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wedreamtoflove's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I adored this book.
The pacing was a little strange at first, with the big event seemingly coming out of nowhere, but the pacing was quite good otherwise.
I loved the subtle nods to well-known, and not so well-known, literary worlds that were present throughout the book. References that perhaps few will know, but are meaningful to those who do.
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started this, but I can safely say that it exceeded whatever expectations I had, and I can't wait to read the others in this series.
The pacing was a little strange at first, with the big event seemingly coming out of nowhere, but the pacing was quite good otherwise.
I loved the subtle nods to well-known, and not so well-known, literary worlds that were present throughout the book. References that perhaps few will know, but are meaningful to those who do.
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started this, but I can safely say that it exceeded whatever expectations I had, and I can't wait to read the others in this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Cannibalism, Violence, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Eating disorder, Murder, Blood, Body horror, and Transphobia
theaceofpages's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-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
4.75
Have you ever wondered what happens when someone returns to the real world in a portal fantasy? What it's like to leave the world of wonder and return to our rather mundane reality? This book looks is set at a school for those who wish to return to the worlds that they have been ripped from and need to try to learn to let go of the lives that they have lost so that they can reintegrate into our world.
I have been aware of and interested in this book for a while (I will admit that the asexual representation is part of it!). I went in mostly blind since I wasn't aware of much (I knew there was an asexual character and there were portals to fantasy worlds). I finally got around to reading it and I accidentally finished it in a day (it is short, yes, but I wasn't expecting to rush through it quite this quickly). I had such a good time reading it. The writing was beautiful and I can definitely imagine the pain of being forced out of a fantasy world (look, I'm still homesick for a place I worked at last year and this wasn't even a completely different realm with magic!) The school seems like it would simultaneously be great (others get it and no one will stop you from going to what you now consider home if you get the chance) and awful (oops, you are stuck in the real world now and need to learn to deal with it). There's a bit of a murder mystery thrown in too and I enjoyed that, although I did guess who the killer was from one of the clues. That didn't take away from my enjoyment though!
I will definitely be continuing with the rest of the series. In fact, I'm already ready to dive into the next book! Unfortunately that will probably have to wait until next year since I have some other books I'd like to get through before the year ends. I'm very excited to get back into it soon and see where the other books go (at this point I have no idea and based off my enjoyment of this book, I think I'll be trying to go into the other books knowing as little as possible as well!)
I have been aware of and interested in this book for a while (I will admit that the asexual representation is part of it!). I went in mostly blind since I wasn't aware of much (I knew there was an asexual character and there were portals to fantasy worlds). I finally got around to reading it and I accidentally finished it in a day (it is short, yes, but I wasn't expecting to rush through it quite this quickly). I had such a good time reading it. The writing was beautiful and I can definitely imagine the pain of being forced out of a fantasy world (look, I'm still homesick for a place I worked at last year and this wasn't even a completely different realm with magic!) The school seems like it would simultaneously be great (others get it and no one will stop you from going to what you now consider home if you get the chance) and awful (oops, you are stuck in the real world now and need to learn to deal with it). There's a bit of a murder mystery thrown in too and I enjoyed that, although I did guess who the killer was from one of the clues. That didn't take away from my enjoyment though!
I will definitely be continuing with the rest of the series. In fact, I'm already ready to dive into the next book! Unfortunately that will probably have to wait until next year since I have some other books I'd like to get through before the year ends. I'm very excited to get back into it soon and see where the other books go (at this point I have no idea and based off my enjoyment of this book, I think I'll be trying to go into the other books knowing as little as possible as well!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Murder, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Eating disorder, and Transphobia
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, and Grief
cassidysreads's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I’m struggling to find if this is marketed as YA or not, but this absolutely is NOT YA at all. My library specifically placed this series in YA, and I can affirm this is not a safe book for children. If I read this as a teenager, I feel it would have been incredibly harmful to my own mental health.
0/5 stars. What a waste of time.
First off, I was SO excited for this book. The concept of children who went to a different world from a door and then returning to their real home and finding they just didn't feel like they belonged anymore was so fascinating to me. This Narnia-esque vibe was really appealing to me, and with all the praise around this series I was super stoked to start it. And unfortunately, I was incredibly let down.
How does one even describe the absolute bizarreness of this book?
I feel like this book's only purpose was to be as quirky, odd, and nonsensical as possible. Instead of having much substance, it just uses the guise of fantasy to justify it's whimsical prose. Had I known it was going to have that kind of overly flowery writing prior to reading, I likely never would have picked it up from the library. However, I'd much rather have the flowery prose of Shatter Me over this, which says a lot. If quotes like "the word had simply escaped her lips, like a runaway calf" and "an unreported death is just a disappearance in its Sunday clothes" tickle your mind's fancy, then you might just enjoy it.
0/5 stars. What a waste of time.
First off, I was SO excited for this book. The concept of children who went to a different world from a door and then returning to their real home and finding they just didn't feel like they belonged anymore was so fascinating to me. This Narnia-esque vibe was really appealing to me, and with all the praise around this series I was super stoked to start it. And unfortunately, I was incredibly let down.
