First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?  If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first (I cheat a little bit here *cough*)
• Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re using Twitter, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!

---

Hello, reader!

It’s the end of another work week, which means it’s time for another First Lines Friday! This week, I’m featuring a book that I’ve been itching to read since it came out earlier this year. I recently picked it up from the library, which means I’m that much closer to actually reading it, haha. It’s one of my more anticipated reads for 2022!

Now, let’s see if the first few lines can make me even more excited to read it.

---

The Line(s):

“Children have always been drawn to the doors.

Scholars have recorded the adventures of the travelers, those whose lost and lonely yearnings were strong enough to attract the attention of something greater than themselves, for centuries.”

---

The Hints:

This is the newest book in a series.

The author has quite an extensive backlist of novels.

Think portal fantasy, but with a twist.

---

The Reveal:

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

Click the cover to be taken to the Goodreads page

Goodreads Synopsis

Welcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you’ve already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company.

There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again.
It isn’t as friendly as Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.
And it isn’t as safe.

When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn’t save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster.

She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming…

---

Did that first line capture your attention? Did it make you want to read the rest of the story? Let me know in the comments!

And, as always, happy reading!