Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Series: Wayward Children #1
Publisher: Tor.com
Published April 5th, 2016
Genres: YA, Fantasy, LGBT
Pages: 169
Format: Hardback
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.
But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

This is such a fantastic book! I always have the idea that a book this tiny can never be THIS extraordinary, but this one proves me wrong. I couldn’t put it down! I read it in one sitting and I just want more!

This book has a lot of basis in other books like Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, Peter Pan, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children… but only in some elements. It’s a topic that’s seen often and one of my favorites, and this was really well done! I love magical realism and this book was just amazing. It’s extremely believable, I actually wished with all my heart this book was true because I would absolutely love it!

This book talks about children that slipped to fantasy worlds, all of them different, all of them “lies” for the ones that have never been there. And like often, grown-ups don’t believe them, with the exception of Eleanor, that had been in her own world and is capable of understanding what these children are going through.

This book is passed inside a school called Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children – a school for children that traveled to other worlds and got sent back, and what they all have in common is that they don’t fit in this world anymore and are trying to find a way to go back to where they feel they belong. That’s what happens to our main character Nancy and her friends Sumi, Kade and the twin sisters Jack, and Jill. They don’t fit in this world or with their families anymore.

If not all of us, I believe that the majority of us has felt at least once that we don’t fit in some way. Be it at school, at a party, at work, or just generally in the world. So I felt that the idea of fitting in another world, a fantasy world that is just perfect for you is just incredible and I adored it!

I loved the characters. They were so different from each other and I really cared for them. Plus there’s a lot of diversity! There’s an asexual girl (our main character), a trans boy, and it also portrays some different races. My favorite character was definitely Jack because she is just the weirdest thing ever and I love her! And I am incredibly happy that the next book is a prequel of her story and of her twin sister in their fantasy world!

I obviously loved the world(s). All the fantasy worlds talked about were unique and interesting and I loved to see the perspective of each character and their experiences in the “real” world. I felt that it was really well constructed, especially for such a short story. It was gripping and mesmerizing and I want to find my door!

I loved the writing. It was just so easy and flowy! It had tense moments, sad moments, funny moments, serious moments… It had everything! It’s the type of writing I would never get tired of! Plus, this has a freaking murder mystery in less than 200 pages… And it actually worked! Okay, I did see it coming but it still managed to surprise me! It’s just such a strange beautiful book… And with such a beautiful end – just like a fairy tale! Wait, a fairy tale, and a murder mystery?! Yep, that’s just right….

Can’t you tell already? I just loved everything in this book and I would totally recommend it! And I mean, it’s incredibly tiny, so it’s not that you would need to take some time to do it, right? Just go read it!

   

Are you a fan of magical realism? What’s your favorite? What did you think of this one? Let’s discuss it in the comments!

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