Seanan McGuire: "Every Heart a Doorway"

Title: Every Heart a Doorway [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Wayward Children (1st of 8? books)
Author: Seanan McGuire [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural (technically it would be Portal Fantasy, but since I don't have a Fantasy Room on the blog, I decided to shelf this one as Supernatural - that's the closer I could get), Thriller/Mystery
Year: 2016
Age: 14+
Stars: 3.5/5
Pros: An imaginative look-in-reverse at one of the most common fantasy tropes. A few diverse characters (especially when it comes to the sexuality spectrum).
Cons: You have to suspend your disbelief for things that largely transcend the premise...
WARNING! Gruesome murders/disposing of bodies.
Will appeal to: Everyone who's ever felt out of place, but doesn't necessary dream of a happierworld than the one they live in...

Blurb: 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. 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, 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. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: Before I start, a couple of things:

• this is one of the rare mainstream series I read...the premise was too juicy to pass it up 😉.
• I'm pretty much cover-blind, but HOW STUNNING IS THIS ONE? It even has the title crossing the door...it's so subtly done that I haven't noticed for a long time. And the sequels? All these covers are a work of art 😃. (Later edit: ...wait, WHAT?!? the Spanish version title doesn't do the door-crossing thing?!? ARE THESE PEOPLE FRIGGIN' JOKING?!?).

ALL THE DARK PLACES

There are lots and lots of portal fantasy stories around, whether in book or movie form. What sets McGuire's vision apart from all those is that, with this book (and series), she tries to answer two questions that (to the best of my knowledge) no one else ever did before: what happens to these kids when they come back from their adventures? and why the worlds they visited chose them in the first place? Now, the way these questions are answered is both satisfying and infuriating. It makes sense that those kids wouldn't be able to adjust back to the "real" world, especially since no one around them will ever believe their side of the story. But to some extent, all the worlds they visited are harsh and unforgiving, or even downright cruel. In Ch.3, Jack explains:

"For us, the places we went were home. We didn't care if they were good or evil or neutral or what. We cared about the fact that for the first time, we didn't have to pretend to be something we weren't. We just got to be. That made all the difference in the world."

I get it, but I don't get it. The price for their freedom was still too high to me - the worlds that made them at home too dark, and more often than not, just a different kind of cage. Then again, I plaud McGuire for her inventive and - well - guts. Even if I have trouble suspending my disbelief, I can see how the way she imagines these portals is far more nuanced and interesting than if they were mere playgrounds where to have a grand adventure and maybe live happily ever after. [...]

Christopher Kerns: "Crash Alive"

Title: Crash Alive [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Haylie Black (1st of 2 books)
Author: Christopher Kerns [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Thriller/Mystery
Year: 2016
Age: 14+
Stars: 3/5
Pros: Fast, often funny, with a smart and determined lead. Unusual scenario for a teen novel.
Cons: Alternation of teen and adult POV/adventuring and scheming makes the pace and tone a bit uneven. Requires some suspension of disbelief. Contains techno-stuff only a few can actually wrap their head around. (Then again, you don't really need to).
Will appeal to: Fans of technology and mystery with a big side of adventure and a huge saving-the-world angle.

Blurb: The only comfort teenager Haylie Black knows is in the world of technology - coding late into the night, building cool gadgets, and occasionally breaking into places where she doesn’t belong. But Haylie’s world is turned upside down when she learns shocking news: her brother has vanished attempting to solve an Internet puzzle known as “Raven 2309.” To find him, Haylie must enter an unknown world, circling the globe and uncovering the dangerous group behind Raven’s design, to outsmart a puzzle that has never been solved. (Goodreads excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I specifically requested a copy from the author in exchange for a honest review.

NOT YOUR HAYLIE GIRL*

For some reason, when I requested this book I thought it had a sci-fi angle - so what I got was a bit different from my assumptions, and maybe less up my alley, but I don't regret reading this one. It's smart, adrenalinic, funny, with a determined and sassy (though socially clumsy) lead on the backdrop of a sinister, over-the-top, but still (sigh) not completely far-fetched plan. While the book is mainly from Haylie's POV, there are a few other (adult) characters who tell their side of the story, and they feel more fueled by their own agenda than actually fleshed out - but I enjoyed being in Haylie's head, even when I did understand maybe a fifth of what she was saying/doing 😅. I especially liked her banter with the Sterling brothers (the ones who recruit her to solve the Raven puzzle), the young and golden start-up creators whose only talent seems to be spending money to have people build things they don't even understand. And I loved how there wasn't the usual romance set for Haylie, though there's definitely potential for it to bloom lately. A fresh approach to the world-saving heroine 😉.

* "HAYLIE" definition in Urban Dictionary: "the type of girl who you would think is sweet and innocent but really very cheeky and mischievous [...] gorgeous/pretty and loud [...] will not mind embarrassing themselves in front of others to make them laugh...". [...]

Tell Me Something Tuesday: What Is Worse: Cliffhanger, Abrupt Ending or Open Ending?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings, where the blog's owner Heidi discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

Here is what is on deck this week:

WHAT IS WORSE: CLIFFHANGER, ABRUPT ENDING OR OPEN ENDING?

Abrupt endings for sure (though the only book with an abrupt ending I can recall reading is Remember Me 2: The Return by Christopher Pike). As I said in last week's TMST, I do believe that cliffhangers are poor storytelling, but it's not like they annoy me that much. Open endings I love, though I understand that they're not for everyone. Of course, they have to be done well...I feel strangely satisfied when an author doesn't wrap their story in your classic nice package. Maybe it's because I don't read romance, and this kind of ending is much more suitable for my favourite kind of books, like sci-fi or afterlife. Of course, not every book I read needs to have an open ending to be amazing LOL. Most of the times, I still get a sense of what's ahead, but at least it's not spelled out in big block letters...

Sorry for the nth Tennant/Who gif, but this one was too perfect to pass up LOL.