Regan is 10, fleeing from school after a conflict with her ex-best-friend, when she stumbles through a door to a magical world. The Hooflands are populated with unicorns, centaurs, fauns, kelpies, and all manner of equine-like beings. Regan's love for horses ("What are horses?" inquires one of her centaur friends) helps her to accept her new circumstances, and the centaur herd that first finds her is kind and loving, adopting her as one of their own. There's just one problem: humans are only known to appear in the Hooflands when a big change is coming. Everyone seems to think it's Regan's destiny to be a hero . . . everyone except Regan, who doesn't believe in destiny.

This may be my favorite of the series so far, right up there with In an Absent Dream. I suspect I just want every permutation of portal fantasy that McGuire can cook up, though I do love the stories based at the school, too. At any rate, this is a true stand-alone, so if you are just intrigued by the Hooflands, read without fear of missing any key details. My only criticism of this book is that the ending was pretty abrupt, and I want to hear more about what happened after. ( )

This is the weakest of these I’ve read so far, unfortunately. Can’t believe itks nominated for the Hugo. ( )

Sadly this 6th installment of the Wayward Children series is by far my least favorite of them yet- if I had to use one word to describe "Across the Green Grass Fields" it would be "tired". Although the writing is fine and the worldbuilding is done well, there is nothing exciting about the plot, the world itself, or the payoff.
I love that McGuire addresses the topic of "there's no right way to be a girl" so often in this series, but in this installment it felt cliché and pandering to the reader. It felt very much like McGuire was just writing "omg look Reagan is different and likes horses, but she can Still Be a Girl! Girls don't have to only wear dresses! Look! Reagan can wear PANTS! And climb trees! Yay girl power!" Which I guess would be fine if this was a picture book introducing young readers to these ideas? But I KNOW McGuire can write about challenging stereotypes and gender better because she literally did it earlier with nearly every other book in this series.
Also, the climax of this book is one of the worst I've read. It's so utterly D R Y. I won't spoil it, but to read a story where the main character is constantly reminded of her great destiny only to have it end like this...well...again, it feels tired. It was sad writing. I finished the book and felt like I had only read half a story.
The best parts of this were the found family elements with the centaurs (we need more books with centaurs!) and Reagan and Chicory's friendship. I loved those bits! Unfortunately that's about all I enjoyed, and while I'll definitely read the next one because it almost certainly involves Cora, I'm glad this book can be viewed as a standalone and skipped in any future rereads. ( )

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 has cozy vibes and I just enjoyed following Regan and her new friends/family going about their daily life. ( )

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 what happened after that. ( )