Scan barcode
A review by ayana
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
The Ten Thousand Doors of January is an exquisite portal-fantasy tale about love: love for a parent and for a child, love for a pet, love for home and unexpected places, self-love, the love of reading and the written word, as well as true love.
We first meet January recounting a story as she introduces the reader to herself: “You don’t know a thing about me; you can’t see me sitting at this yellow-wood desk, the salt-sweet breeze riffling these pages like a reader looking for her bookmark. You can’t see the scars that twist and knot across my skin.” We get to know January, first as a 7-year old child, standing at a Door to another world hidden in the Jim Crow South, and later as a young adult on the precipice of a magically boundless and terrible journey.
With leisurely, unhurried narrative the reader understands January is a mixed-race girl in a world set to control her will, her body, her voice. Is Mr. Locke, January’s wealthy guardian, and her father’s employer, a part of a repressive American culture or her shield against it?
It is only after January pieces together parts of her parents’ story that she takes the reader with her from our world into the unknown. First, there are friendships to solidify, mysteries to unravel, a book to read and savor. After January is forced to act, to save herself, does she finally embark on a quest to find her rightful place in this world and on the flipside of ten thousand Doors and to defeat the stygian Society before they close her Door home?
January is captivating, her story compelling, her dog fiercely lovable, her companions Jane and Samuel endearing. Even January’s parents’ love story is delightfully charming. The Ten Thousand Doors of January is about love and I fell in love with it.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January is an exquisite portal-fantasy tale about love: love for a parent and for a child, love for a pet, love for home and unexpected places, self-love, the love of reading and the written word, as well as true love.
We first meet January recounting a story as she introduces the reader to herself: “You don’t know a thing about me; you can’t see me sitting at this yellow-wood desk, the salt-sweet breeze riffling these pages like a reader looking for her bookmark. You can’t see the scars that twist and knot across my skin.” We get to know January, first as a 7-year old child, standing at a Door to another world hidden in the Jim Crow South and later as a young adult on the precipice of a magically boundless and terrible journey.
With leisurely, unhurried narrative the reader understands January is a mixed-race girl in a world set to control her will, her body, her voice. Is Mr. Locke, January’s wealthy guardian, and her father’s employer, a part of a repressive American culture or her shield against it?
It is only after January pieces together parts of her parents’ story that she takes the reader with her from our world into the unknown. First, there are friendships to solidify, mysteries to unravel, a book to read and savor. After January is forced to act, to save herself, does she finally embark on a quest to find her rightful place in this world, and on the flipside of ten thousand Doors, and to defeat the stygian Society before they close her Door home.
January is captivating, her story compelling, her dog fiercely lovable, her companions Jane and Samuel endearing. Even January’s parents’ love story is delightfully charming. The Ten Thousand Doors of January is about love, and I fell in love with it.
We first meet January recounting a story as she introduces the reader to herself: “You don’t know a thing about me; you can’t see me sitting at this yellow-wood desk, the salt-sweet breeze riffling these pages like a reader looking for her bookmark. You can’t see the scars that twist and knot across my skin.” We get to know January, first as a 7-year old child, standing at a Door to another world hidden in the Jim Crow South and later as a young adult on the precipice of a magically boundless and terrible journey.
With leisurely, unhurried narrative the reader understands January is a mixed-race girl in a world set to control her will, her body, her voice. Is Mr. Locke, January’s wealthy guardian, and her father’s employer, a part of a repressive American culture or her shield against it?
It is only after January pieces together parts of her parents’ story that she takes the reader with her from our world into the unknown. First, there are friendships to solidify, mysteries to unravel, a book to read and savor. After January is forced to act, to save herself, does she finally embark on a quest to find her rightful place in this world, and on the flipside of ten thousand Doors, and to defeat the stygian Society before they close her Door home.
January is captivating, her story compelling, her dog fiercely lovable, her companions Jane and Samuel endearing. Even January’s parents’ love story is delightfully charming. The Ten Thousand Doors of January is about love, and I fell in love with it.