How does one even describe the absolute bizarreness of this book?
I feel like this book's only purpose was to be as quirky, odd, and nonsensical as possible. Instead of having much substance, it just uses the guise of fantasy to justify it's whimsical prose. Had I known it was going to have that kind of overly flowery writing prior to reading, I likely never would have picked it up from the library. However, I'd much rather have the flowery prose of Shatter Me over this, which says a lot. If quotes like "the word had simply escaped her lips, like a runaway calf" and "an unreported death is just a disappearance in its Sunday clothes" tickle your mind's fancy, then you might just enjoy it.
"That's because Narnia was a Christian allegory pretending to be a fantasy series."
Well, to twist McGuire's own words: this book is LGBTQ+ allegory pretending to be a fantasy series. The irony of having that quote in the book when the book itself is quite literally doing the same thing. And truthfully, there's nothing wrong with that kind of concept whatsoever. But it's the way it was executed that disappointed me. The representation just felt like it was there to check the diversity box, and it didn't feel like it meshed very naturally with the actual story. The only story that truly blended seamlessly with the fantasy elements was probably Kade, and even that felt a bit off-kilter as you didn't truly know that
Now my primary issue with this is the school itself. Essentially, children who have traveled through doors to a different dimension return home from those doors and struggle to come back to reality. Their families don't know how to help them, and so they're sent off to this school to "fix" them. But in actuality, it's a school of children who have all traversed through doors and is a means of interacting with other children who understand their troubles. In ways, this reminds me heavily of mental illness. Mental illness can be heavily misunderstood and brushed under the rug, and so in some places, it felt like it hit close to home in that regard. However, there was a huge lack of emphasis on healing, which I found to be troubling.
Instead of coming to terms with the reality of their actual lives and finding a means of meshing back into their true home after being in a different world, they're essentially embracing it and nurturing this idea that they can return back to those dimensions. It just had this nuance to it that made me feel like it was encouraging others to relish in their mental illness as if it's simply a personality trait, rather than viewing it as an illness that one can heal from. Which, again, I find very harmful and disruptive to true healing as someone who has dealt with this myself. It might just be my own interpretation of the story, but that's the message I was getting from it.
I just felt like with the combination of whimsical writing that's trying too hard, to the dangerous nuance of mental illness embracement, to the wacky change of pace from fantasy to murder mystery (which is a whole different issue in itself), I frequently found myself taken out of the story. Which made it far less enjoyable to read. I was SO excited for this concept. I love the idea of children going through doors to different worlds and coming back home trying to relearn their previous life. But it just felt like it wasn't executed in the way I had anticipated with all the hype surrounding this series.
Needless to say, Seanen McGuire's writing is just not for me, and this story is just not for me. So unfortunately, I will not be continuing this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Mental illness
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
books4em's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Loved this little book, will be picking up the rest of the series! My only complaint was there was a lot of high level vocabulary that I had to look up, and there were a few scenes or segways that felt very rushed through. That being said, it was a very interesting introduction to this world and series. I found each character unique and intriguing, and I appreciated that they all had different stories for the doors they walked into (whether I liked them or not). Loved the diversity too - ace/aro and trans main characters. Look forward to continuing!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Murder, Torture, Gaslighting, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Outing
Minor: Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Eating disorder
lola77's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.5
Whimsical in a twisted kind of way. I am intrigued and looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Deadnaming, Gore, Transphobia, Bullying, Mental illness, and Sexism
Moderate: Animal cruelty
moonchildjuli's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Gore, Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Transphobia, and Vomit
egernand's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I feel like this story should have been more reflective, but wasn't given time to breathe due to the plot barging in. I don't feel that the plot added much, and prevented the character exploration or some of the setting exploration I wish would have taken place. Also, it was jarring and characters' roles/reactions to it damaged my suspension of disbelief. I liked the initial ideas of this story, but was unsatisfied by the direction it went.
The story is about children who had adventures in other worlds, and have now returned to the normal world and have to figure out how to cope. I thought that would be the focus of the book, and that it would explore things like the drastically different scope of what's important, coming from magical/extremely other worlds where you might die, or are saving the world, or are stuck as a servant, etc, returning to a world where you're just expected to do well in school, act nice to other children, behave for your family, etc. The plot overrode any deep exploration of that position these people find themselves in.
The story is about children who had adventures in other worlds, and have now returned to the normal world and have to figure out how to cope. I thought that would be the focus of the book, and that it would explore things like the drastically different scope of what's important, coming from magical/extremely other worlds where you might die, or are saving the world, or are stuck as a servant, etc, returning to a world where you're just expected to do well in school, act nice to other children, behave for your family, etc. The plot overrode any deep exploration of that position these people find themselves in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, and Bullying
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Violence, and Transphobia
Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
emsavors's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Outing, Transphobia, Violence, and Vomit
cgn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Exactly what I wanted today. I found myself fully immersed in the world, and I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Child death, Gore, Transphobia, and Violence
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Body horror, Bullying, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Mental illness