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A review by frenchtoast_n_books
The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth
4.0
Warning: this book is not happy. It has heavy trigger warnings on depression, suicidal ideation, self harm, PTSD, and disordered eating.
Disclaimer: I have never read The Chronicles of Narnia so I cannot compare any possible similarities between the two.
Also, if you are looking for an action-fantasy or whimsical-fantasy, this book is not for you. This book is a character driven narration on life after a magical journey and how the people who have ventured between two very different worlds either copes or fails to cope with being back in their birth world.
I loved the narration and the writing of this book so much. The journey Evelyn and Phillipa make are heartbreaking and I loved it. Evelyn's fracturing psyche is shown through the collision of her past with her present, and Phillipa's guilt that is a constant pressure on her is shown through her frequent revisits to the events of the past. None of the characters in this story are perfect. They hold their mistakes and heartaches with them and they are trying to make sense of things which is very real. It's a big part of why I liked this story so much. These characters are filled with raw emotion and I felt it with them.
However, the book was not without its faults, particularly with Phillipa's interactions with her love interest in the beginning. It smooths out as the story is told into a very healthy and loving relationship that I am happy for. Another fault that I didn't realize until reading other reviews is that the pain of the war is isolated to the siblings in this story and one other (a veteran that gives this story a character with a physical disability). This story picks up at the end of WWII but no one else seems to suffer from its devastation. Giving side characters an expression of their pain from the war would have added more depth and reality to the story.
For me, what I enjoyed about the story far outweighed the negatives. I was left emotionally raw and I loved every beautifully devistated page.
Now on to a spoilery discussion/ramble:
I feel that comparing it to Narnia and a majority of the marketing strategy was poorly done.
Comparing it to Narnia either made readers that have read Narnia expect more than what they got (action-fantasy or whimsical-fantasy) or made them think this was Narnia fanfiction (in either a good or bad way). As I haven't read Narnia, I cannot compare. I would like to read Narnia one day, so maybe then I'll make my decision on the matter.
No content warnings were placed anywhere on the story itself and I'm sure the content warning was placed on the bios after people complained about it (except possibly for the author's webpage). This is a real disservice for those that struggle with specific subject matter. Publishers really need to up their game on making content warnings a priority in their marketing materials and with a page devoted to it in the book itself. Let's normalized this already.
Also, that synopsis couldn't have been more of a facepalm moment. They spoil the first half or so of the book. (In Edna's voice with a rolled up newspaper: Come on guys! Pulls yourselves together!)
Now, off one soap box and onto another.
As for comparing it to The Wayward Children series...yes and no. It has similar tones but is a different story altogether with different themes. However, my judgment stems from only reading Every Heart a Doorway, so I can't compare it to the series as a whole.
I'd say that TLBW is a character driven story, but EHAD is a plot driven story. I feel that their only real similarity is in that the children have returned from their fantasy world and now they have to cope or fail to cope in the world they were born in. Both also have dark tones and subject matter, but it is presented differently. Also, in EHAD the children had a mentor and peers to help them through their coping strategies and emotions at the school, but in TLBW the children had no one but themselves. This lack of support sends our characters on a painfully different path.
Now, lets discuss the nit and gritty: the ending and the diverging thought process on the burden of mental illness.
Point 1: does Evelyn die through suicide or does she return home to the wood?
No matter how you interpret this possibility, Phillipa sees her in the wood and that is enough to give her closure. She sees her happy and without pain. This allows her to move through her guilt and heartache that she has been bottling up for years. She can now start to heal and that is what she needs. Thinking she just gets over her years of guilt is an oversimplification. Thinking she is okay with the loss of her sister is also ignoring the fact that for 6 whole years she has been trying to not lose her sister because of her selfish choice to bring her sister back from the wood.
This isn't about Evelyn's end as much as it's about Evelyn helping Phillipa begin. (At least, that is how I see it.)
Point 2: is this book harmful in its portrayal of the burdens of mental health?
Some would say that it is because of how nobody seems to want to help Evelyn or that they gave up on her or that it portrays Evelyn as a burden.
I disagree.
Everyone is trying to help Evelyn to the best of their ability: Pillipa being alongside her for several years to heal her and prevent further harm, Jamie sending others to watch out for her while he and Phillipa are away at school, Evelyn's friends keeping tabs on her, and the grounds keeper allowing her to be in the element that makes her most happy. Do they do it perfectly? No. Do they ultimately help her? No. However, they tried to the best of their ability.
