Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear Summary, Characters and Themes

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire is a luminous and emotionally layered fantasy novel that follows the journey of Nadya Sokolov, a one-armed Russian orphan navigating identity, belonging, and transformation.

The story begins in the stark realism of a Soviet orphanage and travels through the alienating terrain of American suburbia before plunging into the magical depths of an underwater realm called Belyyreka. At its heart, the novel is about reclaiming agency, resisting the world’s attempts to “fix” what isn’t broken, and the fluid, sometimes surreal boundaries between trauma and healing, childhood and adulthood, self and society.

Summary

Nadya Sokolov is born in a Russian state hospital missing her right arm. Abandoned at birth, she grows up in a bleak, state-run orphanage where her intelligence and emotional acuity help her become a quiet leader among the other children.

She hides from potential adopters, believing her missing limb makes her undesirable. Instead, she finds purpose in helping other orphans find families, all while tending to a sick tortoise she secretly keeps.

At age nine, her life changes dramatically when American missionaries unexpectedly adopt her. She is taken to Denver by Carl and Pansy—an eager but emotionally mismatched couple.

Carl is gentle and idealistic, while Pansy is controlling and obsessed with the idea of reshaping Nadya into a model of American success. Culture shock hits immediately.

Nadya grapples with a new language, a new climate, and overwhelming expectations. The biggest rupture comes when she’s fitted with a prosthetic arm she neither wants nor needs.

Her discomfort is dismissed by her adoptive parents, who believe the arm will “complete” her. In reality, it alienates her further, both physically and emotionally.

Her classmates, previously indifferent to her limb difference, now fixate on the prosthetic. This turns her into an object of fascination.

She is forced into school sports like dodgeball, a symbolic attempt to normalize her at the cost of her autonomy.

The growing pressure and lack of understanding from all sides drive Nadya inward. She finds refuge at a turtle pond, where the natural world offers a sense of calm.

One day, she discovers a turtle with Russian words carved into its shell—“byt’ uveren” or “be sure.” She also notices a door-shaped shimmer in the water.

Drawn by curiosity and desperation, she leans in, slips, and falls through the watery threshold. Nadya vanishes from her world.

She awakens in Belyyreka, a fantastical underwater society where the rules of physics and identity are fluid.

Here, she meets Burian, a talking turtle who becomes her guide, and Artyom, a fox-like boat handler.

The people of Belyyreka live in harmony with the River Wild, directing their boats with spoken words and breathing certain “weights” of water.

They recognize Nadya as a “Drowned Girl”—a surface-world outsider swept into their realm by magic.

Unlike in her previous lives, Nadya is not seen as broken. Instead, her self-rescue is honored as an act of bravery.

She learns that turtles in Belyyreka form sacred bonds with chosen humans. Vasyl, a wise turtle elder, tells her that the journey through the door was not a mistake, but a calling.

For the first time, Nadya is invited to belong without needing to change herself. She discards her prosthetic and embraces life as she truly is.

Over time, Nadya matures. She finds love with Alexi and builds a life rooted in contribution and community.

She forms a deep bond with Burian. When a catastrophic underwater storm strikes, Nadya risks her life to save a neighbor.

In that moment of peril, the river itself rewards her with a magical limb. Her missing arm is replaced by a flowing, living arm made of river water—functional and wholly hers.

However, peace is fleeting. A resentful local boy, angry at the “swept-away” children from the surface, attacks her.

During the confrontation, Nadya falls once more and wakes up near her old neighborhood. Strangers find her on a riverbank.

She is older, transformed, but once again in a world that never fully embraced her.

The novel ends where it began, with Nadya beside water. But now, she is changed.

The story leaves open whether she’ll remain in the surface world or return to Belyyreka.

It suggests that the boundaries between realities—and identities—are ever-shifting.

Nadya’s journey is not just a fantasy of escape, but a reclamation of self, power, and the right to define one’s own completeness.

Characters

Nadya Sokolov

Nadya is the central figure of Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear. She is a deeply introspective and emotionally resilient girl born without her right arm in a Russian state hospital.

Her life is shaped by abandonment and institutional indifference in a Soviet orphanage. There, she quietly assumes a leadership role among the other children, not through authority but through empathy and intelligence.

Nadya is marked by a strong internal sense of self. Yet the world around her constantly tries to redefine her worth and identity.

