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A review by aclopez6
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
5.0
(Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!)
I need to preface this review by noting that I am biased--I adored TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea, and I put off reading and reviewing this book because I was so excited. Y'all, this book did not let me down.
The book begins with our main character, Wallace, a very rigid, unsympathetic lawyer...during his final hours alive before he experiences a heart attack, and then witnesses his own poorly attended funeral. We then encounter Mei, a Reaper, who brings Wallace to meet a ferryman in a tea shop (also, love this setting detail!). The character development in this book is brilliant, and I appreciate the humor sprinkled throughout a book focused on grief, loss, and love. There are a few difficult topics such as suicide, divorce, child illness, death of parents, which the main characters handle with grace, while Klune still includes mentions of more harmful side characters--which makes these moments feel more realistic. This is a book that I intend to buy a copy of once it is available, and I am excited to add this book to my favorites!
As a high school teacher, I would add this book to my classroom library, and would encourage some to make this a book club or reading circle book choice (I say choice only because some families do not feel comfortable with mentions of ghosts, demons (brief, joking mention), or higher powers.
I need to preface this review by noting that I am biased--I adored TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea, and I put off reading and reviewing this book because I was so excited. Y'all, this book did not let me down.
The book begins with our main character, Wallace, a very rigid, unsympathetic lawyer...during his final hours alive before he experiences a heart attack, and then witnesses his own poorly attended funeral. We then encounter Mei, a Reaper, who brings Wallace to meet a ferryman in a tea shop (also, love this setting detail!). The character development in this book is brilliant, and I appreciate the humor sprinkled throughout a book focused on grief, loss, and love. There are a few difficult topics such as suicide, divorce, child illness, death of parents, which the main characters handle with grace, while Klune still includes mentions of more harmful side characters--which makes these moments feel more realistic. This is a book that I intend to buy a copy of once it is available, and I am excited to add this book to my favorites!
As a high school teacher, I would add this book to my classroom library, and would encourage some to make this a book club or reading circle book choice (I say choice only because some families do not feel comfortable with mentions of ghosts, demons (brief, joking mention), or higher powers.