In my psych classes, we learn that it is very difficult to help/treat those with a mental illness if they do not wish to be helped. Evelyn cannot handle being in the world she was born in. She cannot live with the idea that she will never return to the wood. All help given to her only shows her that she needs to hide her true self. This makes helping her very difficult and it ends up consuming her in the end.
Also, keep in mind the time period. This day and age we have reasonable mental health counseling, mentorship, and peer support channels. However, people still fall through the cracks. Suicide is very common, in some cases the leading cause of death, in certain populations. In WWII and closely afterwards, mental health was not treated nearly as effectively. Most people were placed in asylums that became permanent living facilities that were poorly managed. Phillipa didn't want this to happen to Evelyn, and though an institution might have helped, it also might not have. Mistakes were made and that contributed to Evelyn's worsening mental state.
Lastly: did you and the characters in the story see Evelyn as a burden or her mental illness?
Do I really need to answer whether it was Evelyn or the mental illness that was a burden? You can tell it was the mental illness with how everyone talks to and about Evelyn. They love her and they want her well. They want to help her but they don't know how best to help her.
I saw her mental illness as a burden.
I have depression. I have family and friends with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder to name a few. These experiences allow me to say that mental illness makes you tired and it does burden those around you, but not in the way you should get angry about.
Think of the spoon analogy people give for those with depression. You have a set amount of spoons and you will give away a spoon each time you do a taxing task. Those with depression give up spoons for most any task if they are experiencing very low lows. When your spoons are gone, you cannot do anymore tasks until the next day when your spoons are replenished. This analogy works well because it also shows that everyone has spoons. Get it? Everyone has spoons. Phillipa was out of spoons and couldn't help Evelyn any longer.
Helping those with mental illness is taxing, but it is doable for a long while, especially if you have help. However, even the most strongest of wills will break when given too much. This is the case with Phillipa.
Could these divergent thoughts be better written in the book to put it in a less ambiguous light? Probably, but life is full of ambiguity. That is what makes me love this story. It felt real and reality hurts. So, I'm glad I could cry for these characters and hope for the best of them while acknowledging the worst that could be.
Disclaimer: I have never read The Chronicles of Narnia so I cannot compare any possible similarities between the two.
Also, if you are looking for an action-fantasy or whimsical-fantasy, this book is not for you. This book is a character driven narration on life after a magical journey and how the people who have ventured between two very different worlds either copes or fails to cope with being back in their birth world.
I loved the narration and the writing of this book so much. The journey Evelyn and Phillipa make are heartbreaking and I loved it. Evelyn's fracturing psyche is shown through the collision of her past with her present, and Phillipa's guilt that is a constant pressure on her is shown through her frequent revisits to the events of the past. None of the characters in this story are perfect. They hold their mistakes and heartaches with them and they are trying to make sense of things which is very real. It's a big part of why I liked this story so much. These characters are filled with raw emotion and I felt it with them.
However, the book was not without its faults, particularly with Phillipa's interactions with her love interest in the beginning. It smooths out as the story is told into a very healthy and loving relationship that I am happy for. Another fault that I didn't realize until reading other reviews is that the pain of the war is isolated to the siblings in this story and one other (a veteran that gives this story a character with a physical disability). This story picks up at the end of WWII but no one else seems to suffer from its devastation. Giving side characters an expression of their pain from the war would have added more depth and reality to the story.
For me, what I enjoyed about the story far outweighed the negatives. I was left emotionally raw and I loved every beautifully devistated page.
Now on to a spoilery discussion/ramble:
I feel that comparing it to Narnia and a majority of the marketing strategy was poorly done.
Comparing it to Narnia either made readers that have read Narnia expect more than what they got (action-fantasy or whimsical-fantasy) or made them think this was Narnia fanfiction (in either a good or bad way). As I haven't read Narnia, I cannot compare. I would like to read Narnia one day, so maybe then I'll make my decision on the matter.
No content warnings were placed anywhere on the story itself and I'm sure the content warning was placed on the bios after people complained about it (except possibly for the author's webpage). This is a real disservice for those that struggle with specific subject matter. Publishers really need to up their game on making content warnings a priority in their marketing materials and with a page devoted to it in the book itself. Let's normalized this already.
