One of the unique and imaginative elements of this novel was the story within a story trope. The second story belongs in a book, which January finds in a mysterious chest in the Locke mansion. A chest that often hides treasures just for her. The story she reads is a scholarly piece, so for a while the book flops back and forth between the two narratives, intertwining the two. The second story, while important to the narrative, was what slowed down the book (being written as a scholarly text) and sometimes left me wanting to set the book aside for all the thinking and concentration that the reader needed to really delve into the plot. I liked finding out how the stories connected, but also felt myself drawn much more to the story of January, wishing for less depth in the other piece. The characters were all very believable in their motivations, with January being a very sympathetic lead, who must be strong in the face of adversity. Often times I was frustrated with her characters interactions with others, but as the story progressed my annoyance wore down as certain aspects of these other characters were made clear. I also really loved the inclusion of Bad, the dog, as he represented the anger, the violence, the rage that January had to keep buried within herself, as the 'good girl' that Mr. Locke raised her to be. Whereas Samuel, one of my favourite characters (I really wished there had been more involving him) acted more as the adventurous part of January, the part of herself that longed for escape from the confines of Locke house and the 'class' she was being bred to be part of. Jane was the fighter in January, the powerful part of herself that she would need to call up and use in order to face the frightening truth about the doors and the secret organization after them. There were a lot of amazing quotes and I really felt the falling between worlds aspect was well crafted and creative. However, once again, I found the pacing too slow, and that I needed full concentration to be able to understand everything I was reading. Once January's story became the main focus again, having read all she could of the other 'story,' the narrative became a game of predator and prey. The 'Doors' leading to other worlds were very much like hopping from one story to another and January was the reader, author, and main character all rolled into one. This novel was also a love story between a family, between friends, between a girl and a boy, and a girl and her dog. The main takeaway is that you may be alone, but you are never truly alone when you have love in your life.
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