Every Heart a Doorway | A Reread
Series: Wayward Children #1
Published by Tor.com on April 5, 2016
Pages: 173
Goodreads
Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No QuestsChildren 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 was the second time I have read Every Heart a Doorway and I still love it just as much as I did the first time. There is something completely original about these books while also using topics and places that are staples within the fantasy genre. I really love how easy it is to believe in the world as it’s told and the characters are brilliantly written, it’s just an all-round brilliant book.
When I think about the characters in this story two names come to mind when trying to sort out my favourites and those would be Jack and Kade. Both of these are actually phenomenal, they really make Every Heart a Doorway the brilliant book it is. I love how Jack reacts to everything and her loyalty to her sister and the way that even though they were complete opposites she looked out for her. It was a brilliant relationship. I also loved how Kade looked after everyone else in the school and how his relationship with Prism had changed his outlook in life and he used that to create a welcoming environment.
In terms of the rest of the characters, I really loved how interesting and unique they all were. I adored them for all different reasons, but the only one that really grated on me was Lundy, I understood the reasoning behind her actions but I didn’t love the way she spoke to the children. It felt as though she was taking the safe space away from them and that seemed to be the exact opposite of what was trying to be achieved at the school.
I loved the different aspects of the story and I think the best bit of Every Heart a Doorway was definitely learning about the characters and their stories and the kinds of lives they all lived in their world. I think this book and subsequent books do a really good job of showing the more realistic side of travelling to another world and having to come back and I loved that. It really shows the differences and the thought processes of it all and I really appreciated that side of the characters.
I genuinely don’t think there is any downside to this book, there is some brilliant themes and twists all the way through. If there’s something wrong with this book was that it ended way too soon and I really would have loved for there to have been so much more and I think there was room to expand on some parts of the story and make it a little longer.
If you haven’t picked up this book then please do because I need more people to fangirl over the series with. I really thoroughly enjoy every aspect of them and think they are wholly underhyped! So this is me hyping them, go read them now.
I am trying a new way of writing my book reviews, let me know whether you like this version or my previous!
