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deadgenie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
3.5
jtlars7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
It took me awhile to get into this. I even gave up on it for awhile and read something else before coming back to it. I’m glad I did, though, because I eventually found it hard to put down, and I think I’ll remember these characters for a long time. This was another recommendation from the podcast Strong Sense of Place.
thejenny's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
bhnmt61's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a week or so to get through the first half of this book, not because there’s anything wrong with it, but because i have a hard time with characters who continually do things that make no sense. I like competent characters, characters who figure out how to do things, or learn new skills, or fail the first time they try something but then the next time they are smarter and cagey-er.
For the first half of this book, January, the heroine, just keeps doing the same unsuccessful things over and over, and when something doesn’t work, never fear, it won’t keep her from doing it again a chapter or two later. How am I supposed to have any respect for a 17-year-old who can’t figure out how to leave her house without getting caught? Any teenager worth their proverbial salt can do this. It just makes her look stupid.
There are plenty of people who enjoy heroines who are charming and/or relatable in their lack of skill, who run up their credit cards or crumple the fender of their car or find themselves in the same sticky situation they were in a few months earlier and they’re not quite sure how they got there. Those characters can be likeable and appealing, and the way they are continually the victims of people or circumstances helps establish the challenges they face. Competence is irrelevant.
But competence is not irrelevant to me. I am a big fan of competence porn, as they call it. When one of your long-time loyal companions asks you to do something using your magical skills, you don’t say “I can’t.” You say, “I don’t know how to do that, but I will figure it out.” (To be fair, that is the response January makes 100-ish pages later, but the first time she just refuses.)
Two things kept me going with this book— one is that my first bookish love was Narnia, and I’m willing to forgive a lot for magical doors between worlds; and the other was the alternating story of Adelaide, which was far more interesting to me. And eventually my slogging through paid off, because the last bit was better. But mainly I just want to go back and re-read Voyage of the Dawn Treader now.
For the first half of this book, January, the heroine, just keeps doing the same unsuccessful things over and over, and when something doesn’t work, never fear, it won’t keep her from doing it again a chapter or two later. How am I supposed to have any respect for a 17-year-old who can’t figure out how to leave her house without getting caught? Any teenager worth their proverbial salt can do this. It just makes her look stupid.
There are plenty of people who enjoy heroines who are charming and/or relatable in their lack of skill, who run up their credit cards or crumple the fender of their car or find themselves in the same sticky situation they were in a few months earlier and they’re not quite sure how they got there. Those characters can be likeable and appealing, and the way they are continually the victims of people or circumstances helps establish the challenges they face. Competence is irrelevant.
But competence is not irrelevant to me. I am a big fan of competence porn, as they call it. When one of your long-time loyal companions asks you to do something using your magical skills, you don’t say “I can’t.” You say, “I don’t know how to do that, but I will figure it out.” (To be fair, that is the response January makes 100-ish pages later, but the first time she just refuses.)
Two things kept me going with this book— one is that my first bookish love was Narnia, and I’m willing to forgive a lot for magical doors between worlds; and the other was the alternating story of Adelaide, which was far more interesting to me. And eventually my slogging through paid off, because the last bit was better. But mainly I just want to go back and re-read Voyage of the Dawn Treader now.
marion's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ☆
j'écris cette review alors que je viens seulement de finir ma lecture. alors au début, j'avais juste l'impression d'être ultra stupide et de tout simplement rien comprendre. je crois que c'est vers les 200 pages que je commençais (enfin !) à comprendre, ce qui est dommage en vrai parce que c'est quand même la MOITIE du livre.
je me sens pas spécialement attachée aux personnages même si leurs histoires étaient intéressantes... les chapitres étaient loooooongs et avec tellement de descriptions que ça en devenait interminable et c'était dur de juste continuer sa lecture sans avoir l'impression de ne pas avancer...
finalement j'ai aimé ma lecture, mais la comprendre vraiment au bout de 50% de lecture, c'est moyen. j'ai aimé comment les histoires étaient liées, puis une histoire qui raconte une histoire qui raconte une histoire (aïe le mal de tête ahah)... c'était top, c'était la première fois que je lisais un roman de ce genre et j'ai vraiment apprécié ça !
