Mr. Locke is an apt name for her “guardian”…(THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY by Alix E. Harrow, narrated by January LaVoy)

[image error]How wonderful to read something so imaginative! I loved the voice of naughty (temerarious) January Scaller, who at 7 had precociously worked out how to annoy everyone. Her mischievous side really drew me in. But what was also wonderful is how a 7-year-old motherless girl is so very vulnerable to the blandishments of her “guardian” with the apt name of Mr. Locke, so that when he admonishes her that she must learn to “stay in her place,” she does just that, learning to suffocate her true nature, just as young ladies of her era (the novel is set in the years 1901 and 1911) learn to curb their growing curves by jamming them into corsets.

I LISTENED to this novel, and the voice of January LaVoy really helped the get a flavor of this story. I really LOVED the way she captured the accents of 7-year-old January, her father Julian, her mother Adelaide. Highly recommended. Five Stars.

The post appeared first on Spun Stories.