DNF. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this book. Unfortunately, this one didn't quite work for me, so I didn't manage to finish it. I might try again in the future, but for now it wasn't the right book for me.

I read (and loved) Brian Wilkinson's Paramnesia, and thus I knew I had to give Battledoors: The Golden State a try. Okay, that and the fact that I really did love the cover for both books. So sue me.

Owen Thomas has had his entire life flipped upside down. He's sixteen years old and struggling to cope with the unexpected death of his mother, plush a fresh uprooting. Now he's in a whole new town, with new bullies and the works.

To make matters more complicated, Owen just learned that he has a special ability. He can travel to another parallel dimension, and that world is just as complicated as this one. If not more so, magic creates even more complications.

I think the thing I love the most about Battledoors: The Golden State is how believable the foundation of the story is. Owen's origin is one that many of us can sympathize with: a teenager who just lost his mother and is now struggling with grief and trying to adjust to a new home.

It hits hard. It immediately forces this bond between the readers and the main character, which makes the next twist all the more compelling. We all knew that there was going to be a magical twist, given the genre. Yet it was still a bit of a surprise when it finally arrived.

Brian Wilkinson's writing style was ideal for this tale, as his descriptions made the world come to life in such vivid ways. I don't think I would have enjoyed the story nearly as much without those elements.

Overall, I'd say that Battledoors: The Golden State is an entertaining, fast-paced, and interesting read. One worth checking out.

Teen Owen Thomas is new to Morton Academy and the city of Toronto having moved there, with his father, after his mother died. Mercilessly bullied by nemesis James Vanier, Owen and two friends, Emily and Bea, are hiding in a book shop when he comes across a glowing slate, the battledoor. Seeing James and his sidekick, Lucas, run into the shop the three flee through a door with James and Lucas following.

Battledoors: The Golden Slate is a nod to the choose your own adventure books popular in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Owen is the chosen one, the slate only works for him and he must make a choice between two options and this choice determines how the story will proceed. When they enter the first door they are transferred to a dystopian Toronto.

I enjoyed the concept of the story and there was plenty of action and danger, not only from the new world they were in but also from James, who had worrying anger issues. My only complaint was there was very little character development besides Owen who did become a little more assertive.

The world was vividly described along with it’s fantastical animals and deadly creatures. As the teens go through their adventure the reader learns about the structure of a story and its components, with underlying themes of friendship, bullying, acceptance, decision making, choices and consequences. This is Owen’s story he is the protagonist and he is the one that directs how the story goes. But, there is also the antagonist, evil to the core and there to stop Owen at every turn.

The cliff-hanger ending will have readers eager for the next book in the series.
Ages 12+

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Battledoors: The Golden Slate follows Owen and his 'friends' as they delve into a story world in a 'choose your own adventure' style journey. If you ever read those books growing up and wondered what it would be like if your decisions had real life consequences then this book is for you!

I really enjoyed the premise of this book but I did find it a shame that it is clearly a 'part one of x amount' of books because it did feel like we were just getting into the good stuff and it ended. There was a lot of pre-gumph and world building that when we finally met the villain it wasn't until the last 20% of the book so I realised I would have unanswered questions.

For me personally I did find that the female characters were a bit stereotypical and only there as 'support' for the men folk and I have a thing against 'the girl EVERYONE likes and her chubby mate' stereotype.

Having said that, I did enjoy this book and I kept reading to find out which world they were going to go to next. I preferred Brian Wilkinson's other book Paramnesia however, but I would potentially read the other books in the series to find out where this goes.

Okay, so I made the mistake of waiting a month before writing this review, so if it's not as detailed as my reviews usually are, and a little all over the place, I apologize... But this book surprised me! Sometimes it was very odd, sometimes it was absolutely amazing, and a lot of times it was in between. I was honestly expecting this book to be about 3 stars for me, but I was pleasantly surprised by the end!


So, the prologue is a little... strange... But when you start getting to Edgar's relationship with the little boy he travels with, it's worth it to keep going! They're seriously so sweet and I was mentally sobbing over characters that I'd known for less than 10 minutes. XD


At the beginning of the story, there is a bit of an info dump about where the main character lives and I didn't really think it was necessary. There are also some jokes that I wasn't the biggest fan of, but if a preteen-teenage boy were to read this, I'm sure they would love it. XD That being said, I love the relationship that Owen and his father have! I absolutely love close relationships between parents and their children (especially because not many books seem to have it) and these two are so sweet! They're always there for each and take care of each other and I love it! And Owen's mother was so sweet in the flashbacks and I love her even though she's not in the story... *cries*


Bea is absolutely hilarious. XD She's such an awkward dork and it's great. She had me laughing out loud multiple times. Edgar is slightly wacky but very sweet and patient, especially with Bea. XD Emily starts out seeming kind of cliche, but once you get into her story, you see that's not really true. And Lucas... isn't terrible. XD I feel bad for him a lot. But he's cool. XD


As for James... *sigh* I hate him. So much. So so much. He's creepy, psycho... It's a little better in the scenes from his point of view because you can see that he's not entirely happy with the way he acts, but he's still freaky. While there was some character development by the end of the book, I'm hoping for more by the time the series ends.


Now, I absolutely love the Bookkeeper! I knew who he was from the moment he was described and it made me so happy that his part was bigger than it seemed at first. I'm really hoping to see more of him before the story's over!


Also, let me just say, as a fan of all things bookish and nerdy, I greatly appreciated the fandom references! There were references to Divergent, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Twilight, Lord of the Rings... And also some references to Greek mythology! It was amazing!! This book also made some amazing imagery! I was able to picture everything in the story world so vividly and it was great!


There some editing errors in this book, but I usually try to overlook those, even though my inner grammar police doesn't want to. XD There was also so much cussing. I don't mind curse words in books, but I don't think I've ever seen so many in one book, especially not a YA book.


All in all, this book takes a little bit to get into, but it was a surprisingly fast read and it will definitely have you laughing out loud at times! All of the characters have their own unique personalities and quirks and I'm very excited for the next installment of this story!

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This is novel approach to the people-entering-books trope. Whereas in books by Jasper Fforde, Jill Bowers and Jamie Brindle, the people entering the books and interacting with the characters are authors or book enforcement personnel and are generally in some sort of control, in Battledoors, the outsiders become the characters, and the book evolves around their activities. The holder of the Golden Slate becomes the Protagonist, and ‘decides’ which path to take by choosing from alternate doors offered on the slate. The new characters have little control over the direction of the story or how it unfolds, except for picking which door to pass through next. When, how or even if the story will end, and whether they will be able to return to reality remains hidden from them (and the reader).
Apart from a really interesting, and action-packed story line, the thing I liked most was the way in which the fully rounded five main characters – Owen, Emily, Bea, James and Lucas – interact, and cope under increasing adversity.
The main (reality) story begins with Owen being bullied at school by James (“A quick glance showed it was a ruler with one end sharpened. Nice. Who wouldn’t want to make an educational tool into a deadly weapon? This kid had sociopath written all over him.”). After school he is set upon by James and his side-kick Lucas, rescued by Emily and Bea, with whom he escapes into a strange bookshop. The elderly owner gives each of the three a type of ancient book – Owen receives the Golden Slate – when James and Lucas burst in, forcing them to dive through one of the miraculously appearing doors proffered by the slate. James and Lucas follow. Suddenly all five are together in a not-Toronto. They must suppress their animosity and work together to survive.
James revels in being a bully: “Fine, he thought, the fury rising. I’m terrible. I’m evil. I am exactly what you and everyone else thinks I am. I’m worse than that. If you knew what I was thinking, you’d be running away, screaming. If that’s who I am, then that’s who I am.” but it soon becomes apparent, that his violence scares even himself, and at times sickens him: “He stood up and looked at the others. All of them, even Lucas, stared at him in terrified awe. It made him feel powerful. It made him feel awful.” There are occasional hints at a well-hidden good inside him, and of what has made him into such a despicable person. Hopefully we will discover more in the next books.
Where James leads, Lucas generally follows. James uses Lucas’s bulk to terrorise the other children, using him more as a useful tool, than a genuine friend. Lucas is assumed by the other three to be a huge, simple-minded, mute thug, but his love for Emily transforms him into a very sympathetic character, whose quiet intelligence soon becomes very useful.
Everyone loves Emily. She is unselfconsciously beautiful, intelligent, and empathetic to a surprising degree. She will always step in to help anyone in need: “That was Emily’s role in life, it seemed. She was always the force that steadied things and provided balance.” But her outward perfection hides some inner hurt: “No matter where she went, she always was trying to defuse the situation. When will someone notice my pain? she thought sadly”.
Bea had been bullied all her life. Now under the protective aura of the genuine friendship of the popular Emily, she is able to finally take her place in school society. Where James uses and abuses his ‘friend’, Lucas, Emily nurtures hers, and in turn learns from Bea: “Yes, she was a peacekeeper. But Bea had taught her that strength through adversity and resilience sometimes means standing up to conflict. Not to fight, necessarily, but to take a stand.”
Owen is a new boy, still mourning the recent death of his mother. He never wants to see anyone suffer the mental – or physical – pain that he has endured with her loss. Much as he detests and fears James, Owen cannot walk away when James – or any of the others – are in danger. Owen is a true hero, and it is fully fitting that he is the Protagonist.
While the story that they are causing to be written is fiction, the dangers within the story are very real to the children. To die in the story will be to die in reality, no going home. All five children are vulnerable in their own ways, but at the same time, each has a particular set of skills that enable them to survive together as a group.
The story is fast-paced, with no let up to the dangerous situations in which the children find themselves. The phrase ‘out of the frying pan into the fire’ springs to mind, as they tumble chaotically through one door after another.
The ending of this book comes all to soon – on a cliff-hanger. So, resolution will have to wait a while yet. I loved this book, and am really looking forward to continuing with these five children, to see (literally) where the story can take them, both physically – in the World and Reality – and emotionally.
This is a book for older children, but will be enjoyed by anyone over the age of about eight, who loves books, reading and adventure.

