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proudtobeabookaholic's review
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
"Some adventures begin easily. It is not HARD, after all, to be sucked up by a tornado or pushed through a particularly porous mirror; there is no skill involved in being swept away by a great wave or pulled down a rabbit hole. Some adventures require nothing more than a willing heart and the ability to trip over the cracks in the world."
Twin sisters Jack and Jill ended up at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children when they were 17 years old, but what happened before that? Their parents shaped them after their own ideals and never saw them as actual people. Jacqueline became her mother's perfect daughter: polite and quiet, always in beautiful dresses she's not allowed to get dirty. Jillian became her father’s perfect daughter: adventurous and brave, always playing with boys. Identical in appearance, total opposites in personality. When the girls were twelve they found a staircase at the bottom of a trunk...
We got to know Jack and Jill in the first book, "Every Heart a Doorway", and here we get their whole story, both their (rather tragic) childhood and their adventure in another world. I now understand them better, but I would have liked to read their parts in the first book again! It also gave me a better understanding about what’s behind those doors everybody seems to want to find again. The girl's upbringing almost made me shiver - and see that there are different forms of child abuse.
"Like bonsai being trained into shape by an assidious gardener, they were growing into the geometry of the parents' desires, and it was pushing them further and further away from each other. One day, perhaps, one of them would reach across the gulf and find that there was no one there."
It's really sad that the sisters' animosity towards each other follow them through the door to The Moors, even though in a slightly different way than expected. Now I'm curious to see what the next book has to offer!
Twin sisters Jack and Jill ended up at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children when they were 17 years old, but what happened before that? Their parents shaped them after their own ideals and never saw them as actual people. Jacqueline became her mother's perfect daughter: polite and quiet, always in beautiful dresses she's not allowed to get dirty. Jillian became her father’s perfect daughter: adventurous and brave, always playing with boys. Identical in appearance, total opposites in personality. When the girls were twelve they found a staircase at the bottom of a trunk...
We got to know Jack and Jill in the first book, "Every Heart a Doorway", and here we get their whole story, both their (rather tragic) childhood and their adventure in another world. I now understand them better, but I would have liked to read their parts in the first book again! It also gave me a better understanding about what’s behind those doors everybody seems to want to find again. The girl's upbringing almost made me shiver - and see that there are different forms of child abuse.
"Like bonsai being trained into shape by an assidious gardener, they were growing into the geometry of the parents' desires, and it was pushing them further and further away from each other. One day, perhaps, one of them would reach across the gulf and find that there was no one there."
It's really sad that the sisters' animosity towards each other follow them through the door to The Moors, even though in a slightly different way than expected. Now I'm curious to see what the next book has to offer!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
lipstickitotheman's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Bullying, Grief, Toxic relationship, Classism, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Fatphobia, and Lesbophobia
maeverose's review against another edition
3.25
I wanted more from the gothic setting and the vampire and mad scientist characters. I wanted more atmosphere and worldbuilding. Ofc it’s a novella but not a lot happens in it. It focuses too much on their childhood before they find their door, and once they get there it felt like it sped through and summarized so much of what happened. There were even parts where the author said ‘This part would be dull/unnecessary to explain so let’s just fast forward’. It felt like she couldn’t really think of where to take the story up until the end we already learned about in the first book. My rating is mostly for the concepts and the pretty writing. We also learned a bit more about how the doors work, and I’d really like to know how Dr Bleak figured out how to conjure them. The setting was cool but we didn’t get to see enough of it. I’m hoping we do in the other book from this world.
I read the first book so I knew how it would end, but I didn’t like how they got there. I hate the message of ‘family is family and somewhere deep down you love them no matter what unforgivably horrible things they’ve done to you’, and this kinda had that. It made no sense to me how Jack could have any love for her sister after what she did, especially considering she never got along with her to begin with. The author tried to explain why Jack did it, but I didn’t feel like she really succeeded at that. It seemed like it was only written that way for the plot to go in a certain direction. Also because their abusive parents are never redeemed, it almost felt hypocritical.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Ableism, Blood, Classism, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit, Sexual content, and Lesbophobia
Toxic masculinity, depictions of germaphobia ocd, a situation similar to groominglola77's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Whimsical yet dark
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Murder, Gore, Blood, and Death
daffodilcherry's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
Absolutely loved this installment of the Wayward Children series! I loved immersing myself into the moors, the tragedy of Jack and Jill. It really further developed my favourite characters from the first book which I definitely enjoyed.
Wheelhouse items: Gothic setting, vampires, mad scientists, traveling to different worlds, worldbuilding, nature vs nurture, narrative parallels, dysfunctional relationships.
CW explanations: Jill is a bit homophobic/weirdly jealous of Jack and her girlfriend, which ends in a murder. Jill is also disparaging about the girlfriend's size, but the narrative isn't.
Wheelhouse items: Gothic setting, vampires, mad scientists, traveling to different worlds, worldbuilding, nature vs nurture, narrative parallels, dysfunctional relationships.
CW explanations:
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Blood, Death, Fatphobia, and Toxic relationship
cady_sass's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
WOW this blew my mind! It’s the second book and it’s so short that I literally can’t say anything without risking spoilers. Jac & Jill were mesmerizing in the first book so I’m so glad that’s the story we followed here. Absolutely captivating, give me more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Violence, Abandonment, Bullying, Death, and Murder
gayledayle's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As an identical twin, there are several passages, especially in the first quarter, that made me nearly cry with a sense of recognition.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Murder
75% of the book is spent in a world that is described as belonging in a classic horror movie, so while none of the 'moderate' warnings are main focuses, they are pervasive throughout the background. The emotional abuse is primarily in the first quarter, and is a main focus.prasi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Violence, Blood, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, and Gaslighting
schnaucl's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.75
I really liked this one. There are several bits of narration in omniscient third person where the narrator talks about it as a story and it's lovely and well written. It reminds me of the opening of In the Shadow of Spindrift House.
Both characters were interesting, as were the Moors. I wish it had been a little longerand I was disappointed that it ends with Jack and Jill arriving home so we don't get to see what happens after they return at the end of Every Heart a Doorway, but it was a lovely little story.
Both characters were interesting, as were the Moors. I wish it had been a little longer
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, and Death
Minor: Child death
editorbrenna's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Blood