I attempted to read this book, but was not in the right headspace. The writing style just did not appeal to me, so I was unable to finish it.

I was given this arc by netgalley in exchange for my honest review all opinions displayed are mine alone. I sadly DNF this book about half way through. I just couldn't get into it. Couldn't connect with the mc.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

This was such an interesting book to read. I enjoy books with a fantasy element from time to time and I have to say, this one was just so well written. I really liked the character of Ellen. She went to such great lengths to find out what exactly happened to Dorothy.

The story was well paced, the characters were well fleshed out, the whole thing just really worked for me. I will definitely be adding Christopher J. Finn to my list of authors to seek out.

*Received an ARC in exchange for a review*

The beginning made me initially think the audience was mislabeled as "young adult" (as it focuses on adults) and the writing seems a little weak, but it soon becomes evident that this is a frame narrative, the story picks up with the tale of 14-year old Dorthoy, who uses a key to travel to some alternate world. In those worlds, she meets two boys from what is their present but her past.

Once we get into the "meat" of the story, it's very interesting and engaging. I'm not an expert in 80's slang, and I wish there had been a little more joking on the confusion Charlie and Ragesha felt when she broke it out.

The ending was hard to guess, which I appreciate, and bittersweet (I love stories about the "un-chosen one," to quote China Mieville).

Where to begin? This story flips back and forth a little bit between the present and the past. In the present Ellen Steward meets Ragesha Dutta and his "ward" so to speak Dorothy Alston. Dorothy is in a persistent vegetative state and is brought to see Ellen at the Elements of Recovery to see if she can help Dorothy come out of it. So begins Ragesha's story of how he and Dorothy met, and why she is how she is.

In the past, Dorothy is a 14 year old girl who recently lost her mother to a house fire that was caused by her alcoholic father. After moving to her Uncle Al's farm in Florida, Dorothy discovers a glass key in an old box that can take her to different worlds. Here she meets two boys her age, Charlie Cuthbert and Ragesha. As the three of them explore the new worlds something dark and sinister awakens that wants the children, and Dorothy must do everything she can to stop it.

I LOVED this book. It had me hooked from the beginning and guessing what happens the next the entire time. After reading some other reviews I am the odd man out in not liking Dorothy that much. She honestly got on my nerves quite a bit and I found myself rooting for some of the minor characters more, but as the story wore on and the ending became near, I found myself pulling for her as well. This story makes you feel all kinds of feelings (the best books do) and has you wanting to know what happens next and why Dorothy is the way she is. I truly hope this is the beginning to a series because I would love to read more of Dorothy and Ellen's stories and see where Christopher J. Finn will take us next.

This book was trip it own! So many attributes compliment to this story as a whole its impeccable.. I can’t grasp the words to say exactly how this made me feel other then, imaginative, happy, sad, confused, lost, and wonderfully spontaneous! So many mixed emotions when reading this and the character I found myself getting so attached to mentally!

This story is one that incorporates the theme of a monster under your bed or a recurring nightmare so to speak. Conquer your fears and send those beasts back to the beyond!

I’ll be honest it did take me a while to read this one as I got so confused in the beginning but after you grasp the metaphorical sense it incorporates into the plot you will have no issue. I recommend this. It’s Thebooktee approved guys! YAY!!!!!

Thanks to Austin Macaulay Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Dorothy and the Glass Key by Christopher J. Finn!
Dorothy, a twenty-five year old who is wheelchair bound, is brought to a recovery center for hopeful assistance. A friend brought her to the center after searching the world for help but not getting any changes in Dorothy. She’s catatonic but looks healthy otherwise. The center administrator is baffled so the friend tells her the story of how it all began eleven years earlier.
Rags explains the keys and worlds that he, Dorothy and their mutual friend Charlie used and visited. Traveling to each other’s worlds, building friendships with each other and helping each other cope with life’s struggles made their relationships strong. An evil presence took away all that was good, along with their memories and the pain they had endured. The story comes full circle and the ending surprised me!
Interesting concept and story but the grammatical errors took away from that, (example: taught instead of taut). I also would have liked to know more about the antagonist’s background. 3.5 stars for this fantasy mystery!

