The Ten Thousand Doors of January: A Panoramic Review (Adult)

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

"In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.

Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.

Lush and richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories awaits in Alix E. Harrow’s spellbinding debut–step inside and discover its magic." (from Goodreads)

My reaction: For me, The Ten Thousand Doors of January was a book that is objectively quite well-written (especially for a debut), but did not suck me in and make it impossible for me to put it down. On the contrary, I read it in bits and pieces, a little at a time -- which ended up more or less working, as I was able to remember the big picture storyline, and I flipped back to previous sections when needed. For the first three-quarters or so, the book alternates between January's perspective and the story of Adelaide (a story-within-a-story format), and I found it a bit jarring at times to go back and forth between them. 

I liked both January and Adelaide as protagonists, and just generally I thought the characterization here was very well done. The characters were distinctively drawn, and it was nice to see a diverse cast. However, I never totally connected with January or Adelaide, and felt like I was held at a bit of a distance from them. 

The writing style really stood out to me as well. While it tended to the flowery and purple prose-y side of things, and therefore was not that accessible or page-turning in quality, there was something so very quotable about so many of the lines I came across. When I first started reading it, it felt a bit deja-vu-ish, in that it kept reminding me of books from my childhood. Harrow's writing has a quality that is reminiscent of Neil Gaiman's; little pearls of wisdom and reflection are dropped throughout, and phrased in a beautiful and powerful way. 

Best aspect: the concept of the Doors leading to other worlds -- not that this is a fresh concept or anything (hey, it's been done in so many well-known fantasy novels), but I thought the way it was handled here was neat. There are doors to pretty much every kind of world imaginable, and  since stories are basically like doors to other realms, the whole thing is kinda meta. Most readers would be thrilled if they could have January's powers to open Doors! Definitely reader wish fulfillment territory. (However, I should note that most of the book does take place in our world, and that considering the premise, more page time could have been spent actually in some of the other worlds, rather than just hearing stories about them.)

I also really appreciated the touching and thought-provoking themes and ideas Harrow raises throughout the story, including family, loyalty, friendship, abandonment, independence, "otherness," and forgiveness. While the writing is not the most accessible, the themes threaded through this story most certainly are. While there is a touch of romance here, it is not central to the story arc; rather, the story revolves around January's journey to discovering her strength and values. 

If I could change something... as I said, the writing did tend to the overly descriptive, to the point where I was like, "Do you really need another metaphor here?" Metaphors can be used very effectively, but they also need to be used fairly sparingly in order to make the most impact. It's the kind of writing where you feel like a thesaurus may have been employed quite a lot, and unfortunately that can actually make things harder for a reader to visualize, and can impede the flow of reading. So I think that should have been addressed in editing, to ensure that the writing style didn't slow down the momentum of the story. 

I also found the plot very predictable. I think this is probably the weakest aspect of the book -- most of the "reveals" really didn't seem terribly surprising to me (or at least, I had guessed at them by the time January figures them out). Spoilers, highlight to read: I mean, I didn't guess that Yule Ian was her father when he was first introduced, but by the time January finds out that he is, I'd put the pieces together. And I wondered pretty early on if Mr. Locke was the fellow who had bought the land from Adelaide's aunts, and had burned the Door after January opened it.

If you haven't read it: and you enjoy books about self-discovery, friendship, adventure, and wanderlust, pick this one up. 

If you have read it: did you guess the "twists" ahead of time like I did?

Just one more thing I wanted to mention: I found the notion that revolution and change occurs because things "leak" through the Doors an interesting one, and I wish it had been explored further. (Maybe in a future companion novel???)

Quote: Hard to pick just one! Here are a few I particularly liked:

That afternoon, sitting in that lonely field beside the Door that didn't lead anywhere, I wanted to write a different kind of story. A true kind of story, something I could crawl into if only I believed it hard enough.

Those of you who are more than casually familiar with books -- those of you who spend your free afternoons in fusty bookshops, who offer furtive, kindly strokes along the spines of familiar titles -- understand that page riffling is an essential element in the process of introducing oneself to a new book. It isn't about reading the words; it's about reading the smell, which wafts from the pages in a cloud of dust and wood pulp. It might smell expensive and well bound, or it might smell of tissue-thin paper and blurred two-colour prints, or of fifty years unread in the home of a tobacco-smoking old man. Books can smell of cheap thrills or painstaking scholarship, or literary weight or unsolved mysteries.

It is fashionable among intellectuals and sophisticates to scoff at true love -- to pretend it is nothing but a sweet fairy tale sold to children and young women, to be taken as seriously as magic wands or glass slippers. I feel nothing but pity for these learned persons, because they would not say such foolish things if they had ever experienced love for themselves.

