Review: Every Heart a Doorway

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been seeing this book around for a while now. It never seemed like the type of book I wanted to read. I am so glad I did pick it up and read it. I think from the series name, Wayward Children, I had thought this might be a young adult novel. It is not. Therefore, very early on in the story I was a little surprised by Sumi who is our narrator, Nancy's roommate. (view spoiler)[She mentions masturbation after Nancy mentions being asexual. Both very casually. I was so happy that this didn't become a plot point. (hide spoiler)]

This story is darker than I would have expected. While it is short I never felt like it was rushed. At 30 or 40% into the book I was still getting used to the characters and the ideas of travel to a world that is unique to you. Logic and Nonsence and Virtue and Wickedness as compass points were an interesting idea. I'm not sure I fully understand the different worlds, but I didn't need to.

There is so much in this novella (less than 200 pages) that I'm amazed it was so short. It was fantasy, mystery, and so so much more. I highly recommend this novel. (view spoiler)[The ending really surprised me. Also, I realized the title has more meaning than I had originally thought. I liked that it was there for us to puzzle out the entire time but the author never hits us over the head with it. (hide spoiler)]This is a dark gem just waiting to be discovered. I can't wait to read more in this world and by the author.

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