This book is unique, in a very good way! It's not nearly as Wizard-of-Oz-ish as I thought it might be, and the world-building is fantastic! The characters are realistic (although perhaps more noble than real-life would be) and the concepts are intriguing -- I don't want to give too much away. I wouldn't have minded if the book went longer, but am very happy to have read it. I will watch for more books from this author!

I really enjoyed the world building throughout this novel. It really sucked me into the story. I can't explain more else I'll ruin the story for anyone else who wants to check it out. It's a very interesting take on friendships, loneliness, courage and pain. I would like to go to the key worlds, but there is a price to pay. It's a very interesting book. A bit time traveling too.

This book left me feeling confused. The plot wasn’t the cause, mostly... I just find it really hard to review because I enjoyed many of the characters, I thought the writing was well done, and the concept was completely unique. Normally that would lead to a glowing review. Yet, there is something about this book that left me feeling more ‘meh’ than anything. If I were to try to point to why I felt that way, I would say part of the problem is the length. The book is only 179 pages and a huge shift happens right near the end and I think makes the culmination of events feel rushed. The end is also a bit open, and I wish I had an epilogue or a couple more pages to reveal what happens. That would have made the book feel more satisfying for me personally. I think I would recommend this book, with a few warnings. If you have been told it is at all related to Wizard of Oz, it isn’t. The characters do travel to another world, but that is the only small similarity. Also, know that you may finish it with questions.

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an interesting book to read. I enjoy books with a fantasy element from time to time and I have to say, this one was just so well written. I really liked the character of Ellen. She went to such great lengths to find out what exactly happened to Dorothy.

The story was well paced, the characters were well fleshed out, the whole thing just really worked for me. I will definitely be adding Christopher J. Finn to my list of authors to seek out.

Thank you netgalley for the early review! This book was very good it gave me wizard of oz vibes but way more twisted everybody should give this a read!

I was very interested in this book from the beginning. I mean a book where the main character is stuck in a coma from the whole thing and living in a fantasy life while the people around her try to figure out what is going on? It sounded very different and interesting. What I didn't like was I found the plot of this book a bit muddled and hard to distinguish exactly what was happening. Did this happen while Dorothy was asleep? Is she awake now? Is she asleep in real life but awake in a fictional dimension? I was a little confused and I wish that the author had made things a little bit clearer for the reader. That was the only thing I disliked I couldn't get immersed in this novel and it made it very hard to follow, after every page I found my attention being pulled elsewhere. I did like however the parts where Dorothy was in real life instead of in her other world where anything could happen. I liked seeing how the doctors reacted to her madness. While I found the idea of the story amazing and I couldn't wait to read it, I wasn't a big fan of the overall layout of the novel itself and found the story line VERY confusing. I found it a little forgettable after the last page was closed. Not a bad idea but it could have been better.

What can I say about this book that won't ruin it for others ? Well from the title I had imagined something perhaps inspired by the Wizard of Oz but actually it was far more twisted than that. This book is the story of Dorothy who is comatose and her rich benefactor takes her to a new clinic hoping that answers can be found there. He tells a story of how a very sad fourteen year old Dorothy found a mysterious key that transported her to a magical world where she found two other boys who like her sought escape and solace. His words are compelling yet fanciful as he describes the new friendships Dorothy forms both in these other dimensions and also back in reality. Yet nowhere is paradise, there's always dark to balance light and Dorothy might not really belong anywhere as an evil presence seeks it's own revenge on our world.
This went in directions I couldn't predict and had me questioning things as the retelling of Dorothys exploits unfolded. Yes Dorothy was transported to a world where something sought to exploit the children but there's a vivid sense that Dorothy is the reason everything is wrong. As much as I enjoyed her relationship with the other children she meets I thought the author did an excellent job of making those she keeps leaving behind feel real with emotions that felt heart warming . I couldn't help but be reminded of Peter Pan and his reactions to having a girl amongst his lost boys though as the evil took form and confronted Dorothy. There's no sexism here I hasten to only a unique twist on just why things are so different for Dorothy. The author unravelled a story that will stay with me and leaves me questioning what is real and what do we perceive to be metaphysical. This was entertaining and as a debut has so much to recommend it.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Hi! Welcome to my review of Dorothy and the Glass Key by Christopher J. Finn!

