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zsometimesreads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
another awful middle grade boarding school murder mystery with extremely flat characters which i have unfortunately read far too many of
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Child abuse
proudtobeabookaholic's review
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
To Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children come children who have been visiting other worlds. They want nothing more than to go back to these worlds, because there they feel at home, whilst their families believe they’re mentally ill. Miss West knows that the worlds are real since she's been to one herself, but few manages to find the door back once they left. Meanwhile they can socialize with others like themselves at the boarding school.
I've been wanting to read this series for a long time and the first book didn't disappoint! The characters are odd in a good way and I enjoy the language. I don't fully understand all about the worlds with different parts of Logic, Nonsense, Wicked and such, and I would have liked to see more of that. I appriciate that McGuire has queer representation amongst the characters, and I'm really curious to see where the author takes us next!
"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."
I've been wanting to read this series for a long time and the first book didn't disappoint! The characters are odd in a good way and I enjoy the language. I don't fully understand all about the worlds with different parts of Logic, Nonsense, Wicked and such, and I would have liked to see more of that. I appriciate that McGuire has queer representation amongst the characters, and I'm really curious to see where the author takes us next!
"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."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Child death, and Emotional abuse
teawiththefates's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book was both creepy and beautiful, which I’m learning is one of my very favourite combinations. I love the idea that there are so many other worlds that children have travelled to, and I want to see/know more about them! I can’t believe I haven’t picked up this series before, because I already enjoyed Seanan McGuire’s Incryptid series (although this feels quite different). This first book is really a novella, so I’m curious if they are all this short. I didn’t mind the length, it just was a little harder to swallow the $30+ price tag on the first hardcover haha. Thankfully I just purchased the next two on sale ;)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, Transphobia, and Eating disorder
anastasia_raf's review
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I truly liked this book! I found it fascinating to say the least. That book is what an original idea is, and I believe the execution of that idea was excellent.
It makes me wonder if it is a metaphorical way of presenting children scarred from familial expectations and traumatized by a parent's ambitions and ideas of a daughter, a son, a child.
Or if it bears the hope that imagination can be salvation to a child and to those prisoned in societal views and ways.
And still this book felt so magical, so surreal and yet so heavily rooted in reality.
I have so many thoughts about this book and so little to say. I decided that I'm going to let the book show you everything.
It makes me wonder if it is a metaphorical way of presenting children scarred from familial expectations and traumatized by a parent's ambitions and ideas of a daughter, a son, a child.
Or if it bears the hope that imagination can be salvation to a child and to those prisoned in societal views and ways.
And still this book felt so magical, so surreal and yet so heavily rooted in reality.
I have so many thoughts about this book and so little to say. I decided that I'm going to let the book show you everything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Transphobia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Acephobia/Arophobia, Gore, Death, Grief, Deadnaming, Child death, Child abuse, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Domestic abuse
ehmannky's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I went into this story completely blind and just chose this by the cover at the library and I am so, so happy I did. I am a huge fan of looking at the aftermath of tropes like "the chosen one" and "portal fantasies," and this book is just looking at trauma from kids who lived out the portal fantasies. It's weird and it's dark and there's murder and just glimpses of the weird, horrible and wonderful worlds that these kids travelled to.
I don't think that this reads as YA, even if most of the characters are teens. Not that YA can't be brutal like so much in this book, but it reads more adult to me. Like, trigger warning for those who read this book, you're going to read about multiple children getting harmed, dying, and having their corpses mutilated during the book.
I don't think that this reads as YA, even if most of the characters are teens. Not that YA can't be brutal like so much in this book, but it reads more adult to me. Like, trigger warning for those who read this book, you're going to read about multiple children getting harmed, dying, and having their corpses mutilated during the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Body horror, Death, Grief, Violence, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia
Minor: Emotional abuse, Vomit, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse
belladsb's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
-January 2022-
C.A.W.P.I.L.E. : 9.14
If this is not an apropiate title, then i do not know what is, for it's true that every heart has a doorway, some just may find it more easily than others, but that's beside the point.
In this tale we encounter so many stories equal in thein uniqueness, united by the same feeling of yearning, by the screams of wanting to be heard and the whispers of wanting to be accepted.
It's wonderful in the way it explores how a lot of family units deal with trauma, by wanting to revert, the hardship of accepting that things will never be the same and not knowing how to mourn them, so maybe it's best to make them go away...
How telling can it be, when you think of the reticence of some parents to let go of their children, to let them find their own voices & paths, to let them be hurt.
How hard it has to be for a kid, growing up to "be sure" of who they are or who they want to be, to stand up to those who love us, to try find and forge our own way, our own story...
It's cruel to ask a kid to "be sure" of so much, yet it is the requirement for then, they have accepted the consequences, no refunds here (in this world or any).
And so they go head first, not knowing what it means to "be sure" finding a place fit for them, only to be thrown out later, back into a world that never spoke their language, that never saw them for who they were since it already had decided without them what their place was in it. They know now what is to be sure, for they are sure, that they don't belong here, in this roles planned for them, they're sure, they found their home and now they're lost.
Going more specifically into the story of this particular novella,
This is a beautiful introductory novel for the series, welcoming us to the diferent directions, the complexity of the world, and the musing tone of the tale overall.
We meet character form all over the compass, even if we only get a glimpse of most.
I'll go into Nancy, since she's the star of this particular number. The stillness, her world, her ways, I find so soothing, I connected with her in those way even if I could not in others, she was aproachable, and calming, observing. I loved her.
The plot was realy fun, as well as the resolution, but what gives the killing blow for me is the writing, simple and impactful, right to the core.
