I’ve been following the Wayward Children novella series for a while. I love the way McGuire is able to bridge this gap of childlike wisdom and whimsical worlds. While Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear isn’t my favorite in the series, it might be my favorite ‘other world’ they fall into. Keep reading this book review of Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear for my full thoughts.
Summary
Nadya never considered herself less than whole, not until her adoptive parents fitted her with a prosthetic arm against her will, seeking to replace the one she’d been missing from birth.
It was cumbersome; it was uncomfortable; it was wrong.
It wasn’t her.
Frustrated and unable to express why, Nadya began to wander, until the day she fell through a door into Belyyreka, the Land Beneath the Lake–and found herself in a world of water, filled with child-eating amphibians, majestic giant turtles, and impossible ships that sailed as happily beneath the surface as on top. In Belyyreka, she found herself understood for who she was: a Drowned Girl, who had made her way to her real home, accepted by the river and its people.
But even in Belyyreka, there are dangers, and trials, and Nadya would soon find herself fighting to keep hold of everything she had come to treasure.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear, like all of the Wayward Children series, gives a nostalgic vibe. There’s this almost fairy tale atmosphere to the story. You know the ‘fairy tale’ logic? Where things don’t make sense and in a strange way they do? Worlds where anything seems possible and the questions of how and why are suddenly suspended. Yet at the same time, these worlds have this uncanny ability to ask, with almost childlike curiosity, about the true heart of the matter. It’s one of my favorite elements of the Wayward Children series.
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This world is one of my favorites. It’s one of currents and turtle companions. In Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear Nadya confronts the ableism in our world. The ways that her parents see her identity as lacking an arm and that they seek to give her a prosthetic to make up for this lack. They never ask Nadya. Instead they are trying to ‘restore her’ to what they think she must want, would be lucky to have, and is missing. In Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear we see Nadya able to flourish in a world who doesn’t share those opinions. While I don’t clearly remember Nadya from the other books, I enjoyed this world and story.
But?
My only complaint is that the ending felt incredibly abrupt. I was totally enraptured with Barrie Kreinik’s narration. There’s something about listening to this series on audiobook which gives me a new appreciation for their transportative quality. But the abrupt ending made me think my audiobook had skipped ahead. You kind of know how these Wayward Children novellas are going to go based on the other series, but this felt like a mini betrayal.
Overall, I’d still recommend Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear. As I’ve said, the world is one of my favorites in the entire series. And besides the ending, I really enjoyed this one! Find Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.