May she wander but always return home, may all her words be written true, may every door lie open before her.

Final verdict: 4 shooting stars. 

Disclaimer: I received a copy for review from the publisher.

 

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight: A Snapshot

 

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

"Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it." (from Goodreads)

The subject: a chance meeting at an airport, which turns into something more. The cuteness of Hadley and Oliver's interactions will make you smile, but prepare yourself for a good dose of wish fulfillment. Oliver seems a lot like he's constructed to be the dream guy for female contemporary YA readers, right down to the crooked smile. The story unfolds a lot like a fluffy rom-com movie would, complete with (somewhat contrived) meet-cute and misunderstanding.

The setting: the first little bit is set in the airport, the next is set on the plane, and then a good chunk of it is set in London. There's a real truth in how their interactions on the airplane are depicted. I completely agree about flights breaking down inhibitions between strangers; it can feel as though you're in a different world when you're so far above the ground.

Shutter speed: rather slow. It all takes place in the span of 24 hours (a good part of the book's hook, really) and so it moves quite sluggishly. There are a lot of flashbacks padding the real-time plot and unfortunately killing the momentum without adding that much.

What's in the background? Family issues for both Hadley and Oliver. I have the feeling these were at least partly introduced in an effort to give a bit more "depth" to the characters and the storyline. The attempt is somewhat more successful in Oliver's case — his strained relationship with his father entices the reader to want to know more — than Hadley's, whose anger over her parents' divorce and her father's remarriage feels pretty generic and cliché.

Zoom in on: England! Seriously, it's set in London so why not showcase the British atmosphere more? A dollop of British culture would definitely help the story come to life. (Admittedly, Hadley does spend less than 24 hours there, but still.)

Anything out of focus?  The writing style of 3rd-person present tense was very unusual. I don't know that I've read a book in that combination of POV and tense, and it was rather distracting. Maybe this is just me?

Also, I wish there'd been at least one character who remained unapologetically reprehensible in some way. They all end up being nice, "good guys," and there's no one with a really strong personality. Overall it ends up feeling too happily-ever-after, with not enough substance to keep it from being a rosy version of reality.

Ready? Say... "Awwww..."

Click! 3 shooting stars. This book is cute, yeah, but not really much more than cute. Still, Smith has a way of capturing life's small moments or reflections in a relatable way that makes you go, "Yes, that's exactly what it feels like" or "I completely understand what she means here." Overall, though, it just feels a bit bland...it needs something extra to push it to another level and make it shine.

Disclaimer: I received this book for review from the publisher.

This book counts towards my goal for the Just Contemporary reading challenge

Don't Stop Now: Review

Take the disappearance of a not-so-close friend.


Add a promise not to tell, some calls from the cops and FBI, and a spontaneous road trip with your best friend/crush.

Mix in some tourist attractions, metaphors, and close-to-the-heart confessions along the way.

The result? Don't Stop Now by Julie Halpern.

Characters:

Don't Stop Now is all about the characters and their relationships. Often if characters frustrate me a little but I keep on reading, that's a good sign that there's some great characterization going on there, and that's what I found with this novel. The main characters are given enough flaws that they seem like real people, but not so reprehensible that you give up because you just can't stand them.

Lillian: she isn't the most likeable protagonist right off the bat, but Lillian grows on you. She's got a strong sense of herself, her opinions and her wants — no weak, wishy-washy protagonist here — but she has to learn to see things from others' perspectives as well. Her friendship, if you can call it that, with Penny is key in this area, because at the beginning of the novel she doesn't really care very much about Penny. The stabs of conscience she feels over the knowledge that perhaps she might have been able to prevent Penny's disappearance annoy Lillian more than anything else, and she uses Penny's faked kidnapping as an excuse to spend time with Josh on a roadtrip. Concern about whether Penny is actually safe? Not so much.

And while Lillian sometimes gets annoyed with Josh's immaturity, she's not exactly a model of responsibility and common sense herself. She talks to Penny more than once without managing to get an address for her; while I understand that there probably wouldn't have been a story if Lillian had been a little savvier or rule-obeying, it didn't reflect particularly well on her. Eventually, towards the end of the novel, Lillian does seem to come to some realizations about how she's been acting and what she should do to help Penny. Spoilers, highlight to read: she basically admits to herself that a) the reason she's on this roadtrip is not really to find Penny, but to move her relationship with Josh in a different direction, b) that Penny's parents and friends deserve to know that she's okay, and c) that she can encourage Penny to do the right thing, rather than covering for her or turning her in (both of which put events into Lillian's control).