"You are nobody's rainbow"
In the end, there's only one thing I hope to gain from this book/series, and that is: If I am to be a Therapist, I hope I can channel all the Eleanor West energy I can manage both to the family as well as my patients. Both the soothe to the family for things will get better, even if they're different than from before ("Let me help, please, just let me help") and to the children, for them to feel understood in some capacity, help them find the similarities in their differences.
-May 2019-
Absolutely Beautiful, I loved loved loooved the complexity yet openended-ness of this book! I already want to re-read AND it’s the first book in a while that actually make me stay up until late at night bc I could not put it down and I didn’t wanted to come back from it
C.A.W.P.I.L.E. : 9.14
If this is not an apropiate title, then i do not know what is, for it's true that every heart has a doorway, some just may find it more easily than others, but that's beside the point.
In this tale we encounter so many stories equal in thein uniqueness, united by the same feeling of yearning, by the screams of wanting to be heard and the whispers of wanting to be accepted.
It's wonderful in the way it explores how a lot of family units deal with trauma, by wanting to revert, the hardship of accepting that things will never be the same and not knowing how to mourn them, so maybe it's best to make them go away...
How telling can it be, when you think of the reticence of some parents to let go of their children, to let them find their own voices & paths, to let them be hurt.
How hard it has to be for a kid, growing up to "be sure" of who they are or who they want to be, to stand up to those who love us, to try find and forge our own way, our own story...
It's cruel to ask a kid to "be sure" of so much, yet it is the requirement for then, they have accepted the consequences, no refunds here (in this world or any).
And so they go head first, not knowing what it means to "be sure" finding a place fit for them, only to be thrown out later, back into a world that never spoke their language, that never saw them for who they were since it already had decided without them what their place was in it. They know now what is to be sure, for they are sure, that they don't belong here, in this roles planned for them, they're sure, they found their home and now they're lost.
Going more specifically into the story of this particular novella,
This is a beautiful introductory novel for the series, welcoming us to the diferent directions, the complexity of the world, and the musing tone of the tale overall.
We meet character form all over the compass, even if we only get a glimpse of most.
I'll go into Nancy, since she's the star of this particular number. The stillness, her world, her ways, I find so soothing, I connected with her in those way even if I could not in others, she was aproachable, and calming, observing. I loved her.
The plot was realy fun, as well as the resolution, but what gives the killing blow for me is the writing, simple and impactful, right to the core.
"You are nobody's rainbow"
In the end, there's only one thing I hope to gain from this book/series, and that is: If I am to be a Therapist, I hope I can channel all the Eleanor West energy I can manage both to the family as well as my patients. Both the soothe to the family for things will get better, even if they're different than from before ("Let me help, please, just let me help") and to the children, for them to feel understood in some capacity, help them find the similarities in their differences.
-May 2019-
Absolutely Beautiful, I loved loved loooved the complexity yet openended-ness of this book! I already want to re-read AND it’s the first book in a while that actually make me stay up until late at night bc I could not put it down and I didn’t wanted to come back from it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Body horror, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, and Transphobia
Minor: Animal death
dernhelms_bag's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Transphobia, Child death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Eating disorder
penofpossibilities's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
First of all, this is not what I expected at all! People have described this series to me as something whimsical and fantastical, but it felt more like a thriller/mild horror to me. It was a weird story filled with creepy characters and gory scenes. If that's your thing, I think you'll definitly like this. But I was not expecting it.
I had difficulty rating this as the book was actally too short for me to get fully into it or for it to develop any of the characters or worldbuilding. There was alot of info dump-y dialogue that was almost boring to read. I felt very little connection to the characters or what was going on.
Props to the author for writing asexual and trans rep (main character and main antagonist as well, so it got a big place in the story!! :)) and for the interesting change of having creepy unlikable and gruesome main characters instead of the usual tropes.
But I could not say I was invested enough to feel a great desire to continue the series. I might, though, just to find out how the writing progresses and if the plot goes anywhere at all.
Lastly I would like to point out that some of the ways the author discussed mental health in this were very... unsetteling and I did not like them. For example, we have a character calling their school 'the looney bin', another saying something among the lines of 'our parents will put us on schizophrenic medication we don't need', and let's not forget Nancy's saying she barely eats but she 'doesn't have an eating disorder'. It just seemed incredibly disrespectful and unfeeling towards people actually camping with these issues? And the baltant way in which it is said could be very triggering for people.
Overall, this felt like a weird short story, perfect for a quick autumn read, but definetly not anything that makes me feel glad I read it. I feel rather meh about it.
I had difficulty rating this as the book was actally too short for me to get fully into it or for it to develop any of the characters or worldbuilding. There was alot of info dump-y dialogue that was almost boring to read. I felt very little connection to the characters or what was going on.
Props to the author for writing asexual and trans rep (main character and main antagonist as well, so it got a big place in the story!! :)) and for the interesting change of having creepy unlikable and gruesome main characters instead of the usual tropes.
But I could not say I was invested enough to feel a great desire to continue the series. I might, though, just to find out how the writing progresses and if the plot goes anywhere at all.
Lastly I would like to point out that some of the ways the author discussed mental health in this were very... unsetteling and I did not like them. For example, we have a character calling their school 'the looney bin', another saying something among the lines of 'our parents will put us on schizophrenic medication we don't need', and let's not forget Nancy's saying she barely eats but she 'doesn't have an eating disorder'. It just seemed incredibly disrespectful and unfeeling towards people actually camping with these issues? And the baltant way in which it is said could be very triggering for people.
Overall, this felt like a weird short story, perfect for a quick autumn read, but definetly not anything that makes me feel glad I read it. I feel rather meh about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Transphobia
angelareads's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Read content warning prior to picking up this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Eating disorder and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual content and Deadnaming
marieketron's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Transphobia
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