Reviews

A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies by Alix E. Harrow

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elenaapinci's review

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

caitlina's review

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adventurous lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

maddydeason's review

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5.0

Wow, this was perfect.
I was definitely one of those kids looking for an escape at the library.
Stories like these almost make me want to be a librarian.

I don't always review short stories, but people need to know about this one, which I was lucky to stumble upon a link to in a GR friend's review of something else.

This is one of the best things I read all year. Like goosebumps, mixed with trying to pick out key quotes that kept spiraling from a sentence to a paragraph to a page of amazing prose. This very light fantasy story is about what books mean to us -- how they can speak to our emotions and how the right book can guide us through hard times. It is poignant and very funny.

Don't take my word for it -- go read: https://apex-magazine.com/a-witchs-guide-to-escape-a-practical-compendium-of-portal-fantasies/

vankouseonfrostification's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

natab's review

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hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.0

alba_marie's review

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4.0

After reading the Ten Thousand Doors of January, I came across this story and as I was frustrated with the recent book club book, I decided to read it knowing it would make me happy. Published by Apex magazine, this is a short story about a witchy librarian, a lost boy, and a lot of books with something to say. I enjoyed the story and can see how the author might a have gone to writing short stories with a hint of portals/Doors existing to a fully-fledged book about the mysteries of Doors to other worlds.