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spineofthesaurus's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Torture, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Slavery, Stalking, Abortion, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
athryn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War
green_amaryllis's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Self harm, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Racism, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
hecubatohim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
thequiltyreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I loved the occasional exploration of using particular words, capitalisations and the general importance of words.
There are fleeting references to various other lands / worlds through the Doors and I would have loved it if these had been explored in some way.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
k_galloway's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bittennailbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
A standalone, historical fantasy that casts a lens over the archaeologies contribution to colonization. January Scaller is a curiosity, she is the ward of wealthy Mr. Locke, an artificer that is the head of a highly prestigious archaeological society. January's birth father provides Mr. Locke with artifacts from all over the world in exchange for raising January. After telling Mr. Locke of passing through a magical door to another world as a child, Mr. Locke decides it is time to put an end to his ward's childish imagination. Putting away her childish fantasies, January is offered a prestigious membership into the archaeological society that Mr. Locke runs on her 17th birthday, unheard of for a woman of a colour. Refusing to be another cog in the machine of colonialism, January refuses and upon finding out her father has gone missing on an excursion, January's life is turned upside down. Her only escape maybe the fabled doors in which she once passed through as a small child, it's existence hidden in her old leather bound book called "Ten Thousand Doors".
I thought this book was imaginative, tense, and absolutely threatening to the delicate veil that archeology holds over what its ruined. For those who are wondering about the dog:
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction and Animal death
bronzeageholly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, and Gaslighting
miak2's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Doors introduce change. And from change come all things: revolution, resistance, empowerment, upheaval, invention, collapse, reformation - all the most vital components of human history, in short. p.52
4.5 stars
In this book, Harrow kept to two central themes: the power of doors and the power of words. Both of these were used, separately and in conjunction, to weave a powerful story about family, love, and belonging. The Ten Thousand Doors of January is a story that unfolds slowly and satisfyingly - something like a mystery in which the puzzle isn't too complicated necessarily, but rather like you were sitting too close to it to see how the pieces all fit together. But when they do come together, and you see the full picture? My heart could barely take it.
Something that I particularly enjoyed were the characters. Harrow wasn't afraid to make her characters flawed, and truly flawed. Because that's how life works, sometimes you can be a good person for some people and not for others. I could see how much January wanted to forgive people who had done her wrong. It took a lot to rewrite her attachment to them. It was frustrating and heartbreaking but also perfectly encapsulating of the human experience.
I loved how Harrow depicted the racism that January experienced throughout the story. It was so expertly weaved into her interactions with strangers. Not in-your-face, but never something to be forgotten either. It was in how people treated her with suspicion...until they saw her white companions. It was in how when she had money, she was unique, like a zoo exhibit, but when she didn't have money, she was distrusted.
I also really loved Harrow's commentary on old, rich, white men feeling entitled to the treasures of other places, but also fearing that those people and those cultures could threaten their own position in society. "There is nothing quite like the anger of someone very powerful who has been thwarted by someone who was supposed to be weak." I thought it was genius that these villains took different shapes. Cartoonish and gun-wielding, to personable and subtly manipulative. In some ways this book made me sad, because it so perfectly reflected a lot of what's wrong with the world today. But it was also empowering to see a young girl who'd grown up blind to these wrongs come into herself and feel determined to set them right.
What brought this book down just a little bit for me was that it was definitely slow to get into at first. I think the payoff was immensely rewarding, but it was a really slow start that was, in part, due to the switching between the two stories. Again, incredibly worth it once all of the pieces came together, but a little dry at first.
But circling back to the two main motifs. Doors, of course, are central to the story. Both as literal passageways between worlds, but as mechanisms to stifle one's freedom. If doors are a passageway, words are the means of transportation. If doors are a barrier, words are a means of escape. The portal magic felt whimsical and crazy, but also incredibly grounded. And the worlds that Harrow created behind the doors were really unique and well-built. I would eat up a book that took place entirely in the City of Nin.
Tl;dr this was a really magical book with cohesive motifs and a very tightly written plot, even if it took a few chapters to kick into gear. Definitely one I'll be revisiting in the future!
Graphic: Death and Racism
Moderate: Murder
clarabooksit's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder