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4.0
The Leaving Room
ByPublisher Description
Gospel is the Keeper of the Leaving Room—a place all young people must phase through when they die. The young are never ready to leave; they need a moment to remember and a Keeper to help their wispy souls along.
Gospel assumes that there are countless other Leaving Rooms because many children pass, but she suspects they are not like her Leaving Room which is small (like a walk in closet)with shelves full of tiny jars that hold the memories of those who have gone.
When a random door opens and a Keeper named Melody arrives, their souls become entangled. Gospel seriousness melts and Melody’s fear of connection fades, but still—are Keepers allowed to fall in love? Now they must find a way out of the Leaving Room and be unafraid of their love. They must claw their way back to their bodies because there is so much more life to explore—together.
Gospel assumes that there are countless other Leaving Rooms because many children pass, but she suspects they are not like her Leaving Room which is small (like a walk in closet)with shelves full of tiny jars that hold the memories of those who have gone.
When a random door opens and a Keeper named Melody arrives, their souls become entangled. Gospel seriousness melts and Melody’s fear of connection fades, but still—are Keepers allowed to fall in love? Now they must find a way out of the Leaving Room and be unafraid of their love. They must claw their way back to their bodies because there is so much more life to explore—together.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Leaving Room Reviews
4.0
“This story was really beautiful (extra bonus points for this beautiful cover art).
Gospel is the Keeper of her Leaving Room. Any child 17 and under must see her before they leave on to wherever they go next. The keeper has rules that they must follow: collect the memories of the child that comes to your room but don't watch them, never lie, only 1 keeper and 1 leaver to a room, etc. What happens when Gospel starts to break some of those rules? Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I can't wait to buy a copy of it.
This young adult story explores what happens while we straddle the line between life and death. This whole story happens over the course of four short minutes, but it feels infinitely longer. In capturing the memories of the children, it's the small memories that are the most significant: time spent cooking with your grandmother (I saved all the recipes), playing in the fall leaves, etc. The stages of grief are there and told through the children that Gospel helps usher to the other side as well as through her own relationship with Melodee.
I really don't even know what to say about this book. It just needs to be experienced. Thank you!”
“The writing was beautiful and I felt myself entranced with each page, as it was a rather easy read. At some points I was a bit confused, but I was still able to follow along and piece things together as I read. I feel as if this is a story that will get the most love and respect on second and third reads so I can really see the love behind the writing early on and how it plays into the story as a whole. Lovely book.”
“I really didn't like the style of the book. The story itself is interesting and whimsical. But the writing is not that great and I'm feeling a bit alone in this opinion. Except for a couple of bright moments, the constant changes in the style of the verses, and excess of similes, a lot of repetition, just made it feel like I was dragging my feet to finish, despite it being such a short book. It feels like it is trying hard to be very poetic but lands flat for me.
The plot twist was in part unbelievable and in part too predictable. How could she not know that all the leavers looked similar?
Also, why the author only uses ampersands (&) instead of "and"? Is there an effect she is trying to achieve? Is this something she does in all her work? To be honest this choice is not bad, just puzzling.”
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