Every Heart a Doorway explained

Every Heart a Doorway
Author:	Seanan McGuire
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Series:	Wayward Children
Genre:	Fantasy
Publisher:	Tor.com
Media Type:	Print (Hardcover)
Pages:	173
Isbn:	978-0-7653-8550-5
Isbn Note:	(book) (ePub)
Followed By Italics:	Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Awards:	Nebula Award for Best Novella (2016) Alex Awards (2017) Hugo Award for Best Novella (2017) Locus Award for Best Novella (2017)

Every Heart a Doorway is a fantasy novella by American writer Seanan McGuire, the first in the Wayward Children series. It was first published in hardcover and ebook editions by Tor.com in April 2016.

Every Heart a Doorway won the 2016 Nebula Award for Best Novella, as well as the 2017 Alex Award, Hugo Award for Best Novella, and Locus Award for Best Novella.

Plot

Rarely, children may find doorways that transport them to other worlds. As a child, Nancy found a doorway that led her to the land of the dead, based on the story of Persephone and Hades. When she is returned to the real world, her parents do not believe her story. Nancy is sent to a boarding school for children who have had similar experiences.

The students include Kade, who spent time in a fantasy world with goblins and fairies; Jacqueline "Jack" and Jillian "Jill," who spent time in a world of vampires and mad scientists; and Sumi, who spent time in a nonsense world full of candy and rainbows. The students were all altered by their time in different worlds where they were able to be their true selves, and most long to return to them.

As Nancy is getting settled at the school, Sumi is found dead, as are others at the school. Nancy and her friends learn that Jill is killing students in order to make a key which will reopen her own doorway. Jack kills Jill, then returns to her gothic world. Nancy finds her doorway again and returns to the land of the dead.

Characters

• Angela: a student at the Home for Wayward Children, best friend of Loriel.
• Eleanor West: the proprietor of Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, a boarding school for children who have journeyed to magical lands and been forcibly returned to the real world.
• Christopher Flores: a student at the Home for Wayward Children, known for housing the school's wardrobe.
• Kade Bronson: a student who lived in Prism before coming to the School for Wayward Children.
• Jack Wolcott: Jill's twin sister who trained under Dr. Bleak when they lived in the Moors.
• Jill Wolcott: Jack's twin sister who was daughter to the Master when they lived in the Moors.
• Katherine Lundy: a therapist at the Home for Wayward Children; after her own adventure to a magical land, she ages in reverse.
• Loriel Youngers: a student at the Home for Wayward Children, best friend of Angela.
• Nancy Whitman: the novella's protangonist, who lived in the Halls of the Dead before coming to the School for Wayward Children.
• Seraphina: a student at the Home for Wayward Children.
• Onishi Sumi: Nancy's roommate, who lived in Confection, a land of sugar, before coming to the School for Wayward Children.

Reception

Reviews

Every Heart a Doorway was well-received by critics, including starred reviews from Booklist^[1] and Kirkus Reviews.^[2]

Booklist's Erin Downey Howerton wrote, "This amazing fantasy pierces the shimmering veil of childhood imagination by reminding adult readers that their own doorways still exist deep in the chambers of their all-too-human hearts."

Kirkus Reviews highlighted that "McGuire understands and has true compassion (never pity) for outcasts and outliers while also making it clear that being a misfit doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily get along with all the other misfits, who don’t fit for different reasons."

Publishers Weekly similarly wrote, "This gothic charmer is a love letter to anyone who’s ever felt out of place". They noted that the "characters are strange and charming" and highlighted how "McGuire [...] puts her own inimitable spin on portal fantasy, adding horror elements to the mix".^[3]

Likewise, School Library Journals Gretchen Crowley noted that "the characters are well drawn, and their feelings about their impossible situation are believable. The alienation they experience and their struggles to find a way back will appeal to teens."^[4]

Awards and honors

Locus included Every Heart a Doorway on their list of the top 13 recommended novellas of 2016,^[5] and the American Library Association selected it for their 2017 Rainbow Book List.^[6]

Awards for Every Heart a Doorway!Year!Award!Result!Ref

2016	Nebula Award for Best Novella		^[7] ^[8] ^[9]
	Tiptree Award		^[10]
2017	Alex Awards		^[11] ^[12] ^[13]
	British Fantasy Award for Best Novella		^[14]
	Hugo Award for Best Novella		^[15] ^[16] ^[17] ^[18]
	Locus Award for Best Novella		^[19]
	World Fantasy Award—Novella		^[20]
2018	Geffen Award for Best Translated Fantasy Book		^[21]

Adaptation

In 2019, Syfy and Legendary Entertainment optioned to adapt the Wayward Children series into a television show adapted by Joe Tracz.^[22]

In July 2021, Paramount Pictures acquired the film rights to the Wayward Children series. Pouya Shahbazian will produce the film.^[23]