Josh: so while I didn't always agree with Lillian's decisions and actions (lying to the cops and FBI is not really my thing) I did appreciate her as a character who felt 3-D and real.  Likewise, Josh sometimes irritated me as well, but he too was a mix of good and bad. I didn't blame Lillian one bit for calling him out on his immaturity when it came to the future and his career plans (or lack thereof — a band? Really?) or his mixed signals when it came to their relationship. His carefree, blase attitude towards life in general, taking for granted that everything will work out just fine, made me want to shake some sense into him. However, we can see that he's been a close, loyal friend to Lillian and that they have a strong bond and shared memories.

Lillian & Josh: Halpern was able to create a pair of characters where I wasn't sure if I was rooting for them to get together romantically or stay friends. Honestly, this is a bit of a rare occurrence; usually I'm either cheering for the guy and girl to admit they're in love, or I'm going, "no, they're all wrong for each other." Well, with these two I kept hemming and hawing, seeing both sides of it and not knowing which side I should land on. It was clear that they had a long history of being friends, and that they both relied on each other in different ways, but I also got the sense that they didn't have as much in common now as they used to. So I was caught between "Awww, they obviously care about each other, there could definitely be something there," and "They are good friends, but if they're going down such different paths, I don't see much of a future there romantically." The only thing I knew for sure was that I thought they should give it a try. No spoiling, but because of this see-sawing I was experiencing, I thought the way the book ended was very fitting.

Penny: while her narrative is sympathy-inducing, I felt like we only see one side of her — the girl caught in an unhealthy relationship — which made her character seem a bit stereotyped. The excerpts from her point of view helped to give us a sense of where she was coming from, but I would have liked to see other facets of her character. I think there was a completely separate story happening with Penny, that we are just given glimpses of; it comes across quite obviously that this book is Josh and Lillian's tale, not Penny's.

Plot:

From the description the book comes across like a bit of a mystery, but that's really not the case. The focus of the story is not on Lillian and Josh finding out where Penny is and what happened, but on their experiences on the road and their relationship dynamics. The pace is slow and easy for a journey that's supposed to be all about tracking down a missing person, which is reflective not only of Lillian and her "friendship" with Penny, but also of Josh's laid-back devil-may-care personality. Frankly, they're mostly on this roadtrip to enjoy themselves, even if they may pretend it's for more altruistic reasons. I did often wish that Lillian cared more and realized the urgency and potential danger in Penny's situation, but I understand that this reflected her character and how she operated. Although I've gotta say, if I was in danger or need of help, I wouldn't be counting on Lillian or Josh to come to the rescue.

That said, I appreciated that the Penny disappearance sub-plot did keep the story moving and give it direction. I thought the ending was a bit rushed, everything wrapping up easily and conveniently with both Lillian and Penny coming (at least somewhat) to their senses. Spoiler: the discovery of Penny was quite coincidental (what are the odds that girl at the skateboard park would have seen her? What are the chances that they would bump into her at the tribute to Elvis building? Slim indeed.) Unfortunately we don't get to see the aftermath of Penny's storyline unfold, although we are given an idea of what might happen.

Setting:

Since it's a roadtrip novel, the setting really adds to the storyline. Though their stops at each place are pretty brief, and I thought they could have used some more description, having the various tourist attractions sprinkled along the way was fun. Unique places like the House on the Rock, Mars' Cheese Castle, and the Corn Palace keep the story feeling fresh.

I did think, though, that a map might have been nice, so I could picture their journey (being Canadian, my knowledge of U.S. geography is slight indeed.)

Writing style:

I thought the use of excerpts from Penny's perspective at the end of each chapter was marvelously done, giving the reader an idea of how she got to where she is now without getting bogged down in any long flashbacks that would take away from the current storyline. Penny's darker story also makes for a nice counterpoint to the more upbeat vibe of the roadtrip.

For the most part the writing is smooth and flows well, and despite the relaxed pacing I don't recall that it took me very long to read. I did find some of the slang to be a bit confusing — I'm not sure if I'm just not familiar with it or if it's slang invented by the characters, but it made me go, "Do teens really talk like this?" a few times.

Final verdict: 4 shooting stars. As you can see from how much I discussed them above, the characters are the lynchpin of this novel. If you're expecting an action-packed thriller, this isn't the book you're looking for. But if you'd like to take a gentle ride with a couple teens on a roadtrip where they learn a few things about themselves and others, then pick up this book, read the first page, and...

...well, don't stop now!

Disclaimer: I received the ARC of Don't Stop Now from the publisher for review.