Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Tordotcom (2021), Edition: 1, 176 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Mythology. HTML: A young girl discovers a portal to a land filled with centaurs and unicorns in Seanan McGuire's Across the Green Grass Fields, a standalone tale in the Hugo and Nebula Award-wining Wayward Children series. "Welcome to the Hooflands. We're happy to have you, even if you being here means something's coming." Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late. When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to "Be Sure" before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines�??a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes. But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem... A standalone Wayward Children story containing all-new characters, and a great jumping-on point for new listeners. A Macmillan Audio production from Tor.com… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisCarey
Regan is a young girl who has just learned several disturbing things, about herself, and about the untrustworthiness of "friends" who are very, very invested in "normality" and conventionality. She runs away, from school intentionally, and from home accidentally, when she stumbles upon, and then
The unicorn she sees is beautiful, but of course impossible, and the centaur pursuing the unicorn even more so.
The centaur's name is Pansy, and she is absolutely thrilled to meet Regan. Humans are considered magical, and heroic, figures who will bring great change. Regan will have to go see the Sunlit Queen--but not right away. Pansy, and the rest of her herd, see no reason to hurry; Regan is a child, just ten years old. None of the centaur adults say so directly, but they all make sure she has the chance to grow up.
In the course of giving her that chance, she becomes part of their herd, their family, and they all encounter new dangers, and adventures they didn't want. It bonds them together even more strongly--but the day comes when Regan realizes she has to face the task that brought her to the Hooflands.
It's a world where magical creatures, or magical in our world, exist everywhere. Unicorns and centaurs, kelpies, fauns, and minotaurs, and others. And at the heart of the Hooflands, there's a secret that Regan has to penetrate.
It has to be said that unlike the parents of some of the other Wayward Children, Regan's parents really were doing their best, not trying to remake her into something she wasn't. Regan's "problem" is mostly her "best friend," and her extreme ideas about what's normal. Yet in the Hooflands, what makes Regan different may also help her, in at least a small way, to face the task ahead of her. The experiences it gave her may help even more.
This is set in the universe of the Wayward Children, but Regan doesn't encounter the Home for Wayward Children.
I found this a really satisfying, enjoyable story.
I bought this audiobook.
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through, a doorway in the woods near her home. The door, of course, should not be there. Neither should the much bigger wood, and wide green fields, that she finds on the other side.The unicorn she sees is beautiful, but of course impossible, and the centaur pursuing the unicorn even more so.
The centaur's name is Pansy, and she is absolutely thrilled to meet Regan. Humans are considered magical, and heroic, figures who will bring great change. Regan will have to go see the Sunlit Queen--but not right away. Pansy, and the rest of her herd, see no reason to hurry; Regan is a child, just ten years old. None of the centaur adults say so directly, but they all make sure she has the chance to grow up.
In the course of giving her that chance, she becomes part of their herd, their family, and they all encounter new dangers, and adventures they didn't want. It bonds them together even more strongly--but the day comes when Regan realizes she has to face the task that brought her to the Hooflands.
It's a world where magical creatures, or magical in our world, exist everywhere. Unicorns and centaurs, kelpies, fauns, and minotaurs, and others. And at the heart of the Hooflands, there's a secret that Regan has to penetrate.
It has to be said that unlike the parents of some of the other Wayward Children, Regan's parents really were doing their best, not trying to remake her into something she wasn't. Regan's "problem" is mostly her "best friend," and her extreme ideas about what's normal. Yet in the Hooflands, what makes Regan different may also help her, in at least a small way, to face the task ahead of her. The experiences it gave her may help even more.
This is set in the universe of the Wayward Children, but Regan doesn't encounter the Home for Wayward Children.
I found this a really satisfying, enjoyable story.
I bought this audiobook.
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LibraryThing member fred_mouse
I think, had I been a horse loving child, that I would have loved this book. As it was, I very much enjoyed it, particularly the underlying commentary on The Chosen One portal fantasy trope. The world building is, as ever, fabulous and detailed. The range of mystical beasties incorporated wide and
content warning for traumatic misgendering of a child.
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detailed. The characterisation well developed. But I did not love it.content warning for traumatic misgendering of a child.
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LibraryThing member ladycato
I received an advance copy of this novella via NetGalley.
The Wayward Children series has been inconsistent for me. The first book ,Every Heart a Doorway is one of the best things I've ever read. And yet, later books in the sequence didn't emotionally resonate in the same way or felt off in terms of
These novellas bring a fresh angle to the classic trope of the portal fantasy, a la Narnia: children find doorways into other realms, where they are often saviors or enact some great change, only to find their way back to Earth again years later. Some of the novellas have focused more on the hardship of that return to Earth, when they really want to return to the fantasy/scifi realm that they consider their true home. This one focuses on the life in that other realm: in this case, Regan, in the Hooflands, a realm populated by centaurs, unicorns, and other mythological creatures made real.
