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A review by livvyandlattes
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I am aware this book isn’t as wonderful as I am rating it, yet I have never discovered a story crafted so perfectly for my brain. Reminiscent of Christina Henry, McGuire captures the dark magic of a twisted retelling and makes something new in the process. Yet she captures the childhood longing to escape into another world, something Henry does not, as well as the complicated feelings of never fitting in. This book intertwines a mix fairytales, horror, mystery and yearning that speaks to my soul. I cannot explain how much the content of this novel appeals to me so. It contains everything I love, transcribed in a way that soothes my brain. This book feels as though it was written for me, containing all my favourite things.
I loved the characters, their struggles, their desperation to return. Most of all I loved Kade and how McGuire included such pressing issues like transphobia. Kade is a beautiful human being and he deserves a better than his world gave him. I would die for him.
Having said this, I can see how this short story won’t please everyone as it did me. Context is sparse and lacking, and McGuire relies on previous fairytale knowledge. The story is quick and split in two as though the authors decided on two plots and included both, or changed idea half way through. The transphobia in this book should have been either stressed more or resolved better.
I am also open to the common perspective that these characters are not headed back to their personal wonderlands, but desperate for suicide and are grappling their mental illness, instead of recovering from departing a fantasy. This is hinted through Nancy’s conscious habits, mirroring an eating disorder, Jacks’s agoraphobia etc. everyone is so desperate to ‘leave’ it is an easy mirror for suicide. However, I would rather take this book at face value and imagine they truly do wish to go back to underland and have somehow managed to escape this world through their door, just how I have always, desperately, wished to escape through my own.
I loved it. I love this so much.
I loved the characters, their struggles, their desperation to return. Most of all I loved Kade and how McGuire included such pressing issues like transphobia. Kade is a beautiful human being and he deserves a better than his world gave him. I would die for him.
Having said this, I can see how this short story won’t please everyone as it did me. Context is sparse and lacking, and McGuire relies on previous fairytale knowledge. The story is quick and split in two as though the authors decided on two plots and included both, or changed idea half way through. The transphobia in this book should have been either stressed more or resolved better.
I am also open to the common perspective that these characters are not headed back to their personal wonderlands, but desperate for suicide and are grappling their mental illness, instead of recovering from departing a fantasy. This is hinted through Nancy’s conscious habits, mirroring an eating disorder, Jacks’s agoraphobia etc. everyone is so desperate to ‘leave’ it is an easy mirror for suicide. However, I would rather take this book at face value and imagine they truly do wish to go back to underland and have somehow managed to escape this world through their door, just how I have always, desperately, wished to escape through my own.
I loved it. I love this so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Abandonment