Also, that synopsis couldn't have been more of a facepalm moment. They spoil the first half or so of the book. (In Edna's voice with a rolled up newspaper: Come on guys! Pulls yourselves together!)
Now, off one soap box and onto another.
As for comparing it to The Wayward Children series...yes and no. It has similar tones but is a different story altogether with different themes. However, my judgment stems from only reading Every Heart a Doorway, so I can't compare it to the series as a whole.
I'd say that TLBW is a character driven story, but EHAD is a plot driven story. I feel that their only real similarity is in that the children have returned from their fantasy world and now they have to cope or fail to cope in the world they were born in. Both also have dark tones and subject matter, but it is presented differently. Also, in EHAD the children had a mentor and peers to help them through their coping strategies and emotions at the school, but in TLBW the children had no one but themselves. This lack of support sends our characters on a painfully different path.
Now, lets discuss the nit and gritty: the ending and the diverging thought process on the burden of mental illness.
Point 1: does Evelyn die through suicide or does she return home to the wood?
No matter how you interpret this possibility, Phillipa sees her in the wood and that is enough to give her closure. She sees her happy and without pain. This allows her to move through her guilt and heartache that she has been bottling up for years. She can now start to heal and that is what she needs. Thinking she just gets over her years of guilt is an oversimplification. Thinking she is okay with the loss of her sister is also ignoring the fact that for 6 whole years she has been trying to not lose her sister because of her selfish choice to bring her sister back from the wood.
This isn't about Evelyn's end as much as it's about Evelyn helping Phillipa begin. (At least, that is how I see it.)
Point 2: is this book harmful in its portrayal of the burdens of mental health?
Some would say that it is because of how nobody seems to want to help Evelyn or that they gave up on her or that it portrays Evelyn as a burden.
I disagree.
Everyone is trying to help Evelyn to the best of their ability: Pillipa being alongside her for several years to heal her and prevent further harm, Jamie sending others to watch out for her while he and Phillipa are away at school, Evelyn's friends keeping tabs on her, and the grounds keeper allowing her to be in the element that makes her most happy. Do they do it perfectly? No. Do they ultimately help her? No. However, they tried to the best of their ability.
In my psych classes, we learn that it is very difficult to help/treat those with a mental illness if they do not wish to be helped. Evelyn cannot handle being in the world she was born in. She cannot live with the idea that she will never return to the wood. All help given to her only shows her that she needs to hide her true self. This makes helping her very difficult and it ends up consuming her in the end.
Also, keep in mind the time period. This day and age we have reasonable mental health counseling, mentorship, and peer support channels. However, people still fall through the cracks. Suicide is very common, in some cases the leading cause of death, in certain populations. In WWII and closely afterwards, mental health was not treated nearly as effectively. Most people were placed in asylums that became permanent living facilities that were poorly managed. Phillipa didn't want this to happen to Evelyn, and though an institution might have helped, it also might not have. Mistakes were made and that contributed to Evelyn's worsening mental state.
Lastly: did you and the characters in the story see Evelyn as a burden or her mental illness?
Do I really need to answer whether it was Evelyn or the mental illness that was a burden? You can tell it was the mental illness with how everyone talks to and about Evelyn. They love her and they want her well. They want to help her but they don't know how best to help her.
I saw her mental illness as a burden.
I have depression. I have family and friends with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder to name a few. These experiences allow me to say that mental illness makes you tired and it does burden those around you, but not in the way you should get angry about.
Think of the spoon analogy people give for those with depression. You have a set amount of spoons and you will give away a spoon each time you do a taxing task. Those with depression give up spoons for most any task if they are experiencing very low lows. When your spoons are gone, you cannot do anymore tasks until the next day when your spoons are replenished. This analogy works well because it also shows that everyone has spoons. Get it? Everyone has spoons. Phillipa was out of spoons and couldn't help Evelyn any longer.
Helping those with mental illness is taxing, but it is doable for a long while, especially if you have help. However, even the most strongest of wills will break when given too much. This is the case with Phillipa.
Could these divergent thoughts be better written in the book to put it in a less ambiguous light? Probably, but life is full of ambiguity. That is what makes me love this story. It felt real and reality hurts. So, I'm glad I could cry for these characters and hope for the best of them while acknowledging the worst that could be.