‘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.’
Under the right conditions, secret doorways and hidden entrances open up to different worlds. When fairy realms appear to children, they step into a place that best fits them, a place that feels more like home than any other they have ever known. However, when circumstances deem that they must be expelled back to an ordinary reality, coping with the loss of their magical home is very difficult indeed. Most end up at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, where they are among others who have shared their experience, those forever seeking a way back. Nancy has recently stumbled back from her magical world and not too long after her arrival at Eleanor’s, the unthinkable happens. And it is up to Nancy and a crew of interesting characters to figure out the reason, and person, behind it all.
“You want to go back, and so you hold on to the habits you learned while you were traveling, because it’s better than admitting the journey’s over.”
Every Heart a Doorway is a novella with an intriguing premise that may or may not hit the right note with readers. It is strange, creepy, dark, and at times a bit gruesome. So it may be your thing depending on your preferred level of weird. For me, the overall story worked quite well and I found myself enjoying the characters, the writing style, and the discussions and thoughts regarding human behaviour. The only drawback was the fact that it is a novella rather than a lengthy novel. There are so many aspects of the story that can be explored in much greater detail and I wanted to delve even more into this world (and all the fairy realms). However, this is the first in what will be a series of novellas, so there will be more to explore in the near future. The second book in the Wayward Children Series, Down Among the Sticks and Bones is set to be released in June 2017.
“Now I know that if you open the right door at the right time, you might finally find a place where you belong.”
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