Closed Doors by Lisa O'Donnell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
O'Donnell's Closed Doors neatly accomplishes what I think can be a very tough task. She manages to convincingly capture the voice of an eleven year old boy without coming across as patronizing or giving him ideas that seem beyond his years. Michael comes across as authentic; from his hyperbolic thoughts about himself and the world around him, to his obsession with Dirty Alice, to his explorations of the world around him and observations about friends, family, and neighbors, Michael sounds like a real child, for good and for bad. She manages to perfectly capture the unintentional selfishness of children, and the self-centered way that they view the world, without coming across as mean or malicious.
O'Donnell's novel, which explores some heavy issues through the lens of the child's eyes, is quite excellently done. As the novel progresses, we're given a chance to see the rippling effect that the central conflict is having on not only Michael, but his family and the people in their small town. There are moments where we, as readers, figure things out before Michael does, which increased the tension of the novel, for me. Part of me wanted to find a way to shield Michael from his discoveries, or prevent him from figuring things out, but, of course, that's the problem the book explores; you can never really protect children from the world around them, no matter how hard you try. If they don't get the truth, it won't be for lack of trying. They just may get the wrong "truth".
Overall, a thoughtful, well written, and engaging novel that explores some heavy issues. Strongly recommended; there's a lot to like here.
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