Every Heart a Doorway

Seanan McGuire

Apr 2016 · Wayward Children Book 1 · Sold by Tordotcom

About this ebook

Winner: 2022 Hugo Award for Best Series
Winner: 2017 Hugo Award
Winner: 2017 Alex Award
Winner: 2017 Locus Award
Winner: 2016 Nebula Award
Nominated: 2017 World Fantasy Award
Nominated: 2017 British Fantasy Award
2016 Tiptree Honor List

"A mini-masterpiece of portal fantasy — a jewel of a book that deserves to be shelved with Lewis Carroll's and C. S. Lewis' classics" —NPR

Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of things.

No matter the cost.

The Wayward Children Series
Book 1: Every Heart a Doorway
Book 2: Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Book 3: Beneath the Sugar Sky
Book 4: In an Absent Dream

PRAISE FOR EVERY HEART A DOORWAY

"Seanan McGuire has long been one of the smartest writers around, and with this novella we can easily see that her heart is as big as her brain. We know this story isn't true, but it is truth." — Charlaine Harris, New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series (TV's True Blood)

"Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire is one of the most extraordinary stories I've ever read." — V. E. Schwab, New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

"Seanan McGuire once again demonstrates her intimate knowledge of the human heart in a powerful fable of loss, yearning and damaged children." — Paul Cornell, author of London Falling and Witches of Lychford

"So mindblowingly good, it hurts." — io9

"With Every Heart a Doorway, McGuire has created her own mini-masterpiece of portal fantasy — a jewel of a book that deserves to be shelved with Lewis Carroll's and C. S. Lewis' classics, even as it carves its own precocious space between them." — NPR

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

Juvenile. The characters are underdeveloped, unlikable and displayed inconsistent qualities. For example, the headmistress. She's supposed to be this strong character who has 'seen it all' and whose main purpose in founding the school is to guide 'wayward children,' but this same headmistress flopped weakly at the hint of a hurdle and allowed a student to take over and control the situation. So, so much for being a figure of strength. The dialogue is boring, and I had to roll my eyes several times because it is mostly comprised of stating the obvious. The idea of Alices in Wonderland getting kicked out of their respective Wonderlands and how they move on, has potential. Sadly the narration and the characters do not deliver.

This was an eerie and creepy book.I feel the same way about Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia.These types of books are just not my cup of tea. I'm not loony enough,I guess 😆

I've read this book several times and have yet to review it? Let's just say this is one of my favorite books! I love the diversity and I love the characters. Nancy might be my favorite character in this whole series. I love that I want more from this story but at the same time, it's complete. I don't need anything more for completion. I need more because it's just so freaking good!

About the author

Seanan McGuire is the author of the October Daye urban fantasy series, the InCryptid series, and several other works, both standalone and in trilogies. She also writes darker fiction as Mira Grant.

Seanan lives in a creaky old farmhouse in Northern California, which she shares with her cats, a vast collection of creepy dolls, and horror movies, and sufficient books to qualify her as a fire hazard.

She was the winner of the 2010 John W Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and in 2013 she became the first person ever to appear five times on the same Hugo ballot.