j'écris cette review alors que je viens seulement de finir ma lecture. alors au début, j'avais juste l'impression d'être ultra stupide et de tout simplement rien comprendre. je crois que c'est vers les 200 pages que je commençais (enfin !) à comprendre, ce qui est dommage en vrai parce que c'est quand même la MOITIE du livre.
je me sens pas spécialement attachée aux personnages même si leurs histoires étaient intéressantes... les chapitres étaient loooooongs et avec tellement de descriptions que ça en devenait interminable et c'était dur de juste continuer sa lecture sans avoir l'impression de ne pas avancer...
finalement j'ai aimé ma lecture, mais la comprendre vraiment au bout de 50% de lecture, c'est moyen. j'ai aimé comment les histoires étaient liées, puis une histoire qui raconte une histoire qui raconte une histoire (aïe le mal de tête ahah)... c'était top, c'était la première fois que je lisais un roman de ce genre et j'ai vraiment apprécié ça !
aerialcataloger's review against another edition
DNF-ed at 30% mark. CW for violence against a pet and involuntary institutionalization of a WOC to further discredit her. Either one of those would be enough for me to step away, but aside from those content issues, I wasn't feeling drawn into/connected to the story, and trying to finish it felt like a chore.
tolove_abook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.5
“𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚. 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨.”
~~~
January Scaller lives in a mansion that feels like a museum. Her guardian, Mr. Locke, is an esteemed member of the New England Archeological Society and a collector of peculiar treasures. January often feels like she is just another object on display - a foreign, dark-skinned girl, ignored and out of place in early 1900s Vermont. She desperately misses her father who is off exploring exotic locations in search of new items for Mr. Locke’s collection.
One day, when she is very young, January finds a door standing in the middle of a field. She smells salt and sea and knows, deep down, that the door is magical. But Mr. Locke will not listen to the wild imaginings of a child. He expects her to be a proper young lady and will accept nothing less. Years later, she finds a book about magic doors and remembers the forgotten door of her childhood.
When January learns her father died while on an expedition, something in her fractures. Mr. Locke and the other members of the Archeological Society see that January isn’t the tame, civilized girl they thought, and she finds herself in an increasingly dangerous situation. She is soon forced to flee and embarks on a truly remarkable adventure.
This book is for readers who believe in the power of the written word. It’s for those of us who know books and writing can provide escape and sanctuary. As always, Alix E. Harrow’s prose is achingly beautiful and her characters are multifaceted, complicated women for whom you can’t help but cheer. This is an exceptional debut novel!
~~~
January Scaller lives in a mansion that feels like a museum. Her guardian, Mr. Locke, is an esteemed member of the New England Archeological Society and a collector of peculiar treasures. January often feels like she is just another object on display - a foreign, dark-skinned girl, ignored and out of place in early 1900s Vermont. She desperately misses her father who is off exploring exotic locations in search of new items for Mr. Locke’s collection.
One day, when she is very young, January finds a door standing in the middle of a field. She smells salt and sea and knows, deep down, that the door is magical. But Mr. Locke will not listen to the wild imaginings of a child. He expects her to be a proper young lady and will accept nothing less. Years later, she finds a book about magic doors and remembers the forgotten door of her childhood.
When January learns her father died while on an expedition, something in her fractures. Mr. Locke and the other members of the Archeological Society see that January isn’t the tame, civilized girl they thought, and she finds herself in an increasingly dangerous situation. She is soon forced to flee and embarks on a truly remarkable adventure.
This book is for readers who believe in the power of the written word. It’s for those of us who know books and writing can provide escape and sanctuary. As always, Alix E. Harrow’s prose is achingly beautiful and her characters are multifaceted, complicated women for whom you can’t help but cheer. This is an exceptional debut novel!
strawberryerin's review against another edition
5.0
This book definitely earned my 5-star rating. I was a bit late to the hype of it but every moment of this book was enjoyable. The arc of January is well-developed and feels like you're reading a true story. I actually felt transported into a world where these "Doors" to other places exist. If you have not read it, prepare for a whirlwind of emotions as well. There was a lot of disappointment in characters, surprise, excitement, and sadness. 10/10 would read again