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100 CUPBOARDS by N.D. Wilson

100 CUPBOARDS

by N.D. Wilson

Pub Date: Dec. 26th, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-375-83881-1
Publisher: Random House

Henry York awakens one night to find that two knobs have popped out of the plaster at the head of his bed. Having lived a sheltered existence thanks to his overprotective parents, the boy is currently staying with his aunt, uncle and cousins and is up for a little adventure. Scraping the wall reveals 99 cupboards of varying shapes and sizes, each one a connection to another world. Unfortunately, opening one of the doors means the release of an unspeakably evil presence, causing the secrets of both the cupboards and Henry’s past to come to light in the face of great danger. Wilson takes the concept of finding a door to another realm and simply extends it to its logical extreme. The result is a highly imaginative tale that successfully balances its hero’s inner and outer struggles. Wilson’s writing is fantastical, but works with clever sentences and turns of phrase that render it more than just another rote fantasy. The ending concludes the adventure satisfactorily but leaves plenty of room for a sequel. (Fantasy. 9-14)