Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: I'm privledged to know the author!!
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: A Door Near Here
Review: Are books, in your mind, are boring and take up too much time? Well, maybe you need to read something that interests you. If you're thinking about reading, and you need a good book, I would prefer The Door Near Here. The book was written by Heather Quarrels. The story about four kids living with their mother. The problem is that their mother Is an alcoholic, and has been in bed sick for a while now. The oldest child,Katherine, who is about sixteen and in the tenth grade. Her and Douglas, her only brother who is fifteen and in the ninth grade, are trying to run the house by themselves. Money and food are running low and and here teachers are starting to suspect something. Her youngest sister, Alisa, is starting to talk about a character out of a book she has read and wants to go ask him to help her family with all their problems. She really thinks this King Lion can help her. Now that Alisa is starting to tell other kids about the character helping her family, they get suspicious. Alisa ends up running away from school and tried finding a door to go and see this Lion King character. They were, after the insident they were sent to live with their stuborn father who left them for another woman. Their mother was sent to a rehab.
The book was really interesting and there was always something going on which should keep the audience wanting to read even more. The book should have you thinking about what is going or will happen. The kids would keep you interested in trying to figure out what all of them feel. It was also interesting to see how Katherine's teacher move from wanting to help her by turning them into Social Services. He pretty much changed from that to actually wanting to help them personally. Although Douglas and Katherine were trying, I didn't think they could handle running a household. Without the help of Katherine's teacher, they would've either been caught, ratted out, or just had to leave because of bills. Yes, Katherine tried a lot, but she had to much stress in her life. If their father was there, they would've been taken care of, but I don't think they would've got the love and attention they needed.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, poignant, thought-provoking and intense.
Review: Beutifully written. This book captured me from page one. I didn't want to put it down. A must read for teenagers, parents, teachers, pastors and counselors.
Rating:
Summary: To Have a Good Life
Review: Book Critique During my free reading time I decided to read a book called A Door Near Here. This was a book I happened to see in my school library and it caught my attention. Other than the title the little passage on back of the book was written with feelings and attraction for the reader. The author of this book is Heather Quarles, someone not too known, but came up with a great book. She put in a lot of imagination and thought in writing the book. Since I loved this book very much I would recommend it for others. However not everyone like books about life and books that have too much feelings. For example most guys like books about fighting, mysteries, and scary things. Not all guys though, but most of them show their though sides when it comes to books. This book is about a teenage girl, named Katherine that goes through a hard life because of her mother. Her mother is an alcoholic and she knows it however she is in denial. Her being fifteen she has to take care of her three siblings, the house, and mother. They go through times when they are really hungry and they have nothing to eat. As if it is not enough she wants to keep everything to her self and not ask anyone for help. Another problem rises when Katherine's younger sister Alisa begins to go a little crazy because she knows what is going on with her mother. She might be young but she understands more than Katherine expects her to. If someone is a type of person that likes to read about other people's life then they should go ahead and read this book. Reading this book made me realize how important it is to have a good family and to have both parents by your side. Other than being an exciting book this book has weaknesses that sometimes make the book boring. One of the main weaknesses that I noticed through out the book was how the author wrote a long book but kept the same story and meaning all the way threw the book. Nothing exciting and startling comes out of the chapters. It seems like you are reading the same thing over and over again. I think if the author added new points to the book than you would wait for something new in every chapter. In addition one of the other things that I didn't like was how the ending was done. It seemed that the author didn't finish the book, she left it for us to figure out what happened. At the end Katherine and her siblings go to live with their dad. It doesn't mention what exactly happens to their mom and how their life changes because of what happens. I think books should have clear endings, they should not be riddles. The readers should end the book with clear understanding of the story. Even though there were some weaknesses, I still loved the book and everyone should read and see what other families go through. Other than learning something from this book you don't loose anything. Read and enjoy!
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Summary: Kelsey M.
Review: Four young kids are trying to take over their house, as their mother sits up stairs in bed drinking her self to death. . Katherine, 15, Douglas, 14, Tracey, 13, and Alissa, 9, all try to help their mother by lying to people because they want to protect her. No one is there to help them; none of them want to ask for any. They all try to do a part in the house to make things easier. When they seem to have most things figured out, a teacher of theirs has to get in the way and make it worse. Katherine takes it upon herself and rejects his help. Alissa reads this book on Nirvana and tries to run away from school to go find the secret door to Nirvana. I though this book was an excellent book because it shows you that people that don't get along can work together. I also think this book was a great book because I like books with girls telling the story because I can relate to them more then reading from a guy's perspective. I would recommend this book A Door Near Here by, Heather Quarkes to young/teenage girls because it's about dealing with family issues as a teenager. I would also recommend this to them because you get to see all the stress Katharine goes threw with her mother and trying to raise her three younger siblings on her own.
Rating:
Summary: I thank God for this book
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: I thank God for this book
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent work, absorbing and believable.
Review: Heather Quarles has done a wonderful job depicting what seems to be the ultimate dysfunctional family, but isn't. Katherine, 15 and a little young for her age, is willing to do anything to hold the family together, even if that "anything" includes committing a terrible injustice. The Narnian thread is not irrelevant, but essential to the plot and to the character of the teacher who tries to help them. C.S. Lewis would probably approve.
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