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About The Book 📚

Title: Through Gates of Garnet and Gold

Series: Wayward Children #11

Author: Seanan McGuire

Publication Date: Jan 6, 2026

Publisher: Tor Publishing Group

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ+

Pages: 160

Click Here for Content Warnings (may contain spoilers)

Three Words That Describe This Book: portals, friendship, danger

About The Author

“Seanan McGuire was born in Martinez, California, and raised in a wide variety of locations, most of which boasted some sort of dangerous native wildlife. Despite her almost magnetic attraction to anything venomous, she somehow managed to survive long enough to acquire a typewriter, a reasonable grasp of the English language, and the desire to combine the two. The fact that she wasn’t killed for using her typewriter at three o’clock in the morning is probably more impressive than her lack of death by spider-bite…

…Seanan is the author of the October Daye urban fantasies, the InCryptid urban fantasies, and several other works both stand-alone and in trilogies or duologies. In case that wasn’t enough, she also writes under the pseudonym “Mira Grant.” For details on her work as Mira, check out MiraGrant.com…

…Seanan was the winner of the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and her novel Feed (as Mira Grant) was named as one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2010. In 2013 she became the first person ever to appear five times on the same Hugo Ballot…”

For full bio visit: https://seananmcguire.com/bio.php

To see McGuire’s works visit: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/seanan-mcguire/

My Review

› The cover for Through Gates of Garnet and Gold is intriguing. The statues pose in different positions, and they are beautiful, yet the eye is drawn to the blood on the empty pedestals. The blue and green tones give a feeling of loneliness or sadness. What happened here?

› After loving the first 10 books of this series, I am very thankful to have received an advance digital copy of the newest Wayward Children novella, Through Gates of Garnet and Gold. The Wayward Children series is a portal fantasy series about children who feel like they don’t fit in our world. They are presented with a door and a request that they only pass through if they are SURE. The doors bring them to drastically different worlds. Sometimes it’s a nonsensical world, sometimes it’s logical, but it will always push them to find out who they truly are. These worlds feel like the perfect place for them, where they truly belong. However, sometimes they don’t get to stay. They are forced back through a door into the “real world,” where no one believes their story. They find their way to Eleanor West’s school for Wayward Children. Eleanor was once herself a child who went through a door into a fantasy world, so she believes the children and is available to support them through their grief of being forced to leave their portal world.

› It’s heartbreaking to know that this is based on our own world, where some adults don’t believe children, and our world that tries to fit people into a box and force them to appear and behave in a particular manner. These stories feature LGBTQ+ characters, and I find their stories to be emotionally impactful.

› Seanan McGuire has explained that the odd-numbered books of the series push the “real world” story forward and are based mainly around Eleanor’s school. The even-numbered books take place in portal worlds

› Through Gates of Garnet and Gold brings us back to Nancy in the Halls of the Dead. She witnesses a massacre and barely escapes with her life through a door to Eleanor’s school, where she recruits familiar friends to join her on a quest. Fans of the Wayward Children series will enjoy the appearances by other familiar characters later on in the story.

› Through Gates of Garnet and Gold:
“garnet” refers to the pomegranate groves that grow in the Halls of the Dead, their red seeds found all over and considered a “full meal” in the Halls of the Dead (referring to the Greek mythology story about Persephone being tricked by Hades to stay in the underworld after eating pomegranate seeds)

“gold” refers to a mysterious golden door in the Halls of the Dead. The Statue of Liberty represents “The Golden Door,” a symbol of hope and opportunity for immigrants. I wonder if she used this symbol intentionally.

› Seanan McGuire has also discussed the importance of adults enjoying media from all ages, and children’s books or young adult books can be enjoyed by people of every age. She said: “You never stop being 9 or 19 or 29, they’re all just stuck inside you like little nesting dolls, and sometimes you need to give them enrichment.” Whoa…that hit me in the feels. I’m 44, and I grew up watching portal fantasy kids’ cartoons. I think I know what my first New Year’s Resolution will be for 2026 – rewatch some of my favourite childhood shows and books. ♥

› First Paragraph:
“Doors are magical things. Always. It doesn’t matter whether they connect two familiar, well-known rooms or two entirely undiscovered spaces: to travel from one distinct location into another simply by passing through a portal, whether bound in wood or carved from stone, is a magical act.”

Quotes That Stuck With Me

“Names matter, dear. If someone wants to be called something, that’s what you call them, whether or not it’s what you would want to be called in their place.” ~ Eleanor, Through Gates of Garnet and Gold, written by Seanan McGuire

› Through Gates of Garnet and Gold has interesting, well-developed characters, excellent description and world-building. I love McGuire’s writing style. It’s beautiful, yet not flowery, with the right amount of detail and authentic dialogue. I enjoyed the plot, and as always, the ending left me wanting more. Overall, I had a great time reading this installment of the Wayward Children series.

APPEAL FACTORS
Storyline: character-driven, unconventional, tragic
Pace: fast
Tone: emotional, angsty, bittersweet, moody, mystical, thought-provoking, adventurous, mysterious, haunting
Humour: offbeat, sarcastic
Writing Style: banter-filled, conversational, descriptive, engaging, witty
Character: authentic, awkward, complex, flawed, likeable, mischievous, quirky, relatable, sarcastic, snarky, strong female, unlikeable, well-developed, diverse
LGBTQIA+ Representation: asexual, bisexual, gay, lesbian, nonbinary, queer, transgender
Racial Representation: Multiracial

Read Alikes:
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

› In the past, I have given a rating out of ten and converted that to a star rating, but I’m no longer giving a star rating here on my blog. I will continue to do that on Goodreads and The Story Graph.

› Final Thoughts
• Through Gates of Garnet and Gold is an engaging and emotional story for most ages. This is a character-driven novella with a diverse cast and themes of grief, resilience, hope, acceptance, and friendship. I recommend this to fans of Tress of the Emerald Sea and The Book of Lost Things.

 Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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