External links

• Web site: Bledsoe . Alex . 2017-02-03 . Grow up to Dream Again: Reading Every Heart a Doorway as a Parent . 2024-01-17 . Tor.com.
• Web site: Bourke . Liz . 2016-04-08 . Returning Home: Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire . 2024-01-17 . Tor.com.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Howerton . Erin Downey . 2017-03-17 . Every Heart a Doorway . 2024-01-17 . . March 25, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170325084311/https://www.booklistonline.com/Every-Heart-a-Doorway-Seanan-McGuire/pid=8680724 . live .
2. Web site: 2019-11-18 . Every Heart a Doorway . 2024-01-17 . . July 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706151924/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/seanan-mcguire/every-heart-a-doorway/ . live .
3. Web site: 2015-11-02 . Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire . 2024-01-17 . . March 29, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230329162259/https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780765385505 . live .
4. Web site: Crowley . Gretchen . 2016-07-01 . Every Heart a Doorway . 2024-01-17 . School Library Journal.
5. Web site: 2017-01-31 . 2016 Locus Recommended Reading List . 2024-01-17 . . en-US . May 11, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230511165231/https://locusmag.com/2017/01/2016-locus-recommended-reading-list/ . live .
6. Web site: Every Heart a Doorway Awards & Grants . 2024-01-17 . American Library Association.
7. Web site: 2017-05-20 . Nebula Award Recipients Announced . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170524193348/http://www.sfwa.org/2017/05/nebula-award-recipients-announced/ . 2017-05-24 . 2017-05-21 . Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
8. Web site: 2017-05-24 . Awards: Nebulas; Chautauqua; Anthonys . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230417033009/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3008 . 2023-04-17 . 2024-04-09 . Shelf Awareness.
9. Web site: 2017-05-21 . 2016 Nebula Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211202044657/https://locusmag.com/2017/05/12490/ . December 2, 2021 . 2024-01-17 . . en-US.
10. Web site: 2017-03-14 . McLemore Wins 2016 Tiptree Award . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230302182420/https://locusmag.com/2017/03/mclemore-wins-2016-tiptree-award/ . March 2, 2023 . 2024-01-17 . . en-US.
11. Web site: 2018-02-13 . Alex Awards 2017 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180225122242/http://www.ala.org/yalsa/2017-alex-awards . 2018-02-25 . 21 November 2018 . American Library Association.
12. Web site: 2017-01-23 . 2017 ALA Awards . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230208035839/https://locusmag.com/2017/01/2017-ala-awards/ . February 8, 2023 . 2024-01-17 . . en-US.
13. Web site: Duckett . Katharine . 2017-01-23 . Seanan McGuire’s Every Heart a Doorway Wins the Alex Award! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221205131328/https://www.tor.com/2017/01/23/seanan-mcguires-every-heart-a-doorway-wins-the-alex-award/ . December 5, 2022 . 2024-01-17 . Tor.com.
14. Web site: 2017-10-02 . 2017 British Fantasy Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231103211046/https://locusmag.com/2017/10/2017-british-fantasy-awards-winners/ . November 3, 2023 . 2024-01-17 . . en-US.
15. Web site: 2016-12-31 . 2017 Hugo Awards . 2017-08-11 . The Hugo Awards . en-US . 2017-08-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170810072558/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2017-hugo-awards/ . live .
16. Web site: 2017-08-14 . Awards: Hugo Winners; Ned Kelly Shortlists . 2024-04-09 . . 2023-09-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230927084554/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3064 . live .
17. Web site: December 31, 2016 . 2017 Hugo Awards . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170812030011/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2017-hugo-awards/ . 2017-08-12 . 2017-08-11 . World Science Fiction Society.
18. Web site: 2017-08-11 . 2017 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20171016150006/http://www.locusmag.com/News/2017/08/2017-hugo-and-campbell-awards-winners/ . October 16, 2017 . 2024-01-17 . . en-US.
19. Web site: 2017-06-24 . 2017 Locus Awards Winners . 2017-06-25 . Locus Online . en-US . 2018-01-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180102175816/https://locusmag.com/2017/06/do-not-touch-2017-locus-awards-winners/ . live .
20. Web site: 2017-07-26 . 2017 World Fantasy Award Finalists . 2024-04-12 . . en-US . 2017-09-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170930051915/http://www.locusmag.com/News/2017/07/world-fantasy-award-nominees/ . live .
21. Web site: 2018-10-01 . 2018 Geffen Awards Winners . 2024-04-12 . . en-US . 2023-02-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230206030323/https://locusmag.com/2018/10/2018-geffen-awards-winners/ . live .
22. Web site: 2019-03-22 . TV: Wayward Children . 2024-01-17 . . March 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230326213916/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3457 . live .
23. Web site: Kroll . Justin . July 29, 2021 . Paramount Pictures Lands Rights To Bestselling Book Series 'Wayward Children' . January 17, 2024 . . October 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231021183819/https://deadline.com/2021/07/paramount-pictures-wayward-children-1234802325/ . live .