May, 2017 | Lauren E. Cox

Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly is a new Young Adult novel that ties into the world of the new live-action Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast. The story follows Belle after she has already switched places with her father and started to become friendly with the Beast. One day while cleaning and exploring the Beast’s enormous library Belle stumbles upon a magic book called Nevermore that literally pulls her into the story. There she is presented with everything her heart has ever desired: adventure and interesting new people, and she must decide if she should keep her promise to the Beast or stay in this beautiful world that seems to be created just for her.

This is already one of my favorite books of the year. The cover is beautiful, the characters matched the personalities of their on-screen counterparts, and the overall worlds of both Belle’s reality and the world within Nevermore were intriguing. This was one of those books where part of me wanted to fly through the story in an afternoon, while another part wanted to take it slowly so I could live in this story for as long as I could.

I really enjoyed the expansion on Belle and Beast’s relationship. In both the animated movie and the new live-action film we see them become friends almost automatically after the battle with the wolves and the Beast giving Belle the library. While this does happen in the book, we are given more insight into what is going on in both their minds, showing that, although he saved her and gave her a nice gift, Belle is still a little hesitant to truly like Beast, and that the Beast is trying not to lose hope in breaking the curse.

There are a few scenes where the Beast is allowed to show his gentle side. He has a meaningful conversation with Lumiere and plays with Chip in the library. I sort of wish more of that had been incorporated into the movie as well, but I’m glad to have it here.

The world of the Nevermore book itself is quite amazing. I think most book lovers out there would jump at the chance to actually be teleported into their favorite story. As the story progressed Nevermore started to remind me of Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Some of the characters, particularly the Duchess, reminded me of the Other Mother and we are slowly shown how a picturesque world can have its own set of dangers.

I give this a 4.5 out 5 stars. If you are a fan of Beauty and the Beast, Disney, or the idea of books that can teleport you to new and magical places, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Lost in a Book.

Thanks for reading!

Every Heart a Doorway is the first novel in the new Wayward Children series by fantasy author Seanan McGuire. The series explores what happens when children who have gone down rabbit holes or stumbled through magic wardrobes to fantastical worlds find themselves placed back in their old lives, and how they must adjust to the ‘normal’ world.

I will admit that I am not normally a fantasy reader unless it is a fairy tale retelling, mostly because some fantasy books are so thick and occasionally feel overly descriptive, or there are so many characters that I start to get overwhelmed. I appreciate that this is a shorter fantasy book with a small cast of interesting characters, and that there was a murder mystery weaved into the mix.

Our main character is Nancy, a girl who has been to the Land of the Dead and whose experience there has left her very serious. She is our guide into the wacky setting of Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children.

In contrast to Nancy’s seriousness we are introduced to Jack and Jill, twins who were transported to a scientific world; Suki, Nancy’s peppy and inquistive roommate who went to what I imagined as being a real life Candyland; and Kale, a bookish boy who lived in a society of all female fairies.

One aspect that I enjoyed about this books was that Nancy is asexual. The only other confirmed asexual character that I have ever read was Jughead Jones from the Archie comics, and he has only been canonically asexual in the newest run written by Chip Zdarsky. Unlike Jughead, who is usually pretty indifferent towards people, Nancy actually has an immediate crush on a fellow student. Asexuals always seem to be portrayed as being aromantic as well, so to see an ace character who also has romantic attraction is great representation.

I kept picturing the woman who runs the school, Eleanor West, as a cross between Mrs. Potts and Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus. She was quirky, but had a good grasp on each of these realms the students went to and how to properly help them come to terms with the fact that they might not be able to return to those places.

Overall I found this to be a very enjoyable story! It was a unique idea to look at how all these different fantastical worlds would change these young kids and their outlook on life, and I’m looking forward to reading more about the Wayward Children!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars.

Have you read this book? Do you have a favorite fantasy series? Please share in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

Archive for May, 2017

Book Review | Lost in a Book

Book Review | Every Heart a Doorway