This was an interesting take on the ‘stepping through a door and finding yourself in a new world’ type of fantasy. It was sort of like reading a choose your own adventure book, but you don’t get the choices the characters do. It made for an interesting read, but I really wanted to know what would have happened if the characters had made the other choices.

I liked Cole a lot. He was a very sweet, yet brave and smart when he needed to be. He mostly just didn’t want to be noticed by anyone. He just wanted to continue to live his quiet life with his father. He certainly was not prepared for the adventure that he ends up taking and becoming the protagonist of a story.

Emily, is also an interesting character. She is the pretty popular girl, but she isn’t a mean girl. She goes out of her way to treat everyone kindly, well except for maybe James, and doesn’t care if others don’t approve of who she is friends with. She is pretty brave and a bad-ass when she needs to be, but also knows when the best option is to run, you run.

Bea was harder to like. She has very low self esteem, which made her bitter and kind of mean to others. She also was always afraid that Emily wouldn’t like her anymore if she said what she thought. She was timid and often got the group into trouble.

James is the bully that is chasing the trio when they enter the bookstore and he follows them into the alternate Toronto. He is hard to figure out at time, he is definitely an angry teen who acts before he thinks. But he also sees the need to work with the others to get themselves out of trouble. I think he will have a bigger role in the story than he does in this book.

Lucas was a perfect sidekick for James. He was the strong silent type, but he was able to help keep James in check and would often warn the others when they were pushing James too much. He was the muscle of the group, but I think there was more to him than that.

The plot was interesting. I liked the alternate world that was created. It had lots of interesting creatures and characters. There were a lot of references to books and how they are written. It is hard to explain. There were also characters that were parts of books. Such as the DJ, Dust Jacket.

“Show some respect!” he said. “This is the Dust Jacket. The beginning and the end of a good book. He teases the story to be told, like a reporter does with a good headline. He’s what pulls the casual readers in the outside world into the stories told between the covers. He gives the image, the impression, the hype of it all!”
Overall this was an interesting story with some solid characters and a fascinating alternate reality. The choose your own adventure feel of the story also adds to the adventure.

Interesting premise - boy finds a book that transports him and his friends into the story. This part almost reads just like The Never Ending Story but goes into a different direction, the reader doesn't identify with the characters, he and his friends actually are the characters. He receives the "BattleDoor" that gives him the option to choose the path of the story..

This is a story about Owen, a misfit who plunges into a parallel world along with his friends and enemies. The book was filled with lots of adventures, but I almost stopped reading after the first chapter, because it was so confusing. But I persevered and later everything happening in that first chapter became clear. I’d rate this book higher if it had a proper ending. But I didn’t get any closure. There will probably be a book 2, and it’s something that I greatly dislike. When I pick a book, I want to have a beginning, a middle, and an ending, and not be left hanging and waiitng for the second book.

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This is my first time reading the author. I had a lot of fun reading this book. The book reminds me a lot of The Neverending Story (the book not the movie) especially at the start. There’s also an element of the once popular chose your own adventure stories. These aspects work well together to create an engaging, fun story. Battledoors: The Golden Slate isn’t particularly original but I found it hugely entertaining, especially when the kids are sucked deeper and deeper into the strange parallel world. The book ends of a cliff-hanger which I don’t like. A book can be the first in a series without ending in such a cliched way. I would definitely read other books in the series.

Battledoors was a fun little YA fantasy book that maybe fell a little short of its full potential. It follows sort of a tried and true YA fantasy formula, but offered some fun literary twists. It was not a hard read, or slow. It just sort of left me wanting more. For example. the ending did not actually resolve anything. I am not sure if there are plans for a sequel, but it felt like it just ended in the middle of a plot arc.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very well written with a great plot and lots of action that pulls you in, and keeps you hooked.

I would like to thank NetGalley for the copy to review ~ another great read.

