Customer Reviews

A Door Near Here

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How would you feel if you were sixteen and your alcoholic mother hasn't been out of bed for weeks? You have three other siblings that need food and supplies just as much as you do but you don't have any money. Well Katherine, in A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles, doesn't like it. She has to do all the chores around the house, worry about how much food they can eat for dinner and where they're going to get the money to buy more. She also has to keep up with her school work because Mr. Dodgson, her interfering teacher, might suspect child neglect and call social services.
That`s the last thing Katherine wants because then Alisa, her little sister, would get separated from the family. Her mom would get put in a hospital until she gets better. If her mother got sent away, Katherine and her other siblings would have to live with their father. The only thing they've seen from him in the last ten years is a child support check. She really dislikes him for leaving their mother and not being a good father. She really doesn't want to live with him.
I recommend A Door Near Here for people who enjoy books that make you want to keep reading until you're done. I think it's the kind of book that has many suspenseful parts that can really surprise you. I really enjoyed reading this book. I hope all the people that will read it will enjoy it too.

Heather Quarles has captured the reality of life within an alcoholic, broken family in a way that highlights the devastation and hope involved with such an upbringing. In the midst of some of the most unbelievable suffering children can experience, the power of the love of an individual and the love of God is displayed and revealed to be TRUE. If you or someone you know has suffered, then this book is for you. I cried throughout most of this book. But I also turned to God and thanked Him for the amazing ways He reveals Himself - especially in the midst of tragedy. This is a book that I will read again and again.

I grew up reading & re-reading CS Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia." Narnia was my escape from the alcoholism that invaded every facet of my life as a child. Lewis' characters faced many of the same emotions I did, and "connected" me with others outside of my isolated life--albeit imaginary friends, but friends nonetheless.

I never thought I'd see another author capture the growing pains of childhood as well as Lewis did, until I picked up Quarles' book by mistake. Since I had it, I read it, and I was astounded at her ability to capture the reader, transport them inside the character and recreate all of the fears, pain, excitement, uncertainty and ingenuity of childhood.

This book is a MUST-READ for anyone who loved CS Lewis, or for anyone whose life has been touched by parental alcoholism. "A Door Near Here" gives outsiders a peek inside the secret world of an alcoholic home, and gives insiders a family of friends who know how it is.

Finally, Quarles loving treatment of Aslan and Narnia in the real world of an 8-year-old is astounding--Ms. Quarles, thank-you.

I loved this book. I was particularly impressed by the fact that this is Heather Quarles' first novel and that she writes with such heart. Her characters are captivating, well developed, and take turns either breaking your heart or putting you on the edge of your seat. The storyline provides twists and turns down the road toward a study of alcoholic parents and the affects of the disease on helpless children. Not to say that the characters are helpless... in fact, they are very self-sufficient. The four children, ages 8 to 15, look for help from no one but each other. Some would be horrified that such a thing could happen. I think it is an inspiration for childhood ingenuity. This first attempt at writing for Quarles has laid a wonderful foundation for her to continue a brilliant career. She is obviously very talented and writes with such passion, you almost wonder if the experience was hers personally. I found myself projected into the shoes of the central character, 15-year-old Katherine. I think you will too.

A Door Near Here poignantly chronicles the attempt of a four-child family to deal with the Mother's alcoholism. It is fairly realistic and paints no rosy pictures. Although the book is excellent, the descriptions of the alcoholic mother might be to graphic for some students. Recommended for teachers, parents, and students.

I bought the book yesterday, and could not put it down (too bad I had to work this morning). The characters are wonderfully developed, honest and unique. Katherine's desperation and determination is realistic and compelling. There are no easy answers for these kids, but by sticking together they keep each other in line. Wonderful.

I think "A Door Near Here" was a great book. I really don't get into reading books but when I started reading "A Door Near Here" I was blown away. The way that Heather Quarles writes is just amazing. The way that all of the kids have to all survive and there journey to keep there mothers drunken state a secret and not to make it any worse and trying not to let the DSS find out about what happened to them and in the end it all works out is just an award winning book no dought. I would recomend you to turn off your T.V and get off your butt and pick up "A Door Near Here" and start reading.

After reading "A Door Near Here" by Heather Quarles, I was very pleased with what I read. It is a great book about a sixteen year old girl named Katherine who is left to take care of the house they live in and her siblings while still trying to juggle her alcoholic mother, her father who hardly ever visits, and school with her suspicious teachers.

Her mother is a depressed alcoholic who has been in bed with a bottle of sherry ever since her and her husband got divorced, and this is why Katherine has to take care of everything. What's even worse is that her littlest sister, Alisa, is starting to believe that the imaginary door to C.S. Lewis' world of Narnia really exists. She thinks if she finds this door, everything will be okay again. Plus, the kids teachers are becoming very suspicious by seeing the kids coming to school unprepared and in dirty clothes, and that no one is home when they call the house.

This is a wonderful read and I don't want to give away the whole book, so go get a copy now and find out what happens to Katherine and her family.

An absolutely amazing book!!! Heather was a counselor of mine at a camp in Ocean Park and it's amazing for me to know such a wonderful author. This book is a complete reality. The situation is real and how the children dealt with it is real as well. It was definetly a page turner and a must read. This book has made me so thankful for the wonderful family I have and to know how lucky I am to have a mother right there by my side everyday. This book is so true to the heart. Don't miss the opportunity to read such a wonderful book.

Through out a child's life, they are always looking for ways to grow up. Dressing up in their parents' clothes, wearing make-up, handling money, etc. In Heather Quarle's amazing book, A Door Near Here, 15 year-old Katherine Donavan doesn't have to look to far. When her alcoholic mother becomes bed-ridden and her neglecting, re-married father only calls once in a while, she finds herself playing mother to her three younger siblings and thinking of ways for them to survive. When times get extremely tough, the children find themselves with many problems and few possibilities. The plot starts to thicken when the youngest sister, 8 year-old Alisa, finds herself looking for the door to an imaginary kingdom called Narnia. Through out the bookm, Katherine and her family display that by sticking together, they can get through anything. With their situation only seeming to get worse, the Donovan family has to think up some ways to survive. Can this family overcome their problem or will it end in up in the Department of Social Service's hands? This heartwarming novel shows how the loving Donavon family can overcome the odds. This is a definite must read!