jackiea's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
nsingla3008's review
5.0
Raw, Powerful and Emotional. A beautiful potray of how hard it is to be a family, to be a mother to be a daughter. Worth it.
dani17731's review
4.0
4.5 stars
Walk through the door and leave all your problems behind...but you don't know what's on the other side. And once you leave, you'll never come back. Will you go through?
Maren Walker has a lot going on. She doesn't make much money, her grandmother is sick, her friend is spiraling, and she doesn't know what to do with her life. Everyone knows that when your door appears, you have a choice to make; take the door and leave your problems behind, or stay and try to make things work. What will Maren do?
This book was amazing! The cover really doesn't do the story justice. I knew there would be magical realism here, but the cover made me think of more fluff and less grit, which this story has much more grit than expected. Maren and her loved ones are quite poor, and options are few. She really wants more for her life, but many external factors, as well as internal ones, hold her back. Maren's mother took the chance to walk through her door when Maren was nine, and it's affected her life ever since, so when her door appears, the dilemma begins.
I loved the relationships in this book. They felt very real and included pain along with the happy moments. At times the characters were frustrating, especially Maren's best friend, but it felt very true to life. This was very thought-provoking as I kept wondering if I'd take my door if I ever had one. I highly recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy.
Walk through the door and leave all your problems behind...but you don't know what's on the other side. And once you leave, you'll never come back. Will you go through?
Maren Walker has a lot going on. She doesn't make much money, her grandmother is sick, her friend is spiraling, and she doesn't know what to do with her life. Everyone knows that when your door appears, you have a choice to make; take the door and leave your problems behind, or stay and try to make things work. What will Maren do?
This book was amazing! The cover really doesn't do the story justice. I knew there would be magical realism here, but the cover made me think of more fluff and less grit, which this story has much more grit than expected. Maren and her loved ones are quite poor, and options are few. She really wants more for her life, but many external factors, as well as internal ones, hold her back. Maren's mother took the chance to walk through her door when Maren was nine, and it's affected her life ever since, so when her door appears, the dilemma begins.
I loved the relationships in this book. They felt very real and included pain along with the happy moments. At times the characters were frustrating, especially Maren's best friend, but it felt very true to life. This was very thought-provoking as I kept wondering if I'd take my door if I ever had one. I highly recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy.
lindseygwilson's review
2.0
I picked it up off the librarian's display only because I liked the cover. But it was just a little too weird, but also boring. It felt like a morality lesson at times, and at others, a pep-talk on not succumbing to depression. I was slightly intrigued by the "little doors" aspect of the book, and what was going to happen with that, which is why I finished it. Spoiler alert...nothing happened with the door.
confusedteach33's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
If presented with the opportunity, would you take your door?
This book offers a powerful look on mental health and what it means to deal with the past while battling the present. Maren lets the reader peek inside her mind as she tries to decide whether or not to step into the magic of her little door.
This book offers a powerful look on mental health and what it means to deal with the past while battling the present. Maren lets the reader peek inside her mind as she tries to decide whether or not to step into the magic of her little door.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
disreputabledog's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
janinereader's review
4.0
A beautiful take on magic intertwined with emotions, with a stunningly executed sense of place. I could just FEEL like I was in the south with how well Blooms described and created the setting. The use of first-person for Maren's POV was a good choice too and it enhanced the story by letting us see and feel her emotions firsthand. Usually first person is a risky choice imo, but when it is done well, it serves the novel better than 3rd could. This is such a case. A wonderful book from an author I will keep an eye out with.
bookitmik's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this story line. The characters were very relatable to me. Much like the movie Bliss, it's sometimes hard to sort out the symbolism of the door as metaphor or fantasy or reality. Isn't that the way real life is too? I also very much related to her "fog" as she calls it. [a:Michelle Obama|2338628|Michelle Obama|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1658411922p2/2338628.jpg] in [b:The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times|61355265|The Light We Carry Overcoming in Uncertain Times|Michelle Obama|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658477208l/61355265._SY75_.jpg|96767935] talks about naming your inner voice that sabotages you and nags relentlessly. Same idea put more artistically here.
I listed to the audio book and I found the narrator was quite flat line. Kind of depressing to listen to for a long time and hard to tell when the dramatic moments of the book are happening.
⚠️ Content Notes: drug use, alcohol consumption, gaslighting, death, abandonment
I listed to the audio book and I found the narrator was quite flat line. Kind of depressing to listen to for a long time and hard to tell when the dramatic moments of the book are happening.
⚠️ Content Notes: drug use, alcohol consumption, gaslighting, death, abandonment
aylaandthebooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
esdeecarlson's review
5.0
[This book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review]
5 stars
This is a moving, powerful piece of speculative fiction set in the Appalachian hills. Though it’s not a particularly long book, I found myself taking my time moving through it, letting each page unfold in due time. The language is just beautiful, and the characters both raw, real, and somehow elevated.
This is perhaps the best depiction of depression I’ve read in a long time, if ever. I found that I completely understood Maren’s feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness. Even having been there myself, in many books a character’s depression is described in a way that makes it seem strangely other from themselves, a demon we wish they could just throw off their backs; and yet, even with the depression being described metaphorically as Maren’s ‘fog,’ I still understood and felt the way it was ingrained in her, and empathized with Maren’s mindset even as I wished for better things for her.
The doors are an obvious metaphor, but that doesn’t take away from their power. They work so well, are used so well, are crafted so well; I neither found myself yearning for more information nor feeling like they were over-explained.
At its core, this is a book about choice and autonomy: about the need human beings have for self-determination, for good or ill, and the fact that that very autonomy doesn’t mean not having the support of a community of kin. This was beautifully and very carefully imparted.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough, as a piece of very literary, very speculative, and very accessible, relatable fiction.
5 stars
This is a moving, powerful piece of speculative fiction set in the Appalachian hills. Though it’s not a particularly long book, I found myself taking my time moving through it, letting each page unfold in due time. The language is just beautiful, and the characters both raw, real, and somehow elevated.
This is perhaps the best depiction of depression I’ve read in a long time, if ever. I found that I completely understood Maren’s feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness. Even having been there myself, in many books a character’s depression is described in a way that makes it seem strangely other from themselves, a demon we wish they could just throw off their backs; and yet, even with the depression being described metaphorically as Maren’s ‘fog,’ I still understood and felt the way it was ingrained in her, and empathized with Maren’s mindset even as I wished for better things for her.
The doors are an obvious metaphor, but that doesn’t take away from their power. They work so well, are used so well, are crafted so well; I neither found myself yearning for more information nor feeling like they were over-explained.
At its core, this is a book about choice and autonomy: about the need human beings have for self-determination, for good or ill, and the fact that that very autonomy doesn’t mean not having the support of a community of kin. This was beautifully and very carefully imparted.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough, as a piece of very literary, very speculative, and very accessible, relatable fiction.