Draft:Across the Green Grass Fields

Across the Green Grass Fields is a 2021 fantasy novella by American author Seanan McGuire. It is the sixth book in the Wayward Children series and follows Regan, who later appears in Where the Drowned Girls Go.

Plot
Across the Green Grass Fields follows young Regan as she begins learning various truths about the world, including what it means to be a girl. Early in the novella, Regan is best friends with Heather and Laura; however, when Heather brings a snake to school, Laura declares that girls do not like snakes, and thus, she--and Regan--cannot be friends with Heather any longer. Regan holds this memory close as she grows up, remaining close friends with Laura and her new posse of girl friends. However, she finds herself more and more disconnected as the other girls begin to develop and mature while her body remains the same. After asking her parents what's wrong with her, Regan learns a secret about herself that she's sure her best friend would understand and respect. With the weight of this news, she tells Laura her secret. To Regan's dismay, Laura immediately declares that Regan is not a true girl.

After her fight with Laura, Regan runs away from school down a path in the woods where she stumbles upon a door that she assumes must be part of an older student's art project. When she opens the door, however, she finds herself in Hoofland, a world filled with unicorns, centaurs, and other horse-like creatures.

Regan first meets a centaur family, who care for her as though she were another member of the family for many years, growing alongside the only foal, Chicory, who quickly becomes her best friend. Regan lives with the herd, though she knows about the fate bestowed upon her: whenever a human enters Hoofland, it represents a great, heroic change. Regan defies fate for as long as she can until it catches up to her.

Reception
Across the Green Grass Fields was well received by critics, including starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly.

Alex Brown, writing for Reactor, ...

https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/across-the-green-grass-fields/

Booklist 's Regina Schroeder ...

On behalf of Library Journal, Kristi Chadwick ..

Grimdark 's Elizabeth Tabler offered a mixed review ...

Across the Green Grass Fields was nominated for the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novella.