COULD THIS BOOK BE MORE PERFECT FOR ME.
I mean, come on, I was a horse-obsessed kid, and I still love horses. The word "Hooflands" alone hooked me in an instant. Fortunately, the book lived up to all of my expectations. McGuire is masterful at writing about the very psychology of her characters. Her children, in particular, feel so real it hurts. Here, Regan is a kid who is friends who a wretched girl, but stays her friend because that's what she's supposed to do. When Regan discovers something about herself and tries to go to her friend for support... well, she finds out the truth of their relationship, too. Distraught, she flees school and finds the doorway to the Hooflands. She's taken in by a herd of centaurs--wow, McGuire does some amazing world-building to make centaurs and unicorns comes across in a fresh way--and resists the call to be the destined human who will save the realm. She discovers truths about friendship, herself, and what destiny really means. There's an incredible message here, but not for an instant is it preachy.
This novella is a beautiful, breezy read, but it's deep. There are layers here. This book could be an academic study on the technical side of writing and how to make it work. And wow, does it work. This is almost up there with Every Heart a Doorway, and that is saying something. For certain, this novella is starting off my list of works to consider for awards next year (as this book is being released in January 2021).
The Wayward Children series has been inconsistent for me. The first book ,Every Heart a Doorway is one of the best things I've ever read. And yet, later books in the sequence didn't emotionally resonate in the same way or felt off in terms of
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plot. Therefore, I approached this one with some trepidation... and ended up delighted and enraptured. I had to read the whole thing in the course of an evening.These novellas bring a fresh angle to the classic trope of the portal fantasy, a la Narnia: children find doorways into other realms, where they are often saviors or enact some great change, only to find their way back to Earth again years later. Some of the novellas have focused more on the hardship of that return to Earth, when they really want to return to the fantasy/scifi realm that they consider their true home. This one focuses on the life in that other realm: in this case, Regan, in the Hooflands, a realm populated by centaurs, unicorns, and other mythological creatures made real.
COULD THIS BOOK BE MORE PERFECT FOR ME.
I mean, come on, I was a horse-obsessed kid, and I still love horses. The word "Hooflands" alone hooked me in an instant. Fortunately, the book lived up to all of my expectations. McGuire is masterful at writing about the very psychology of her characters. Her children, in particular, feel so real it hurts. Here, Regan is a kid who is friends who a wretched girl, but stays her friend because that's what she's supposed to do. When Regan discovers something about herself and tries to go to her friend for support... well, she finds out the truth of their relationship, too. Distraught, she flees school and finds the doorway to the Hooflands. She's taken in by a herd of centaurs--wow, McGuire does some amazing world-building to make centaurs and unicorns comes across in a fresh way--and resists the call to be the destined human who will save the realm. She discovers truths about friendship, herself, and what destiny really means. There's an incredible message here, but not for an instant is it preachy.
This novella is a beautiful, breezy read, but it's deep. There are layers here. This book could be an academic study on the technical side of writing and how to make it work. And wow, does it work. This is almost up there with Every Heart a Doorway, and that is saying something. For certain, this novella is starting off my list of works to consider for awards next year (as this book is being released in January 2021).
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Oh, I like this. Nothing about the school, no overlap with the other stories, just one child's portal adventure. And some very deep ideas, and changes, in that adventure. Slow changes that shape her to make the big changes. Her destiny isn't at all what she thought it would be, and we don't get to
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see how it works out - but I hope she did save the world (she'll certainly have changed it). She may well end up (have ended up) at the school - there are so many characters there I can't remember most of them - but not in this book. I was hesitant about the pronouns, but that's how she thinks of herself so that's what I'll use. Nice that this isn't yet another quest out of the school - and for Seanan, it's a very happy story. Dark parts, but mostly happy. Lovely - possibly my favorite of this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member Herenya
I’ve only read a couple of the Wayward Children novellas, but this one is a standalone and didn’t sound too dark. Ten year old Reagan runs away from school after she confides in a friend, only for her friend to turn on her. She steps through a doorway by the river -- and finds herself in the
The ending was a little abrupt, especially if there isn’t going to be some sort of sequel to Reagan’s story, but otherwise this was quite satisfactory as a coming-of-age portal fantasy.