Battledoors: The Golden Slate (Paperback)
by Brian Wilkinson
This book is an interesting premise and great execution although a little long at points. The author wrote the book in the ideal expanse of what he predicted his son would be like. This is your chance to live a choose your own adventure, how would you respond in his situation. He has ducked into a bookstore to avoid his bully, only to find himself in another world, this world gives him a choice, Alley or Market? This ubiquitous question is just the start of a conundrum of conflicting choices, with no easy ending. The book leaves you hanging, right when you start to connect to the characters. Hopefully the author will get a chance to finish his series.

Battledoors: The Golden Slate is a younger YA portal fantasy that has a lot of potential, but unfortunately didn't quite deliver for me. Owen is an awkward teen boy dealing with the death of his mom, a new school, a nasty bully, and a crush on a popular girl. An attack from the bully and his sidekick lands him, his crush, her best friend, and the bullys in an alternate world where they must play out a dangerous story to get home.

The concept is pretty tried and true, predictable but fun and with some literary twists. However, there were a number of things I wasn't a fan of. Maybe the biggest one is that the ending of the book doesn't resolve anything, and it should have. The story ends in the middle of a plot arc and you have to wait for book two to find out what happens. Not only is this annoying, it's also unnecessary since this book easily could have been edited down and a complete plot developed. There is a good bit of unnecessary material in the book that is silly, juvenile, or overly moralizing. It should be one book instead of two with a good bit of editing done.

Other things I wasn't a fan of- based on what we know from the main bully's perspective, he is definitely a sociopath in need of professional care, but the book seems to be more focused on others "finding the good" in him and him making better decisions. Which isn't all bad, but is certainly misleading and not enough. The female characters fall into annoyingly predictable stereotypes- the sainted mother, the angelically pretty, smart AND kind girl that all the boys like, and the ugly, chubby, awkward friend who occasionally manages to do something useful, but is mostly the butt of jokes. Not a fan of that either.

In addition, this sometimes read more like a middle grade novel, but at other times seemed gratuitously brutal and cruel, so I'm left being unsure how to categorize it. Ultimately, I thought the narrative was decent and the conceptualization of the world creative, but the the book needs some heavy editing, shouldn't have ended where it did, and suffers from stereotypical characters where some major issues are poorly handled. I freely agreed to review an early copy of this book from NetGalley.

I love how Brian Wilkinson addresses unexpected loss and pain within his books. It brings a very real and strong emotion to attention. It also addresses bullying, love and just life in general. The premise was very intriguing, reminds me of a video game. I like how the main character was presented with different options on what he should do. This was a quick read but I found it would be better suited for a younger crowd, maybe early teens instead of ‘young adult’. It was enjoyable and I may buy it for my daughter when it comes out.

Overall, it was a so-so read for me. I loved the prolong, that was intriguing and held my interest. After reading such great prolong I was expecting something epic. However, first 30% of the book was kind of boring. Now I do understand that it is not intended for my age group and this is my personal opinion, but I think the author over did whole "bullying" thing. It was kind of a turn-off for me. Still I'm glad that I kept reading because once the story picked up it was really good and I did enjoy reading it.
It's story about a book that holds magic (I absolutely loved the concept). Owen, his friends, and his bullies all end up in a fantasy world of 'Battledoors.' They started a story which they must finish now. There is no turning back. One thing is clear; they are going to have an adventure they won't forget any time soon.
If you like YA fantasy then I'm sure you'll enjoy Owen's story, which is to be continued...

The premise of the book sounded interesting, but reading it turned out to be rather meh overall.

There's a bit of a disjointed prologue and then first few chapters basically screamed white boy wish fulfilment. You have Owen Thomas, the misfit white male protagonist who's trying his best to hide in the crowd but can't, because oh, he's so smart so he's always picked on. By his side is the ever-so-beautiful, angelic, everybody-loves-her princess Emily Lloyd, who is, of course, also smart and brainy and kind, befriending fat, loud-mouthed, panicky Bea Wells out of the goodness of her heart. Then you need the bullies: James Vanier who has anger management issues and is cruel, angry, and snarky for no reason at all, and his large, dumb, hulking, not-very-verbal muscle friend, Lucas Walton.

There is some development of the characters. Emily turns out to be not so perfect, there may or may not be an upcoming love triangle, and James is horribly annoying through and through. After a while, I felt like I was mostly skimming through the book to get find out what happens in the end. Which is a bit of a non-ending. There's book 2 coming up.

I know I've been raving about stories where readers enter the fictional world recently, especially J.M. Frey's The Accidental Turn Series and Jill Bowers's Immortal Writers Series. Battledoors is Wilkinson's offering in that category, but he didn't pull it off quite as well. It'll probably appeal to white male teenagers, though.

These are perfect for reading with tweens, either out loud or to themselves. The writing is fun and thrilling with great characters (especially for those lacking courage who need a role model) and a rather interesting setting full of danger and intrigue. There is a bit of romance, but not too much to make those who don't care for that to shy away from the book. I am glad I was able to read and enjoy it.