Her refusal to be adopted, believing her missing limb renders her undesirable, speaks to both vulnerability and protective instincts. Once adopted by American missionaries, her discomfort with the prosthetic arm—forced on her by well-meaning but misguided parents—symbolizes the theme of imposed identity.

Nadya’s journey to Belyyreka represents her escape and transformation. In this magical realm, she finds not just acceptance but reconnection with her authentic self.

The magical limb granted to her by the river symbolizes a reclamation of autonomy and power. It affirms that she is not broken, merely different.

Carl

Carl, Nadya’s adoptive father, is a gentle and idealistic man. His warmth is genuine, but it proves insufficient in the face of complex emotional needs.

He wants to do good but lacks the emotional awareness to truly understand Nadya. His parenting is characterized by passivity.

Though he does not actively harm Nadya, he also fails to advocate for her autonomy. His silence during critical moments, such as the prosthetic fitting, makes him complicit in her alienation.

Carl represents good intentions without empathy. His character serves as a caution against emotional inaction.

Pansy

Pansy, Nadya’s adoptive mother, stands in sharp contrast to Carl. She is stern, controlling, and obsessed with appearances.

She is determined to reshape Nadya into an ideal of American success. Her insistence on the prosthetic arm reflects her discomfort with Nadya’s difference.

Pansy frames her actions as love and progress. Yet her refusal to hear Nadya’s voice reveals a deeper disregard for autonomy.

While likely believing she is helping, Pansy inflicts harm by denying Nadya’s agency. Her character represents the societal impulse to fix difference rather than understand it.

Burian

Burian is Nadya’s most profound connection in Belyyreka. A talking turtle imbued with wisdom, he becomes both a guide and companion.

Burian’s presence introduces Nadya to the metaphysical logic of the underwater world. More importantly, he offers her unconditional belonging.

Unlike surface-world figures, Burian does not try to change Nadya. He listens, affirms, and fosters healing through understanding.

Their bond deepens into one of mutual respect and emotional trust. Burian symbolizes nurturing mentorship and spiritual partnership.

Artyom

Artyom is a fox-like boat handler in Belyyreka. He assists Nadya during her arrival and early adjustment.

Although his role is smaller than Burian’s, Artyom embodies casual kindness. He treats Nadya without judgment or curiosity.

Through Artyom, Nadya experiences ease and welcome. He provides her a brief but meaningful introduction to a world that accepts her.

Vasyl

Vasyl is a wise elder turtle in Belyyreka. He helps Nadya understand her journey as a calling, not a mistake.

His wisdom offers Nadya a new way of interpreting her trauma. He does not offer solutions, but rather affirms her bravery.

Vasyl grounds Belyyreka in a tradition of spiritual acceptance. His presence adds depth to the world’s emotional and metaphysical richness.

Ivan

Ivan is the harbormaster of Belyyreka. He confirms the strange laws of this new world, including breathable water and river-guided boats.

Though a minor figure, Ivan supports Nadya’s transition. His calm demeanor reinforces the world’s gentle acceptance.

Ivan represents the structured, benevolent order of Belyyreka. He is part of the support network that helps Nadya heal.

Alexi

Alexi is Nadya’s romantic partner in Belyyreka. Their relationship is rooted in mutual respect and emotional safety.

With Alexi, Nadya experiences love that demands nothing of her. He accepts her completely, including her trauma and difference.

Their life is modest but fulfilling. It offers Nadya the stability and intimacy she never had on the surface.

Alexi is not a savior, but a true partner. His presence confirms that Nadya can be loved fully and freely.

Themes

Identity and Transformation Through External Expectations and Internal Resilience

The narrative of Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire explores the theme of identity and transformation, particularly as it pertains to how external expectations can shape or even distort an individual’s sense of self. Nadya Sokolov’s journey begins in a Russian orphanage, where her identity is already shaped by the abandonment and physical condition of having only one arm.

As she is adopted by American parents, she is subjected to their idealization of what a “complete” person should be, leading to her forced acceptance of a prosthetic arm. This external imposition is a key moment of conflict between Nadya’s self-perception and the way others wish to define her.

Despite her discomfort with this artificial arm, it represents not just her body’s alteration but the cultural and emotional pressure to conform. Nadya’s resistance to this prosthetic is symbolic of her refusal to be fixed or normalized into a form dictated by others, asserting her agency and revealing that identity, especially when rooted in self-acceptance, cannot be externally manufactured.