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Hooflands, where, because she’s a human, everyone assumes it must be her destiny to save the world. She is taken in by a centaur herd.The ending was a little abrupt, especially if there isn’t going to be some sort of sequel to Reagan’s story, but otherwise this was quite satisfactory as a coming-of-age portal fantasy.
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LibraryThing member lavaturtle
I really liked this thoughtful story, the latest entry in the Wayward Children series. The "pre-portal" childhood stuff feels authentic to what being a child is like, and establishes well who Regan is as a person. The Hooflands strikes a good balance of whimsy and sense in its worldbuilding, and
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the final reveal & resolution is really satisfying. I loved seeing the characters grow and develop over the course of the narrative, and I'm looking forward to what's next! Show Less
LibraryThing member rivkat
This Wayward Children book is different from most of the others because it’s almost entirely about the protagonist’s adventures in the Otherlands—in her case, a world of unicorns and centaurs and other hooved beings. Regan misses her parents and doesn’t want to fulfill the destiny that
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everyone assumes a human there must have, and it’s another version of the sadness and necessity of growing up. Show Less
LibraryThing member MontzaleeW
Across the Green Grass Fields
Wayward Children
By: Seanan McGuire
This was a stand alone book. It has a gal named Rogan that is a little different, slower to get her puberty. She ends up making the mistake of telling her "friend" who freaks out. Rogan leaves school early and runs, she's finds a door
This world has unicorns, venture, gains, kelpies, and more. A human is heralded as something great. She is to go see the Queen. But the Queen wants her dead or alive. Rogan is thought to be someone who will be a hero.
The characters are amazing! The world building is awesome! This book is truly spectacular! Who wouldn't want to live with centaurs and have a herd of unicorns? Great ending too!
Wayward Children
By: Seanan McGuire
This was a stand alone book. It has a gal named Rogan that is a little different, slower to get her puberty. She ends up making the mistake of telling her "friend" who freaks out. Rogan leaves school early and runs, she's finds a door
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that takes her to a world where she is again different but in a good way.This world has unicorns, venture, gains, kelpies, and more. A human is heralded as something great. She is to go see the Queen. But the Queen wants her dead or alive. Rogan is thought to be someone who will be a hero.
The characters are amazing! The world building is awesome! This book is truly spectacular! Who wouldn't want to live with centaurs and have a herd of unicorns? Great ending too!
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LibraryThing member amanda4242
A none-too-bright young girl walks through a mysterious door leading to Hooflands, a magical world full of all manner of mythological hoofed creatures. The pace is slow, the characters generally dull, and the world-building weak*. I wish McGuire's editor had told her to stop phoning it in.
*Although
*Although
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some may find it interesting to know that female centaurs have to pay stud fees. Show Less
LibraryThing member reader1009
audio fiction; fantasy horse-themed world with intersex child/teen protagonist
I love this series and love that this one had an Intersex character but this one wasn't my favorite. Still, I'll keep reading--another book is coming out next year!
I love this series and love that this one had an Intersex character but this one wasn't my favorite. Still, I'll keep reading--another book is coming out next year!
LibraryThing member tapestry100
I won’t lie, @seananmcguire’s Across the Green Grass Fields from @tordotcompub, the sixth book in her Wayward Children series, is my least favorite of the series. Perhaps it’s because this is a complete standalone novella, not attached to any of the previous narrative. Perhaps it’s because
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I feel McGuire hits the inclusiveness nail a little too firmly on the head this time, making it feel less natural in the telling than her previous books (at the same time, an intersex MC for the win!). Perhaps it’s a little too much middle school love for all-things-horse. Perhaps it’s just me, and this story simply doesn’t resonate with me the way the others have, and that’s ok. Not every book is for every person. It still says something that even with a book that I feel is the weakest in the series, it’s message and telling are still powerful, even if it’s not for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
I remember learning to ride as a young girl and I really liked this story of a girl finding family and home with Centaurs and Unicorns. A girl rejected by her friends who finds a place for herself but who also finds that there are expectations of her in this world and people willing to kill her to
I did want more.
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fulfil the expectations.I did want more.
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LibraryThing member Stevil2001
She chose this world, where she could never be normal, over the world she had been made for.
The Wayward Children novellas will continue until the morale improves.
Seriously, though, this was one of the better ones, probably because the twee narrative voice McGuire affects in most of these is largely
The Wayward Children novellas will continue until the morale improves.
Seriously, though, this was one of the better ones, probably because the twee narrative voice McGuire affects in most of these is largely
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absent here. It's about an intersex kid who finds belonging in a fantasy world of centaurs and unicorns. I am not convinced the twist made a ton of sense, but I mostly enjoyed it up until that point. Show Less
LibraryThing member jennybeast
Oh, I love this series! I just wish I could keep all the characters straight, and I don't know what to think about the inevitable betrayals. Regan is interesting, the Hooflands are amazing in completely unexpected ways, and McGuire continues to bewitch with her compelling worldbuilding and writing.
Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.
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Hoping for more Regan in the future. Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.
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LibraryThing member tuusannuuska
I only realized this was a standalone after ordering the book, so I went into it a little hesitantly. However, I actually ended up liking this a lot more than some of the previous books. This reads a lot more Narnia-ish than the other books, and feels a lot more like middle grade, bit in a good
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way. The only thing I didn't really care for was the epilogue, but I feel like that's pretty on brand for me with this serien. I hope Regan gets assimilated to the rest of the group in the next book. Show Less
LibraryThing member wanderlustlover
Spring 2022 (April);
~ 2022 Hugo Novella Nominee
I always want to love Wayward Children. It has everything I should love. Portal worlds, magical places, children finding their souls' deepest reflections and homes. But every one of these falls flat for me. There's nothing per se bad about this book,
~ 2022 Hugo Novella Nominee
I always want to love Wayward Children. It has everything I should love. Portal worlds, magical places, children finding their souls' deepest reflections and homes. But every one of these falls flat for me. There's nothing per se bad about this book,
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but there was nothing that stood out either. In fact, I found myself disappointed more than normal that a) none of the rest of our cast existed in this one and b) this whole story felt like it was exactly the last as any number of the ones before it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
The latest installment in the Wayward Children series is a good one for someone to start with. There is no connection to any of the other books and new readers can start fresh without having any backstory spoiled. Current readers of the series are in for a treat with Regan and her adventure in
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
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Hooflands. When she has a horrible day at school after trusting a friend with a secret that promptly goes awry. Regan runs from school and takes the back way home by the creek. After passing into the tree arch that takes her to the Hooflands she finds herself in a place that is populated with centaurs and other mythological hooved beings. Regan ignores the usual path of any humans that come into Hooflands and instead decides to live with the centaur group that found her. Regan’s story in the Hooflands is complete in this book and there are no cliffhangers about her adventures there. I’m hoping that we will see more of Regan at some point in the future. Or even more of the Hooflands with another child finding that door. Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
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LibraryThing member tornadox
Regan loves horses. Fortunately, she is taken through a portal to a world filled with centaurs, unicorns, fauns, and more. Humans who arrive in the Hooflands are to be presented to the Queen; Regan keeps putting it off because she would rather hang out with a herd of centaurs.
It is also a story
Stand-alone story. None of the action takes place at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children.
It is also a story
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about the power (and corruption) of the stories we tell ourselves. Stand-alone story. None of the action takes place at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children.
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LibraryThing member cloudshipsinger
I was expecting this book to be good...
...but I was still surprised by how very, very good it was.
...but I was still surprised by how very, very good it was.
LibraryThing member KallieGrace
I really enjoyed this one, finding out what you're meant for on your own terms, and in a fantastical world to boot.
LibraryThing member AngelaJMaher
An enjoyable read. This could certainly be read as a standalone, but having read at least some of the earlier books would make it easier to understand the mechanics. I really hope we find out in a later book what happened after the end. The story does draw to a natural close, but I want to know
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what happened after that. Show Less
LibraryThing member renbedell
Wayward Children's series continues to deliver with a story about an intersex girl, feeling different from her pubescent friends, ends up in a fantasy land where her differences are not as scary to herself. This is definitely a book about self acceptance. The story is wonderful, whimsical, and
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gratifying. I really enjoyed this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member readinggeek451
The Wayward Children series introduces a new character with Regan, a horse-mad child who has always tried to be the perfect girl. When her parents tell her that she is actuallly intersex, and her best friend takes the news very badly, Regan bolts from school and finds herself in the Hooflands.
Touching and imaginative as always.
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Humans are not unknown there; one appears every few generations when the Hooflands need saving. But the centaur herd who finds Regan is unwilling to give her up to the Queen to meet her destiny. She spends the next five idyllic years in hiding, learning to love her new home.Touching and imaginative as always.
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LibraryThing member LynnMPK
I thought I wouldn't like this book, the plot seemed like it wasn't my thing, but I was pleasantly surprised! I've realized that I prefer the books that follow one character as they discover an amazing world, and I'm not so much into the ones with multiple characters doing quest things.
This book
This book
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has cozy vibes and I just enjoyed following Regan and her new friends/family going about their daily life. Show Less
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novella — 2022)
LibraryReads (Monthly Pick — Hall of Fame — January 2021)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2021
Physical description
8.87 inches
ISBN
1250213592 / 9781250213594