I'm still getting things straightened out after my trip, oy vey, but in the interim, here is a re-post of a book review I wrote back in March, as the book is coming out now! Here it is again:
The first is There Is a Door in this Darkness, by Kristin Cashore (thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for the ARC); it comes out in June (I'll report this then, as a reminder).
The publisher describes it thusly:
A magic-tinged contemporary YA about grief and hope from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of the Graceling Realm novels.
Wilhelmina Hart is part of the infamous class of 2020. Her high school years began with a shocking presidential election and ended with a pandemic. In the midst of this global turmoil, she also lost one of her beloved aunts, a loss she still feels keenly. Having deferred college, Wilhelmina now lives in a limbo she can see no way out of, like so many of her peers. Wilhelmina’s personal darkness would be unbearable (especially with another monumental election looming) but for the inexplicable and seemingly magical clues that have begun to intrude on her life—flashes of bizarre, ecstatic whimsy that seem to add up to a message she can’t quite grasp. But something tells her she should follow their lead. Maybe a trail of elephants, birds, angels, and stale doughnuts will lead Wilhelmina to a door?
I have read Cashore's fantasy books, the Graceling series, which I highly recommend, but this one is regular fiction (mostly: see 'seemingly magical' above), and in fact it's pandemic fiction, which I emphasize as I know it may not appeal to all readers. I do think that a year or two ago, I wouldn’t have been able to read about this time period, with first the political upheaval and then the pandemic, but at this point, though certain things made me wince in vivid memory, I was able to focus on Wilhelmina and what growing up in this time had done to her and those around her. (I wonder how readers will feel about it in 10 or 20 years?)
I liked the touch of the inexplicable—is it magic? How else to explain it?—while still feeling fully real-world. And how people you love can drive you crazy—a theme that still resonates in my life! After I finished reading this, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Definitely recommend.
I did love the Graceling series; this one sounds very different. Like you, I'm getting a bit more into pandemic fiction.
ReplyDeleteI'm cautious about it, but I felt like this one worked, for me, at this time. Which all I can really say!
DeleteKids in 20 years may well be reading books like that to try to understand what we went through?
ReplyDeleteI like the title There is a Door in This Darkness. I read the first Graceling book, which I liked except for the trope of the love interest acting like an asshole and being amused by her anger. This one sounds interesting, though.
ReplyDeleteOh, Giddon? Yes, very much. He does get redeemed in future books in the series, though: he grew up, basically, though technically he was an adult in Graceling. By the end of Winterkeep, I was quite fond of him. (I haven't read the last book in the series yet.)
DeleteHuh! This sounds intriguing- not sure if I'm ready for it yet. Especially since I have kids whose lives were impacted by the pandemic. But maybe it would feel good to read it and be grateful that we made it to the other side relatively unscathed?
ReplyDeleteI don't know! I certainly can understand being cautious in your position. No need to pick it up now.
Delete