ALA Booklist (Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

When a warm, blue window appears in their living room on a cold winter night, five siblings -year-old twins Susan and Max, Nell (11), Kate (8), and Jean (7) mble through it into the unusual world of Ganbihar, which resembles their own reality, though it's utterly different in startling ways. Shifting perspectives among the five children, Gewirtz offers an appealingly old-fashioned story peppered with unsettling moments of brutality and violence, all in an eerie, artful tone. As the siblings move through Ganbihar, they find themselves caught up in a dangerous war between two factions, but in this new world, the children have surprising gifts, which could change the tide. While Gewirtz's choice to focus one section on each sibling makes for dynamic characterization, it also turns attention away from potentially intriguing plot development elsewhere, particularly toward the end, when the siblings are separated. Nevertheless, readers hungry for fantasy with a classic tone mplete with tried-and-true tropes, such as prophesies, chosen ones, and vaguely allegorical world building ll likely find plenty to satisfy that craving here.

Kirkus Reviews

Five siblings fall into another world in this old-fashioned fantasy novel.Tumbling through the titular portal, 13-year-old twins Max and Susan, 11-year-old Nell, 8-year-old Kate, and youngest sister Jean—all white—land where magic is possible and people are malleable. In the city of Ganbihar, the residents appear to be devolving, affected by the "change" and sway to the mob magic of the Genius. Sought for their superior appearance, the five flee captivity, begin developing magical powers, survive an arduous trek, and find refuge beyond the maddening mist with the scholars in the sanctuary. But the siblings are soon besieged by the mad Genius, bitter scholars, monstrous slashers, and sibling spats. The third-person narration alternates through their perspectives, recounting their travels and travails in distinctive voices—with interspersed glimpses of "the exile" offering increasingly incoherent if prettily poetic observations—but such rich characters and detailed scenic descriptions cannot overcome slow pacing and vague worldbuilding. Gewirtz's nostalgic haziness and unsubtle moralizing recall but do not rival the works of C.S. Lewis and E. Nesbit, and moments of gruesome violence and cruelty clash with the otherwise idyllic tale.Yet another tale of the "chosen ones" arriving in a realm of devolved people and lost knowledge to destroy the evil rulers, defy discrimination, and restore magic to a withering land. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The style of Gewirtz-s fantasy trades on the classic: five siblings fall through a mysterious window into another world and must find their way home; along the way, they meet cryptic characters with names like -the Genius,- -the Guide,- -Master Watcher,- and -Shepherdess.- A third-person narrative moves among Susan, Max, Nell, Kate, and Jean as they wander about, confused and frightened, trying to get their bearings in a bleak and frightening world. The siblings stand out for their smooth skin and striking beauty, which endanger them almost constantly. Though the children develop special powers (Susan can summon the wind in times of need, for example), the narrative lacks momentum. The children are unmoored, and even the strange school where Nell learns the dark history of this world isn-t an adequate tether to anchor the narrative. The siblings spend the bulk of the book stumbling about, trying to understand where they are and why the people are so strange, moving through a series of events that never quite coalesces into a cohesive fantasy. Ages 10-up. (Apr.)