An open door: an "Every Heart a Doorway" review
Have you ever decided to read a book because of a good word? That's what might inspire us to pick up the latest bestseller or try yet another YA fantasy; if we hear lots of great things about it, we might consider it great as well. The results vary, but you always hope for the best. That's what happened with this book. I had seen several reviewers on Goodreads and YouTube rave about Every Heart a Doorway, and when I heard them talk about this and read the blurb, I became fascinated by it. What happens after kids discover these fantasy worlds where they truly belong? What happens if they're pushed to back where they came from and long to return? Where do they go from there? Because of my interest, I picked this one up and greedily devoured it. At the end, my reaction matched the hype: man, was this one good! Every Heart a Doorway is a short but captivating paranormal fantasy, one that embraces its weirdness and makes it memorable. The writing is strong, the characters are eclectic and fascinating, and its structure of both wry jokes and horrifying crime works in its own ironic way. Seanan McGuire really spends time developing the worlds the kids have all gone to and the system dictating what type they are, and the possibilities for the rest of the series going forward are endless. I can't wait to see who will be explored and what adventures McGuire will take me on in the next books of the series. From the looks of it, they're going to be fascinating.
In the middle of the country lies a place called Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. Its owner, Eleanor, once discovered a doorway that led her to a fantasy world she loved. She went back and forth six times before she was sixteen until she realized she couldn't keep doing it. Regretfully, she has left behind that nonsensical world she loves in favor of helping kids who have also discovered wonderful worlds but unfortunately can't go back to them. One of these kids is Nancy, the new girl at school. Her parents have sent her here like all the others, wanting their daughter to return to the colorful kid she once was before she discovered the Underworld and learned to be as still as the dead. However, all Nancy wants to do is return to where she felt she truly belonged and feel loved by the Lord of the Dead. When she meets the other kids there and realizes they feel the shame, she feels a little more at ease. But that won't last for long. When a murderer runs loose among the students, it's up to Nancy and her new friends to figure out who's behind it all before they find themselves either killed or sent back home to the family that will never understand them. Nancy and her classmates are all very interesting kids. They've been through individual experiences that have shaped who they are. Nancy now longs to be still and regarded as a statue. Sumi's sugary wonderland has transformed her into someone without a filter. Kade's fairyland helped him learn he wasn't the girl he was born but rather the knight he longed to be. Christopher fell in love with a skeleton girl and now can create an attachment to bones. And Jack and Jill went to the same place but had their own lives, the former as an assistant to a mad scientist that developed her cold and calculating manner and the other as a vampire's right-hand girl, creating an aloof and iron-focused debutante. Learning about where the kids traveled to, what they experienced, and how it shaped them is an integral part of this story, and I'm glad it always kept me on my toes and invested in their journeys. Additionally, they come from so many different walks from life (as mentioned above, Kade is transgender, but there is another character on the LGBT+ spectrum, Nancy, who is asexual; Sumi is Japanese and Christopher is Latino). It's always awesome to see diversity represented well in fiction, but especially in an urban fantasy like this where we're dealing with kids in (mostly) the real world. Also, McGuire's writing is so strong. I'm reminded of Maggie Stiefvater and some of the choices she made in The Raven Cycle, but I think McGuire fully embraces her eccentric craft in a way I haven't seen before. The entire story is framed as a narrative, and we're able to get to know most of the characters thanks to this omniscience. A reader can intensely visualize the worlds and articulately feel all the emotions that run through the characters' veins. There's also no limit to the dry humor and gory detail the jokes and murders go to. It's all so cool, especially when McGuire focuses on gender issues that are still present today. While I did find some parts slow (even if this is a 169-page book, I thought it would be a quick read; I ended up reading two chapters for almost an hour, so this is meant to be savored), I'm very impressed with how this turned out, and I can't recommend it enough. If you're looking for a fun urban fantasy or something you haven't read before, step out of your comfort zone a little bit and check this out. You won't regret it.