Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1)
by Seanan McGuire
What is it about:
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.
What did I think of it:
After reading Down Among the Sticks and Bones I decided I needed to read the first book as well, before moving on to book 3 for... clarity. Yeah, that's it: clarity. Not because I was eager for lots more of this series. *cough*
And this book just blew me away!
Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children is a boarding school for children and teens who found a doorway to a another world, but then got back home where they don't fit (anymore). at Eleanor's school they learn how to deal with the loss of the world they had to leave and they can share their stories with others who understand.
Ever read a book where at the end the kid comes home after amazing adventures in a fantastical far away world and where they made tons of friends, and instead of seeing it as a good ending you cried for the loss of the magic, the friends, and the fitting in that the lead character found in that world? This book is for you if you answered yes!
I was hooked from the start and felt for Nancy. She misses the world she found, the acceptance she got there, the life she had there, and mourns that loss. Her parents don't understand her and in the hope of getting her to become normal again (read: be the happy pastel colored daughter they want, instead of the quiet girl dressed in black she wants to be.) they send her off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. I tell you: if I found a door like Nancy's door when I was a child, this story could have been about me!
I rooted for Nancy while also being grabbed by the mystery of what dark thing is going on at the school. I couldn't put the book down until I reached the end. And I bawled my eyes out in the best of ways, I can tell you. It's been a long time since a story hit me this hard emotionally.
You bet I immediately ordered a print copy of this book and it will be reread and hugged often. I also picked up Beneath the Sugar Sky right away.
Why should you read it:
It's a beautiful and emotional Fantasy read.
Buy from Amazon
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