The Door to January

Reviewed by: Elizabeth Andersen - Westbrook High School, Westbrook, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: July 18, 2017

Review

Once again, Maine writer, Gillian French, sets her story in a small, fictional Maine town. It is summer and Natalie has returned to Bernier to work at her Aunt’s diner. Natalie has also returned to confront her nightmares. Ever since she and her family moved away from Bernier, there is an old house that has been reaching out to her in her dreams. Natalie and her cousin, Teddy, explore the old house and eventually learn its’ dark history. They decide that they must confront the wrongs of the past which involves Natalie putting her life in danger. At the same time, Natalie must also confront her peers in Bernier and see if she can learn to trust any of them who played a traumatic role in her past. This paranormal, time-travel story, weaves suspense with the issues of small-town life. As in her first book, French skillfully unfolds the layers of her twisted plot. Readers will keep turning the page to find the surprises that await at the end.

Overall Book Score: very good