Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Across the Green Grass Fields

It was about time that I went back and read the books in the Wayward Children that I hadn't read and Across the Green Grass Fields was up first. Overall I can honestly say that this just wasn't my book. But I can also see why it might be a better fit for others.

The book starts with Regan. Regan who learns very quickly that there is an order to things. And if you don't fit that order, you get shut out. She follows that order that her friend sets out, despite her mothers advice. Because she truly believes that her friend is her friend. Or she hopes she really is. And when Regan tells her friend that she is intersex, all hell breaks lose for Regan. Her friend isn't her friend anymore and the whole school learns of it. And when she runs, she finds the door.

I thought that was a really interesting start to the story. To see the choices that Regan makes. The social hierarchy at school. How children see that if they don't fall in line, they get bullied. And Regan might not have made the choice that we would have wanted her to make, looking at it from a childs perspective I can certainly understand why she did it. It was bully or be bullied. Self preservation.

However once we got into Hoofland I kind of started losing interest. Regan is a horse girl. She loves horses and as the name suggest, Hoofland has all things hoofs. She falls in with the centaurs, we meet unicorns, kelpies and other hoof creatures. This is a horse girls dream.

I however was never and will never be a horse girl. I have never found the appeal. I was actually pretty allergic as a kid and probably still am. As such I just could not get into this world. I never truly got engaged, despite liking Regan as a character as she went through the story.

But I can see why this book would appeal more to others. For me this was just a very personal not my thing. The book is still well written. It just didn't work for me in the end.

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lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.75

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theoldestbennetsister's review

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adventurous lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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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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takarakei'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? It's complicated

3.75

This one is for the horse girls - the world is called Hooflands. I really appreciate reading the diverse POVs in this series, the MC in this one is intersex. This one is a stand-alone within the series without overlap of previous book’s characters

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miya37's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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sarahweyand's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

This installment in the series was mostly enjoyable and felt very out of place from the rest of the books. I thought Regan was an interesting character and her world was fun if a little underdeveloped. The prose issues I have with previous books in this series were nonexistent in this one, so that was a nice surprise. This was also a much more fun and lighthearted novel which I appreciated after some of the books I've been reading recently.

This book ultimately felt too underdeveloped for me to have strong feelings. Each important scene was far too short, there was little feeling of atmosphere throughout, the only character that got any real development was Regan. I think the end of the book happened ten pages after the climax. Left feeling very meh, but it was such a fast read I didn't feel like I wasted my time.

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valodniece's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.25

Loved this one a lot more than the past few in the series, it was sweet and kind and interesting and the representation it provides to a highly underrepresented group is also great and handled in an age appropriate way for the character at hand.

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