Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Every Heart A Doorway (Wayward Children, #1)

by Seanan McGuire

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.

Reviewed by readingwithwrin on

4 of 5 stars

Share
"Because she had wanted to know what was at the end of the long path between the trees, and because she hadn't wanted to turn back before she understood everything. Because for the first time in forever, she'd felt like she was going home, and that feeling had been enough to move her feet, slowly at first, and then faster, and faster, until she had been running through the clean night air, and nothing else had mattered, or would ever matter again-"
I ended up going into this book with very low expectations because of the size and how much hype was around it last year. I am honestly so glad I did, I ended up absolutely loving it and just wanting to see so much more of each of the students worlds and wanting to know more about each of them.

The main focus of the book is on Nancy, but the few side characters we do get to see I absolutely loved and we surprisingly learned a lot about them in very few words.

"You're nobody's rainbow.
You're nobody's princess.
You're nobody's doorway but your own, and the only one who gets to tell you how your story ends is you."
The friendships Nancy makes with Sumi, Kade, Jack, and Christopher were so nice to see. The all went to different worlds, yet somehow they make this wonderful team that helps each other figure out what is happening in the school. I was able to figure out the mystery portion just a few pages ahead of when everyone else did and I'm glad it wasn't a super obvious one for a change.

"So this was the world. This was the place she'd come from - and more, this was the place where she came closest to belonging in this world."

This is a story of the fairy tale worlds we've all learned some about before, with some of the underworlds mixed in the best way possible. It's hard to explain, but it works somehow. The author did an amazing job in not only building so many worlds, but building each of the characters and making us care about each of them characters in a very short amount of time.

I am so happy I waited to read this book until the second one was almost out, because I need to know what happens next!


Blog Twitter Instagram Facebook

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 3 June, 2017: Finished reading
  • 3 June, 2017: Reviewed