 Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire.
This is the first book in Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series. "Wayward," in this case, refers to children who've visited fairy lands or other alternate realities, and then returned. The children in Eleanor West's home are all desperately searching for the doors that will take them "home" to their magical lands. We get glimpses of different worlds: some are "logic," with clear rules, while others are pure "nonsense." Some realms are deemed virtuous, and some wicked, with assorted lesser designations in between. The children who appear as side characters in this book get starring roles in later books. All of them are interesting, unique personalities, including Jack and Jill, a pair of identical twins who are anything but. 17-year-old Nancy spent six years (in human time, six months) serving the Lord of the Dead, and she misses the cool, quiet stillness of the underworld. Her parents think she's had a breakdown, and they send her to Miss West to be healed. And then the murders start. As the new arrival from the Land of the Dead, Nancy is the prime suspect. The details of the murders and mutilations are extremely grotesque, and I doubt I'll be continuing the series for that reason. The murders make sense within the story, but were hard for me to read, particularly since the books are about children. The stories could be seen as an allegory for being neurodivergent. The children experience the world differently than other people, and are often not believed or understood. Popsugar Reading Challenge: About new beginnings. 52 Book Club Challenge: A book that cost you nothing. Booklist Queen Challenge: Published in 2016. This Challenge Killed the Bookworm: Fairies are good.
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