Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ROOMS by Lauren Oliver! Today I'm going to be sharing my review of the book. Don't forget to check out all the other stops!
Rooms
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Adult Paranormal/Thriller
Release Date: September 23, 2014
Publisher: Ecco
Description:
The New York Times bestselling author of Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy makes her brilliant adult debut with this mesmerizing story in the tradition of The Lovely Bones, Her Fearful Symmetry, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane—a
tale of family, ghosts, secrets, and mystery, in which the lives of the
living and the dead intersect in shocking, surprising, and moving ways
Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged family—bitter ex-wife Caroline, troubled teenage son Trenton, and unforgiving daughter Minna—have arrived for their inheritance.
But the Walkers are not alone. Prim Alice and the cynical Sandra, long dead former residents bound to the house, linger within its claustrophobic walls. Jostling for space, memory, and supremacy, they observe the family, trading barbs and reminiscences about their past lives. Though their voices cannot be heard, Alice and Sandra speak through the house itself—in the hiss of the radiator, a creak in the stairs, the dimming of a light bulb.
The living and dead are each haunted by painful truths that will soon surface with explosive force. When a new ghost appears, and Trenton begins to communicate with her, the spirit and human worlds collide—with cataclysmic results.
Elegantly constructed and brilliantly paced, Rooms is an enticing and imaginative ghost story and a searing family drama that is as haunting as it is resonant.
Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged family—bitter ex-wife Caroline, troubled teenage son Trenton, and unforgiving daughter Minna—have arrived for their inheritance.
But the Walkers are not alone. Prim Alice and the cynical Sandra, long dead former residents bound to the house, linger within its claustrophobic walls. Jostling for space, memory, and supremacy, they observe the family, trading barbs and reminiscences about their past lives. Though their voices cannot be heard, Alice and Sandra speak through the house itself—in the hiss of the radiator, a creak in the stairs, the dimming of a light bulb.
The living and dead are each haunted by painful truths that will soon surface with explosive force. When a new ghost appears, and Trenton begins to communicate with her, the spirit and human worlds collide—with cataclysmic results.
Elegantly constructed and brilliantly paced, Rooms is an enticing and imaginative ghost story and a searing family drama that is as haunting as it is resonant.
Rooms is the first adult novel written by YA bestselling author Lauren Oliver. It's a masterpiece of fiction, weaving together several different genres and topics to create an original and captivating story that will enchant the reader from the very beginning. The book tells the story of what happens when several very different characters come together in one house. Each of the characters in the story are very well written with distinct quirks and personalities, strengths, secrets, and flaws. They are all realistic and easy to identify with throughout the book - by the end I felt as if I knew each one personally. The Walker family - Caroline, Trenton, and Minna - are at their country home after the death of Richard Walker, Caroline's ex-husband and Trent & Minna's father. They come to the house to get their inheritance, which seems to be nothing but rooms full of junk that have accumulated over time. Aside from the Walker family, we also encounter two unique characters - Alice and Sandra - who just happen to be ghosts tied to the house. The living and the dead in the house will soon be joined when a new ghost appears to Trent and he begins to talk to her.
I really loved how the reader got to know each character on such a personal level. Each of the characters had unique stories and personalities - and I loved learning about each of them along with their mistakes, regrets, joy, pain, and successes. The author gave them all several layers that made them all complex and deep - which ultimately made them incredibly realistic and accessible to me as a reader. Another thing I loved about the book were the smaller story lines that each character told, as well as the ones that tied them together. Each one was intricately detailed and gave the reader a better insight into the characters as well as the book as a whole. The relationships and stories between the characters touch on very deep topics such as grief, loss, death, family, love, and secrets. This aspect of the book makes it a touching and revealing family drama, while the rest of the book contains the paranormal - ghosts and mysteries. I'm a huge fan of paranormal fiction, so I adored this aspect of the book. Again, the author did an amazing job of bringing the characters to life before my eyes and I loved getting to know all about them. Things get even more interesting when the living and the dead cross paths - and things get a bit out of control. The writing was fast paced and had a really natural flow that made it impossible to put down. Along with the intricate descriptions and vivid imagery, the writing style was impeccable and had me hooked from the beginning paragraphs. This is a completely mesmerizing book that refuses to be labeled, as well as a beautifully told story of family; full of dark secrets, mysteries, ghosts, and truth. I very highly recommend this novel to fans of the author's previous works, along with those who enjoy a variety of genres - from contemporary family dramas, paranormal, mysteries, and thrillers.
Like nothing I've read before - a definite new favorite!!
Lauren
Oliver is the author of the New York Times bestselling YA novels Before
I Fall, Panic, and the Delirium trilogy: Delirium, Pandemonium, and
Requiem. Her books have been translated into thirty languages. She is
also the author of two novels for middle-grade readers, The Spindlers
and Liesl & Po, which was a 2012 E. B. White Read-Aloud Award
nominee. Lauren's first adult novel, Rooms, will be published in
September 2014. A graduate of the University of Chicago and NYU's MFA
program, Lauren Oliver is also the co-founder of the boutique literary
development company Paper Lantern Lit. You can visit her online at www.laurenoliverbooks.com
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