reason she hasn't been going through puberty is that she's intersex, the resulting fallout brings her to a door in the woods. She ends up in the Hooflands, magical world of centaurs and unicorns and kelpies and fauns and all manner of hooved fantasy creatures, a wonderful place for a horse-obsessed ten-year-old girl to be. There, she finds what she needs - people who love her not in spite of her differences, but because of them, a place where she doesn't have to worry about being a certain way in order to fit in and be loved.

I say this about every Wayward Children protagonist, but Regan was incredibly relatable. I didn't go to a school, but I went to homeschool group where I had a friend who, like Regan's "best friend," I let isolate me from other people I could have been friends with so I could stay friends with her. I always felt like I wasn't normal, like I didn't fit, like people needed me to be something else or someone else in order to like me. I completely related to Regan's feeling of being alone and lonely despite having peple around her who ostensibly loved her. And I loved horses as a kid, too - perhaps if I'd gone through a magical door, I would also have ended up in the Hooflands.

Also, this book has some great insights. It wrestles with the question of "how do we determine who are people and who aren't?" throughout the story, and the representation of the way adults and children relate to each other was spot-on and incredibly insightful. Seanan McGuire captures the child's perspective on things so well, it's stunning.

One thing that you have to remember about Wayward Children books is that, fundamentally, these are not happy stories. These magic worlds give the children what they need, but then they spit the children back out into our world and expect them live in normalcy after experiencing magic. These are books about what happens after you have your adventure and return home to find you no longer fit into the place you left and there's not a spot for you now. This book ripped my heart out. It was so, so good. I adore this series.

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effy's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Regan has started to notice that she may not be like girls her age. After confiding in the girl that she thought was her best friend, her friends turns on her. Hurt by this, Regan runs from school, through the woods, where she finds a doorway...

I did not know that this was a Wayward Children story until after I had started it but this book works well as a standalone. Very easy reading with a fabulously rich setting and heart, and a great found family.

I will definitely be picking up more Wayward Children books now.

- I have now read this book twice. My re-read of this book came after I had completed all of the other books in The Wayward Children series so I felt as though I had a much better appreciation of the worlds and how the portals worked. It also made the ending of this book all the more bittersweet but I also feel hope.

Knowing that the doorways often do not re-open for the returned children makes me sad for Regan as it truly feels as though she has been separated from her family but at the same time we have seen multiple characters successfully return to their worlds so it feels as though there might be a chance.

Since I have now read the other books, I am mostly interested in seeing how Regan fits in with all of the other characters as it is clear that everything McGuire writes in this series is purposely; knowing that the next book will potentially focus on the other school, I do wonder if that is where she is headed?

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