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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
High expectations were the downfall of this one for me. The reviews painted a gorgeous story full of depth and spectacle, and a well-earned permanent spot on my bookshelf. Instead, it read like a middle school YA fantasy that, while endearing, ultimately felt lacking in a lot of ways.
I went in knowing I’d need to suspend my disbelief -- after all, it's a story about a girl who learns there are Doors (or portals) that lead to other worlds -- but that suspension can only hold for so long.
I can accept reality where magical things exist. But then you want me to add cartoonish human behavior to that pile? No, ma’am. There has to be something rooted in reality for me to feel like the events unfolding, even in a world where magic exists, are still possible. Bring on the animal-human hybrids, monsters, people with superpowers, etc. I'll take it. What I won't take are regular humans acting like borderline parodies of other character tropes. That goes for the villains too, who seemed to have no qualms with sharing their plans openly. It took me out of the story at times.
The novel is like a love letter to people who love words with the writing being flowery and verbose. This may not be everyone's thing but I didn't mind it.
The tenses do jump around a lot because we're reading the book, plus the book within the book. So we have the first person perspective from our protagonist January Scaller; plus the perspective of the writer of the book she is reading, which jumps between first and third. There were a lot of interesting choices made with this story.
I do appreciate the exploration of real world issues like racism, classism, and trauma, but unfortunately don't feel the author stuck the landing overall.
January, a biracial girl growing up in a predominantly white society in the early 1900s, has a lot of emotional neglect and trauma inflicted on her as a child. The girl is in functional freeze mode. Some of her decisions and reactions, while infuriating, are still understandable when remembering that context.
But then when it came to scenes depicting the discrimination she faces or observes, it felt so obviously heavy-handed and like watching an after-school special.
There are enjoyable chapters, and ones that lag. The premise is interesting but doesn't take off the way I would have hoped. I think it's a novel better recommended for younger readers rather than adults.
I went in knowing I’d need to suspend my disbelief -- after all, it's a story about a girl who learns there are Doors (or portals) that lead to other worlds -- but that suspension can only hold for so long.
I can accept reality where magical things exist. But then you want me to add cartoonish human behavior to that pile? No, ma’am. There has to be something rooted in reality for me to feel like the events unfolding, even in a world where magic exists, are still possible. Bring on the animal-human hybrids, monsters, people with superpowers, etc. I'll take it. What I won't take are regular humans acting like borderline parodies of other character tropes. That goes for the villains too, who seemed to have no qualms with sharing their plans openly. It took me out of the story at times.
The novel is like a love letter to people who love words with the writing being flowery and verbose. This may not be everyone's thing but I didn't mind it.
The tenses do jump around a lot because we're reading the book, plus the book within the book. So we have the first person perspective from our protagonist January Scaller; plus the perspective of the writer of the book she is reading, which jumps between first and third. There were a lot of interesting choices made with this story.
I do appreciate the exploration of real world issues like racism, classism, and trauma, but unfortunately don't feel the author stuck the landing overall.
January, a biracial girl growing up in a predominantly white society in the early 1900s, has a lot of emotional neglect and trauma inflicted on her as a child. The girl is in functional freeze mode. Some of her decisions and reactions, while infuriating, are still understandable when remembering that context.
But then when it came to scenes depicting the discrimination she faces or observes, it felt so obviously heavy-handed and like watching an after-school special.
There are enjoyable chapters, and ones that lag. The premise is interesting but doesn't take off the way I would have hoped. I think it's a novel better recommended for younger readers rather than adults.
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
First of all, thanks to my bookish partner in crime Sarah for reading this with me! As always, it was a pleasure
Some maddening plot holes and pacing issues but the lush lush prose and layers of storytelling more than make up for it
challenging
emotional
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
This was such an original concept and so well executed, a story about a young woman overcoming sexism and racial prejudice neatly wrapped in a story about magical interdimensional travel, love, loss, and finding again, and the power of stories
Ok- the premise of this book was awesome and there were glimpses of how good it could be but....it just didn’t do it for me. I feel like the author sacrificed plot for stylistic language. There wasn’t enough world building early on. Also, the characters weren’t that likeable. I really feel like it’s unfinished- like it’s a rough draft. I’m not unhappy that I read it but I’m sad about what it could have been.
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Abandonment
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was very unique. I appreciate how original and whimsical this was but I was very lost at times. I had trouble following and keeping up with the story and what was happening. I will however say that the ending was very nice and made sense. This book was okay but I don't see myself reading this again.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No