The Door Swings Open

Ella’s missing. Without a trace. A runaway.

Charlotte’s searching. For her missing friend. For help for her veteran father.

Aiden’s running. From his brother. From his past.

Tarot cards, lunar energy, fireflies, thin places.

A girl trying to reinvent herself.

A girl trying to find herself.

A boy who doesn’t know another way to survive.

One will escape.

One will get caught.

One will die.

A book cover titled 'The Door Swings Open' by Kristin Bartley Lenz. The cover features an open door leading to a nighttime scene with train tracks, a large moon, glowing lights, a butterfly, and a starry sky.

What People are Saying

  • "Readers, prepare to face your fears. Charlotte’s daring, desperate search for her friend is a dangerous journey through a gossamer-like setting where her own intuition is her most reliable guide. Kristin Bartley Lenz’s masterful crafting is on full display throughout this unforgettable and relevant mystery."

    - Leslie Connor, National Book Award finalist for The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle.

  • "I was floored by the beauty and grace in this compelling story. The Door Swings Open examines the vulnerability of new love and the danger of entrusting your heart to the wrong person. While sex trafficking is a complex and weighty topic, Lenz writes with a sensitivity that offers empowerment, ensuring readers that like fireflies on the darkest night, the interconnectedness of our world is a beacon of hope."

    - Kat Higgs-Coulthard, 2025 Indiana Author Award Honoree for Junkyard Dogs

  • “Days after finishing Kristin Bartley Lenz's harrowing and powerful, The Door Swings Open, I'm still thinking about what it means to witness. The collective voice of the novel's many narrators—human and inanimate—is a chorus imploring and empowering us to look where we've been told there is nothing, to see what we've been taught to avoid, and to tell the story even if we're supposed to stay quiet...because someone out there needs their story to be told."

    - Patrick Flores-Scott, author of American Road Trip and No Going Back, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection