BLOG TOUR: Beyond the Doors by David Neilsen

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're joining a blog tour already in progress for a new Middle Grade Fiction title that is just this side of creepy with a huge helping of imagination, creativity, bewilderment, and oh-so-much-fun.  It JUST RELEASED via Crown Books for Young Readers YESTERDAY and is the second title from writing talent, author David Neilsen...a name you may recognize from the fact that I read/reviewed his first title as well (Dr. Fell....anyone?  ~shivers~) right here on the site.  How did this one turn out?  Oh, well...what's behind door number one, Johnny?  Oh, wait...where the hey did the actual DOOR go?  Aunt Gladys...have you been at it again?  Excuse me while I round up the supposedly leg growing woodwork that has left the building...in the mean time, here on my thoughts on today's book of choice...

Beyond the Doors

by

David Neilsen

9781101935828

Crown Books for Young Readers

About the book...

Fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events and Coraline will devour this dark and creepy, humor-laced tale about four siblings who discover a mysterious world where secrets hide around every corner. 
When a family disaster forces the four Rothbaum children to live with their aunt Gladys, they immediately know there is something strange about their new home. The crazy, circular house looks like it stepped out of a scary movie. The front entrance is a four-story-tall drawbridge. And the only food in Aunt Gladys’s kitchen is an endless supply of Honey Nut Oat Blast Ring-a-Dings cereal.

Strangest of all are the doors—there are none. Every doorway is a wide-open passageway—even the bathroom! Who lives in a house with no doors?

Their unease only grows when Aunt Gladys disappears for long stretches of time, leaving them alone to explore the strange house. When they discover just what Aunt Gladys has been doing with all her doors, the shocked siblings embark on an adventure that changes everything they believe about their family and the world.

PUBLISHER  |  AMAZON

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This is another one of those reads that once I started, I had a hard time keeping up with my GoodReads updates.  I was just lost in the story.  Sorry...NOT sorry.  ^-^

Mysterious fires, houses/rooms with no doors, temporarily orphaned siblings, and an unusual relative who's prior existence they knew nothing of....curious...and simply obvious where the comparison to the Unfortunate series came from, but really...it's just that, a comparison.  The two are nary the same overall.  The orphans of which we speak are as I said, temporarily in this stage of life seeing as dear old Dad is in a coma thanks to severe burns from a fire he barely managed to escape.  The how, why, and what of THAT little tidbit starts the mystery of all mysteries, and an adventure none involved will likely forget...or will they?  Guess that all depends on what door they or someone else walks through...*ahem*...anywho...

I will not tell you the whole story.  Nope.  I refuse.  When I like a book, I tend to ramble and words just start falling out of my mouth, but this is me, reigning it in.  As for my adventure through the pages, I thoroughly enjoyed all four siblings, each their strengths and weaknesses, but they played well off of each other.  One would take the lead when the other faltered.  One would succumb to childish tendencies (hello, they ARE kids...but you know what I mean) when another would put on their big girl or boy pants to get the job done.  They may have been alone for the time being, but they weren't out....they had each other.  Regarding the adults, well....with how scattered brained they all seemed, it's no wonder the kids had to take charge!  Then again, when you take into account all that was happening, traversing the MemoryVerse, or MemorySphere, or whatever you wanted to call it at any given time, is bound to have some side effects that you weren't expecting.  (Thanks Grandpa!)

In the end, it was what it was, a curious story with no end to the power of imagination used to create the curiosities within.  Round houses (not that odd) and doorways with no doors (pretty strange), memories to relish (norm) and those that sour (yes, I said sour...you DON'T want to know, first hand at least), and even a surprise visit from someone I think I recognized from the author's other work that favored purple top hats (or am I wrong?  I have to know!)...there's so much to see, so much to experience, so many wonders to ponder as you jump from memory to memory, mind to mind, and frying pan to fryer (okay, not literally on that last part, but if the creepy carnival dude had his way... *-*).  Recommended read for the older Middle Grade fan set and beyond...we don't need nightmares running about the wee ones minds, unless the adults in the audience enjoy surprise bedroom visits in the dark THAT much.

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About the author...

David Neilsen is the author of Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom. He is also a classically trained actor and storyteller, a journalist, and a theater and improvisation teacher. During the Halloween season, David can be found telling spooky tales to audiences of all ages or performing his one-man shows based on the horror author H. P. Lovecraft. David lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with his family and cats. Visit him at david-neilsen.com.

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Special thanks to author David Neilsen and the Crown Books for Young Readers team for the ARC for review as well as the chance to bring this tour to you.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, his other works, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title celebrated its BOOK BIRTHDAY yesterday (08/01/17) via Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!