Review: Every Heart A Doorway (Wayward Children #1)

Every Heart a Doorway, Book 1 in the Wayward Children Series by Seanan McGuire

Published By: Tor
Publication Date: April 5, 2016
Date Read: May 31, 2025
Genre: Adult – Urban Fantasy / Magical Realism
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 176

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Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series has been on my radar for so many years. It’s a series of novellas, set to the premise of old folklore tales of children disappearing through doorways into magical worlds. I’ve always loved these tales, and what drew me to this series is that it’s the story of what happens to those children when they come back to the real world. I absolutely love this concept and I have to say Seanan McGuire executes it perfectly.

Every Heart A Doorway follows the story of Nancy, who has been to a world of the dead… now she is back in the real world, she struggles with how fast this world is, and filled with colour. She longs to go back to her slow paced, calm land of the dead. She ends up attending Eleanor Wests’ Home for Wayward Children, a home for all of the travelling and journeying chlildren. But when some of the children end up dead, Nancy is drawn into the mystery of who has killed them, and what is it that they want.

I really enjoyed this novella. At just over 170 pages, it’s a very quick read and I can already tell this series is going to end up being my go to when I don’t know what to read, or when I’m in a bit of a slump. Despite the murder mystery plotline, this book still felt super cosy and whimsical and fun. I just absolutely love the concept, and so many of the characters. I’m really excited that this series of novellas is going to show us all of the different worlds, and different children. I can’t wait to continue this series further. Seanan McGuire is a fantastic author, and I’m excited to see where this series takes me next. I can’t wait to read the next one, which I will be diving straight into.

This series is a must-read for anyone looking for some cute magical novellas to bump their reading challenge up, or anyone who loved whimsical magical realism.