Henry York, a twelve-year-old from Boston, can’t believe his ears when a thumping sound comes from inside his wall. He scrapes off the plaster and finds ninety-nine doors, portals to other worlds. He and his cousin, Henrietta, find a key which opens Grandfather's room, a room that has been locked for several years, and which no one has been able to open. Inside, a larger cupboard sits in the wall, a way to travel through whichever door they choose. Through trial and error, they travel through the cupboards, meeting strange beasts and rescuing a curious boy named Richard, who swears his loyalty to “Henry of York”. A raggant, a mixture of rhino and basset hound, is curled up in one cupboard they open, the source of the thumping.
Throughout their travels, the cousins and Richard have come across dangerous places, but none have frightened them as much as Endor, the black cupboard in the corner. They have found the cupboard open, when none of them have touched it, and an arm tried to pull Henry through before they closed it. But the dreams are what frightens Henry the most. He hears an old woman talking about how sweet his blood tastes and how the heir of Endor will rise.
Eventually, it is discovered that Henry doesn’t belong in this world, but was born in Badon Hill, the same place his uncle was. Henry wants to go through and find his birth family, but Henrietta convinces him to explore Endor first. They go through the cupboard and find a dead city. It was once the home to a self made immortal race, who are now locked in crypts as their longevity has caused their insanity. As the group stumbles through the city, they accidentally release Nimiane, the person who tried to drag Henry through the cupboard. She chases them out and follows them to their world, attacking Henry and his family. They defeat her with a baseball bat and chuck her through a random cupboard. It is then decided that no one is traveling through the cupboards without permission, no matter the reason.
Henry continues living with his uncle’s family and tries to ignore the temptation of the cupboards and the promise of being reunited with his family.
Problems I had with the book:
Henry is not a likable character at first. He seems very flat and boring. Henrietta’s the one who pushes him to actually do something and not just look at the cupboards.
The book is slow at the beginning and doesn't speed up until the last third of the story. While it’s slow, you have to read it in order to know the characters and worlds that reappear in the second and third books.
The raggant. This creature is a stubborn creature that, despite being the start of this mess, could've probably helped the plot a little bit more.
Contains:
Magic
Some characters who are portrayed as insane and extremely dangerous at times
No swearing!
Threats
If you like slow introductions that build into an absolutely epic story that continues for another two books, I would absolutely recommend!
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