Five Stars for this beautifully written, artistically imagined, dark fantasy fiction.
Can I just say? This author has the most remarkable imagination. I haven’t read single thing from her that wasn’t genuinely one of a kind. Seanan McGuire’s books stand out because her storylines, the writing, and her characters? They’re wholly unique.
If you’re familiar with McGuire’s work, it will come as no surprise what you find between the pages of this book but.. If this is your first time?
Oh, you’re in for a treat.
*Spoilers!*
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Publication date: April 2017
Pages: 174
Genre: Dark fantasy, Fairy tale, LGBTQ, Fantasy fiction
Series: Book 1 of 7: Wayward Children
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A fantastical story about the children who belong among fairy tales..
And the worlds that become their homes.
For The Wicked
First line:
THE GIRLS WERE NEVER present for the entrance interviews.
Welcome to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. A curious manor for children who have wandered through mystical doors into impossible lands of magic and mystery. Children who have returned changed, telling grand stories of fantastical adventures. They return home to the dismissal and outright disbelief of their concerned parents and peers. For what happens to the families when a child strays into these distant lands? Missing. Lost. Gone. Each reunion met with strange behavior and the child’s longing to once again find their doorway back.. back to what has become their home. Some are not welcomed back. Few were never missed.
This is the story of one such girl, a young woman, really.
Nancy has just arrived at, what appears to be, the strangest school ever. Sanatorium, half-way house, boarding school.. it is called many things but, for the young people who arrive, it is a safe haven. Eleanor knows better than most, having stepped through her own doorway as a girl, how her young charges feel.
They are protected here.. surrounded by others who have experienced the magic of their own doors and understand the desperate desire to go back through.
Raising her hand to shield her eyes, the girl looked toward the manor, pausing when she saw the sign that hung from the porch eaves. ELEANOR WEST’S HOME FOR WAYWARD CHILDREN it read, in large letters. Below, in smaller letters, it continued NO SOLICITATION, NO VISITORS, NO QUESTS.
Five Stars!
Sometimes children go missing and sometimes.. they’re simply and suddenly elsewhere.
Their love wanted to fix her, and refused to see that she wasn’t broken.
About the book:
Nancy’s confused and frustrated at her circumstances. Having disappeared through an unusual doorway in their basement, Nancy went through and has spent the past several years in the Halls of the Dead, all too content to serve it’s Lord in silence and stillness. Upon her return, however, her parents grow increasingly more concerned for her mental health. Their daughter has come back changed.. now preferring grey-scale clothing, freezing her movements until her breath stills, and spinning impossible stories.
Nancy fears she’ll never be able to return to the Lord of the Dead and his dark halls.
It had taken her months, years even, to become perfectly motionless, but she had done it: oh, yes, she had done it, and the Lady of Shadows had proclaimed her beautiful beyond measure, little mortal girl who saw no need to be quick, or hot, or restless.
Strange new friends from distant lands of their own also show signs of strain and grief at the loss of their extraordinary homes. Sumi, her eccentric and energetic new roommate, spent a good amount of time in a Nonsense world and didn’t lose her head. Jack and Jill lived for years on the Moors, Jack helping a brilliant scientist resurrect the dead, and Jill a possessive overlord with a penchant for drinking blood. Kade, the most beautiful boy Nancy has ever seen, is the exiled Prince to a fairyland called ‘Prism’. Everyone here has a story to tell..
A lot of these children come back to unwelcome homes and families who struggle with their wild claims and unusual behavior. Eleanor’s school offers them compassion and acceptance.
“For us, the places we went were home. We didn’t care if they were good or evil or neutral or what. We cared about the fact that for the first time, we didn’t have to pretend to be something we weren’t. We just got to be. That made all the difference in the world.”
An unexpected murder in the school opens the floodgates of fear induced anger and paranoia. Many of the children begin to point fingers at their newest resident, after all, she is from one of the worlds of the dead. Now the clock is ticking as Nancy and her odd group of wayward children searches for a killer.. before the threat to their safety forces Eleanor to close the school.
Can they find the killer before the students turn on one another?
And will Nancy and her new friends ever find their doors?
All of them shared the same fear of being left alone in this suddenly haunted house, where the ghosts were nothing they could understand.
Liked: As always, Seanan McGuire‘s writing is a beautiful thing to behold. *sighs contentedly*
I feel confident in saying that this author has never left me disappointed. Left wanting, absolutely. More of her beautifully crafted worlds, remarkable characters, and extraordinarily unique storylines.
The children are splendidly formed, each with their own elaborately crafted lives and personalities, bringing about a sense of life and wonder to every page.
What do I like? No, no. The question should be ‘What don’t I love‘?
Disliked: Short chapters. Short book. Left wanting more. That’s pretty much it.. Crazy, right?
I highly recommend his book(and everything else the author has written).
Yes, it’s a pretty quick read but.. definitely worth every second.
Many stories of many children are left unfinished.. and waiting.
Fans of Seanan McGuire..
Find more of her incredible work under the pseudonym ‘Mira Grant.’
This sounds quite intriguing Sheri. I am not familiar with this author, but will see if I can find this book and give her writing a try. Great review.
That’s so great! She’s a wonderful writer and I hope you enjoy it!
And thank you so much!