Her ultimate liberation comes when she journeys to Belyyreka, an underwater city that celebrates her authenticity, thus reinforcing that true transformation occurs when individuals are allowed to define themselves, free from the weight of imposed expectations.

The Power of Self-Discovery and Rejection of Preconceived Roles

In Nadya’s development, one of the most potent themes is self-discovery and the rejection of preconceived roles that others have set for her. This theme is especially prominent in her transition from the surface world to the underwater realm of Belyyreka.

The people of Belyyreka do not see Nadya as an incomplete or broken person; rather, they view her as a “Drowned Girl,” a term that signifies her as someone who has crossed into their world through a magical portal. In Belyyreka, Nadya is not expected to conform or fix herself in any way, and this environment of acceptance allows her to embrace her true self.

The magical properties of the water, including its ability to allow her to breathe underwater and even grant her a new, living arm of river water, symbolize the flow of transformation that Nadya undergoes. The magical realm offers Nadya the space to shed the weight of her past life, including the painful legacy of forced identity from the surface world, and to explore new forms of connection, love, and purpose.

Nadya’s journey reflects the liberating power of self-discovery, where she begins to recognize that she does not have to fit into the roles prescribed by others, but can instead forge a path that is uniquely her own.

The Exploration of Belonging and Alienation in Dual Worlds

Another complex theme in Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is the exploration of belonging and alienation across dual worlds. Nadya’s life straddles two contrasting realms: the surface world, where she is subjected to misunderstanding and forced adaptations, and Belyyreka, where her new identity is embraced and celebrated.

Her experiences in both worlds reflect her internal battle to belong, as well as the external forces that either alienate or welcome her. In the surface world, her prosthetic arm and her status as an adopted child mark her as “other,” and her adoptive parents’ well-intentioned efforts to fit her into a conventional mold only further alienate her.

In Belyyreka, she is welcomed with open arms, but the conflict surfaces when a local boy attacks her, revealing the tension between “swept-away” children and those born into the world. This moment underscores the fragility of belonging, where Nadya’s status is not guaranteed even in a place that seems to offer unconditional acceptance.

Ultimately, the theme of belonging reveals that identity is constantly negotiated between internal desires and external validation. Nadya’s journey through both worlds highlights the emotional toll that alienation can have, as well as the healing power of being truly seen for who one is.

The River as a Metaphor for Life, Time, and Personal Growth

The river plays a central role in Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear, functioning as a metaphor for life, time, and personal growth. In the underwater city of Belyyreka, the river dictates not only the physical geography but also the flow of Nadya’s life.

The metaphor of time as a river is most vividly embodied in the magical properties of the river, which defy conventional understanding—water is breathable, fire burns underwater, and songs carry through the currents. These symbolic elements suggest that the river represents a deeper, more mystical understanding of life, where the flow of time and experience is not linear but rather fluid and transformative.

Nadya’s journey through the river, including her immersion into the water and the eventual granting of a water arm, highlights her personal growth. The river does not seek to fix her but to nurture her transformation, offering a flexible, ever-changing environment where she can reimagine herself.

The symbolic act of receiving the living arm during a moment of crisis reinforces the idea that true personal growth comes not through external pressures but through the natural unfolding of one’s journey, much like a river that changes course with time, adapting to its surroundings while maintaining its essence.

The Intersection of Magical Realism and Emotional Healing

The blending of magical realism with the emotional aspects of Nadya’s journey brings an additional layer to the narrative, deepening its exploration of trauma, healing, and the search for belonging. Nadya’s initial experiences in the surface world, marked by emotional pain and rejection, set the stage for her eventual healing in the mystical realm of Belyyreka.

Here, magical elements like talking turtles, floating doors, and living water arms create an environment where the impossible becomes possible, allowing Nadya to explore themes of trauma recovery and emotional healing in ways that feel tangible yet surreal. The magical elements in Belyyreka symbolize a space where emotional wounds can be confronted and healed, not through conventional methods but through a deep connection to one’s true self.

Nadya’s emotional healing is mirrored in her physical transformation, particularly when the river grants her an arm made of living water—an embodiment of both strength and vulnerability. This intersection of magical realism and emotional healing speaks to the broader theme of the story, suggesting that transformation, whether emotional or physical, often requires a journey through fantastical realms where new possibilities are born from the merging of reality and imagination.These complex and layered themes in Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear not only reflect Nadya’s personal growth but also serve as metaphors for broader human experiences, making the novel a rich exploration of identity, belonging, and the power of self-determination.