I read a review of The Ten Thousand Days of January and decided to listen to it as an audiobook.    It is a fantasy about a young girl who learns to open hidden doors to other worlds.    It is the story of January Scaller, the ward of Cornelius Locke, whose father was an explorer and collector, but has been missing for many years.    January finds a book which she uses to go on an adventure of discovery.

The story is richly written with lots of metaphoric language, vivid description, and detailed world-building.    A love of stories, imagination, and language is built into the tale.   A series of interesting characters are wound into the plot and the story moves along without cliched episodes.

Overall, I found it to be an easy and accessible book, full of surprises.    The writing follows traditional storytelling methods, but the author brings a bit of sparkle to the book.    Alix Harrow’s debut book is an invitation to a gateway of fresh ideas.

“How fitting, that the most terrifying time in my life should require me to do what I do best: escape into a book.”

My rating for this book – 4.1 out of 5.0 stars4.1

An audiobook excerpt: