I am going to start this review by thanking John Green for giving me a quote I can use to describe my feelings for this book: “I fell in love like you fall asleep: slowly then all at once.” I haven’t even read that book but it’s a pretty good quote and fits here so well.
If I was more critical or reviewed and rated based on quality over the feelings that a book makes me feel I might lower this rating. It is far from perfect: it starts slow, some of the characters are two dimensional, and really it follows a very predictable plot pattern and the final confrontation was only ok. I do not care. I loved it.
This felt like a love letter to those who escape through books. To people who want to enter new worlds and explore. To those who love getting lost in pages. I felt like this was for *me*. That the beauty and wonder of multiple worlds was open for me to explore. This book felt deeply personal and expansive all at once.
The imagery described in this book is often powerful and beautifully written. I specifically noted a scene across mirror worlds with two people holding onto the same lost hope at the same broken door. I also noted a line down: “I think every story is a love story if you catch it at the right moment.” I believe in that, with so many different kinds of love possible in the world that books can open us up to that feeling.
Also, the villains are hypocritical conservatives. So like…a lot of reasons to love it.
I totally understand how this feeling would not connect to everyone. Those are actual problems with the book that I noticed while in love so if you didn’t connect I imagine the book falling apart for others. This is my least favorite kind of review that is emotion based instead of anything I can really solidly point to and go THIS. But maybe others can fall in love in the same totally unreasonable way.
I listened to this audiobook narrated by January (hey!) Lavoy through the library. I would recommend this audiobook. I might go out and buy this book though.
