Review of "100 Cupboards"

"The whole point of magic doors is to try and go through them to somewhere else."

     N.D. Wilson's 100 Cupboards takes unexpected adventures to a whole new level. When Henry York's parents are abducted during an international bicycling trip, he doesn't know what to think. Sure, they're his parents, but they're also the people who made him wear a helmet to P.E. and kept him in a car seat until he was nine. If they don't come back until summer's over, that's okay with him. After all, he's spending the interim with his aunt, uncle, and three cousins in Henry, Kansas, and the first thing Uncle Frank did when he arrived was buy him a baseball glove and a pocket knife. How cool is that? But when plaster falls off his bedroom wall to reveal ninety-nine cupboards that lead to different worlds, Henry realizes that he might get more than he bargained for in Kansas. And when his cousin, Henrietta, disappears into one of the cupboards and a witch comes out, it becomes painfully obvious that his life will never be the same again.

     This is a great example of a story that asks more questions than it answers. As Henry and Henrietta explore the cupboards, they encounter mystery after mystery, and only a few of them are explained. Some answers were only known by men long dead, while others just don't pop up in the first installment of the trilogy. At first, the two cousins spend a lot of time picking away at the plaster that originally covered the cupboards, and then they poke around to see which ones they can open. In the center of the wall is a cupboard with two knobs shaped like compasses, which they eventually use to get through to the worlds beyond the cupboards. Though Henrietta spends a good chunk of time missing, the action doesn't really start until the final few chapters; the rest is just getting to know the characters and figuring out how things work. This means that, while things take longer to happen, readers make discoveries and connect dots right along with the protagonists.

     A downside to this novel is the writing style. Wilson's prose may feature ingenious similes and wonderfully detailed alternate realities, but it is, at heart, rather dry. From the beginning, when he describes the quiet little town of Henry, Kansas, everything is presented in a dull, uninterested fashion. This would be acceptable if it weren't for the fact that the characters are the same way: they take everything in stride, whether it's a hundred magical cupboards or a startling truth about their parents, and just push forward like nothing's happened.

     It doesn't help that Henry only seems to search for Henrietta because he has to, not because he's concerned about his friend's well-being. Though the characters are funny and a little realistic, they don't seem to feel much emotion at all. They just do what they do and continue to do it. This can be infuriating sometimes--but it works with a couple of the characters, like Uncle Frank, who is a constant in this wild ride, even as Henry morphs and changes as a result of his adventures.

     I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, interesting fantasy about semi-realistic characters who don't do much. Though it takes them a long time to accomplish things, they visit beautifully described places while they try, which almost makes up for the blandness of the prose. The characters are pretty good, even if they don't appear to feel much emotion. The witch, however, feels somewhat out of place. One great thing about the story is N.D. Wilson's talent for revealing things as they come, giving readers a sense of working things out alongside the characters, which is a huge plus. All in all, 100 Cupboards is a three-star fantasy that's worth the read.