Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, #1)

by Seanan McGuire

Cynthia Hopkins (Narrator)

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 things.

No matter the cost.

• ISBN10: 1427279098
• ISBN13: 9781427279095
• Publish Date: 5 April 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: MacMillan Audio
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 4 hours and 45 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

While the story centers on younger characters this is an adult fantasy. It is dark, and at times downright gruesome. My black heart loved the way the author made me squirm and visualize these creeptastic moments. McGuire shares a world where doorways open and young children step into them. When they suddenly find themselves back in our world folks like Eleanor, step in and help these children adjust.

While we do not get to spend time in these worlds, we do learn about them through the characters. There are nonsense worlds, fairy worlds, dead world, each place stranger then the next, but to these children they felt like home. These children have been adversely changed and we learn about them through Nancy the newest student to arrive at the home. Some will find their way back through the doors and for others it will become only a memory.

We get to know a few key characters. I can even describe them too you but with the length of this story, we were not granted a deeper knowledge of them. While it worked and I enjoyed the story a part of me wished this was four hundred pages long. I hope that the next book delves deeper.

For Nancy a door opened in her basement. While she spent months in the Land of Shadows for her parents, she was only missing a few weeks. Nancy wants to go back, and figures the home has to be better than living with her parents. McGuire has the reader learn about the doors along with Nancy and I liked this easy approach. Freed from info dumps I was able to slip in a become a part of the story.

Every Heart A Doorway was brilliant McGuire always manages to impresses me with her world building. Descriptions of the worlds beyond the doors, characters and the macabre mystery surrounding the home pulled me in and even surprised me with the reveal.

Clever, dark, inviting and classic McGuire Every Heart is a Doorway delivered all that I hoped for and left me craving the next book. I will continue listening to the audiobooks for this series. Cynthia Hopkins nailed the voices and tone adding an extra layer to this story. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer