Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan Mcguire [Fantasy Review]

• My immediate thought after finishing this book was “Whoohoo, we are back on track!” I delighted in the worldbuilding and the focus on a ‘new’ character. (I understand Nadya was a part of Beneath the Sugar Sky but I didn’t recall her at all. I think I only read that volume once, back when it was first released.)
  • I just skimmed a summary of Beneath the Sugar Sky. Apparently Nadya was a way more integral character than I was imagining just now, lol. I should maybe give that one a reread, now that I have Nadya’s backstory.
• Belyyreka is water world, with the majority of the story taking place underwater. But Nadya first arrives in a forest, an ominous forest where she encounters a massive turtle that attempts to eat her. While Nadya soon moves on from the forest to her underwater life, the forest and lands beyond her underwater city tug at her curiosity. I enjoyed both the watery world as well as the prodding at a world that’s wider that it at first seems to our protagonist.
• We do get a few glimpses at some grander worldbuilding (ie relating to the mechanics of the doors and worlds and the children that stumble into them). The adults of Belyyreka are well-familiar with children coming from other worlds. They lay out plainly for Nadya several points which we readers may have guessed at but haven’t yet had confirmed. At least one adult inhabitant that Nadya encounters came from our world. But this is not the main focus of the story, as it has been in other recent volumes.
• Upon further reflection, after letting out my “whoohoo!”… I’m not sure the ending was wholly satisfying. SPOILERS IN THE NEXT BULLET!
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  • Why was Nadya sent back in the first place? What made her no longer sure? Was it her desire to see beyond the place where she apparently belonged (ie beyond the underwater city)? Or was there a greater reason, not particular to Nadya but rather particular to her world, that kicked her out? Whatever was going on in the forest lands of Belyyreka definitely had me curious. It seemed to hint at grander implications about the worlds and their borders. I hope we get some further information or resolution on that front.
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• Still… even after so many books… every time… I am stunned and saddened when our ‘heroes’ get pulled back to our world, haha.
• 💭 The Bottom Line: Probably my favourite volume of Wayward Children #6-10, Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear recaptures some of what I loved about the earlier books in the series. For seasoned fans of the series, this is a solid entry in the even-numbered volumes, which you may enjoy even if you’ve found the series flagging lately.

Now that we’re up to ten installments of the Wayward Children series… which one is your favourite?