The spoiler-free review :

Dorothy and the Glass Key follows Dorothy, a 14 year old girl who’s mother had died in a fire, as she and her father move to her uncle’s farm for a fresh start during the summer vacation. Dorothy comes across a glass key, which can transport her to a new, almost magical world. Here, she meets new friends and finally finds an escape from the awkward tension back home between her and her father. But as time progresses, she realizes that all is not well in this magical world and that it’s up to her to save her friends.

I was really impressed with this book. This book was Christopher J. Finn’s debut novel and I think that that is pretty amazing.

The writing had such an authentic feel to it; the colloquialisms and metaphors used just provided such a unique voice to this book, in my opinion. I like the southern USA accent and with this writing I felt like I could hear the accent.

The characters were lovable during the story, and I found myself rooting for Dorothy like crazy.

The story was gripping, shaping an atmosphere that scared me even though I didn’t know why. It was fantastical, with an ending that shocked me to my very core.

All in all, I enjoyed this book immensely. It might only have been 240 pages long, it felt like time had stretched out for me as I read. This book leaves out all the boring parts, which makes this book highly recommendable to people in the middle of a reading slump.


The review full of spoilers:
You have been warned.


Good underlying themes/messages :

-Dorothy deciding that she has to stop the Spintwister to save all the suffering children in the world, even though she’s terrified.
-Peter not giving up on his daughter after his wife died, even though she turns her back on him at every turn.
-Isais trying to help Dorothy and believing her, even though he doesn’t fully understand what happened to her.
-Charlie realizing that losing all his memories of everything is not a way to cope with his pain, and fighting back against the Spintwister.

Every character in this book seems to have a very human, noble streak that stretches miles wide. Their best characteristics are brought out by the worst and that is to never leave anyone they love behind.

A whole star for this catagory!


Fantastic Worldbuilding :

I’ve never been to North America in my life. I don’t know what the people are like, what they talk like in ordinary conversations or what the weather is like on a normal day.

I felt like the author captured every detail of the setting perfectly. There are no overly long paragraphs of describing the scenery but rather little details weaved into the story. The plot continues on without pausing but now I know how the farm smells and what it look like and how blazing hot the summer day is.

The key worlds were well done, as well. We got just enough descriptions to know what it looks like but we still go on with the story. I think in the particular way the author described the key worlds was done in a way that all the readers will see a semblance of what the author imagines but will also add their personal touch to it.

A whole star for this catagory!


Realistic characters and growth:

Dorothy and her father, Peter, were realistic in such a painful way: one blaming the other for the mother’s death.

Their relationship was awkward in the beginning, with both tip-toeing around each other but by the end, they still loved each other and protected one another.

Dorothy’s relationship with her Uncle Al and Isais was a relief for both her and me. There was no awkwardness between them and provided some semblance of escape for Dorothy.

The relationship between Dorothy and Charlie was my favorite. It was childlike and innocent, everything it was supposed to have been in the real world.

I didn’t really take to Ragesha, maybe because he didn’t get so much spotlight but I didn’t dislike him either.

The Spintwister absolutely terrified me. Not because of how he was described but because of his way of thinking. The Spintwister was insane and that scared me to death.

Dorothy, Charlie and Ragesha had grown throughout the book, going from children suffering from their circumstances to children who accepted what they had and stood up to the Spintwister.

A whole star for this catagory!


Interesting story:

I don’t have the words to describe to you how enchanting and gripping this story was.

Each new chapter brought a different twist to the story. Once you think you figured out what’s happening, something happens and then you don’t. Each new twist just brings another level of complexity to the story until you’re just dying to find out why everything happened.

It was written to the point where it almost felt like a nightmare. But such a gripping, fascinating nightmare!

A whole star for this catagory!


Writing Style was beautiful/ Easy to read:

This book was so easy to read! The writing was to the point but the colloquialisms and metaphors made it so interesting.

Some books are so hard read because the writing is horrible but this book was the exact opposite of that. Once I put it down, I couldn’t wait to pick it up again!

A whole star for this category!


Overall:

5 stars out of 5!

Wow! It’s been a while since I gave something a full 5 stars!

If you’re bored, in a reading slump or looking for an interesting read, this book it most definitely for you!

“We were hurting. We longed for an escape. When you search so hard for an escape…” He tapped the key box. “Sometimes the escape finds you.“

*I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.