The Book of Doors

December 4, 2023
Brown debuts with a riveting tale of adventure, magic, and the long process of grieving. Cassie Andrews, a mild-mannered bookseller in New York City, inherits the mysterious eponymous volume from a deceased customer. Discovering its magical ability to transport her to any place she envisions, Cassie, accompanied by her spirited roommate, Izzy, embarks on an adventure. However, as they realize the perilous potential of the book, they find themselves entangled with an enigmatic man known as the Librarian, who protects a collection of similarly magical books, and pursued by malevolent forces seeking the power of the Book of Doors and all the other volumes like it. Brown conjures a magical atmosphere that filters through even the plot’s more mundane moments while also expertly handling difficult themes of loss and pain. With an endearingly quirky cast and a lightning quick pace, this is sure to suck readers in. Fans of Alix E. Harrow’s The Ten Thousand Doors of January will be especially hooked. Agent: Helen Edwards, Rights Agency.

January 1, 2024
A debut novel about a bookseller who discovers the real power of books--if they're magic. When an elderly customer dies at Manhattan's Kellner Books, Cassie Andrews finds herself in an inexplicable situation. In Mr. John Webber's possession is a small, leather-bound book in a language Cassie doesn't recognize. There are a few lines in English: "This is the Book of Doors. Hold it in your hand, and any door is every door." And then: "Cassie, This book is for you, a gift in thanks for your kindness." Cassie shows the book to her roommate, Izzy, who's wary. And yet, when Cassie thinks of a door she once saw on vacation in Venice, that door opens for her. Naturally, there are people who want this powerful book, and soon enough the underworld of rare book collectors is buzzing. Drummond Fox, known as the Librarian, happens upon Cassie using the Book of Doors, thanks to his own Book of Luck. But while Drummond seeks to protect books like Cassie's, there are others--notably, someone known only as "the woman"--who seek to use them for evil. Drummond is eager to show Cassie the danger she's in by revealing the full potential of the Book of Doors: "You can open a door to the past....That's why people will want your book." What follows is a multilayered exploration of how the book can influence past, present, and future, and how individual choices can have unimaginable rippling effects. Fans of books like Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore will love this world, though by the end Brown has moved from his initial focus on magical books toward a case study of the rules of time travel. One unexpected aspect is the gory depiction of torture at the hands of "the woman" and the books she possesses. These scenes are jarringly at odds with the initial tone of wonderment, but if you stick with it, you'll reach a conclusion that's both disorienting and deeply satisfying. A whirlwind journey that opens doors into other worlds but also into the heart of the human experience.

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Starred review from January 19, 2024

DEBUT Cassie Andrews lives a quiet life in New York City, working evenings at a local bookstore and crossing paths with her energetic, day-working roommate Izzy when time allows. When Cassie's favorite customer dies, she's left with a strange book filled with symbols and pictures, called the Book of Doors. She soon discovers that the book can take a person to any place and time, if they can visualize it. Cassie is delighted to travel wherever--and whenever--she wants, but Izzy fears the immense power the book holds. A mysterious man named Drummond Fox tells Cassie the truth about her book and the others that exist with delightful and disturbing powers, but she finds herself on the run from power-hungry collectors. When Cassie ends up trapped beyond her friends' help, she must find a way to escape and secure her future. The multiple points of view develop each of the characters, creating a fully realized and magical world. VERDICT Brown's debut is an immersive and enchanting story of friendship, defining one's future, and the mystery that life can hold. Fans of Alix E. Harrow will find this novel delightful.--Kristi Chadwick

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2024
Books are a uniquely human invention, but the books at the center of Brown's fantastical debut are a different kind of unique. Each represents a distinct magical talent that can be used for good or ill, depending on the hands holding the volume. No one knows where the books came from or how many there are, but some individuals will pay millions for a single tome. Others are willing to kill to acquire one. And there is a secretive, international community of book dealers and hunters, some quite deadly, eager to add these special items to their own collections to use, or not, as they see fit. In present-day New York City, bookstore employee Cassie Andrews discovers she has been gifted an unusual book by a favorite customer. The inscription states, "This is the Book of Doors," and for someone who holds it, any door is every door--if they can figure out how to use it. What Cassie soon discovers, to her dismay, is that she possesses the one book that every book hunter has dreamed of owning for more than a century. Those who love books about books and enjoy paranormal fantasy with a touch of romance will be enraptured.

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