Title: The Leaving Room
Author: Amber McBride
Genres: Supernatural
Pages: 224
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Copy: ARC by publisher
Availability: Available now
Summary: 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.
When a random door opens and a Keeper named Melodee arrives, their souls become entangled. Gospel’s seriousness melts and Melodee’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. In a novel that takes place over four minutes, National Book Award finalist Amber McBride explores connection, memory, and hope in ways that are unforgettable and poignant.
Review: I have to admit that I struggled to get into McBride’s new novel as the story started a little slow, but oh boy did she stick the landing. “The Leaving Room” is a very unique supernatural novel that is told in verse and with almost to no world building. McBride just drops the reader into Gospel’s world, describing her little room, and then the first visitor arrives. It was a bit disorientating and I had so many questions, but once I found the rhythm of the novel I was good. And when the last “30 seconds” of novel time arrives and the nature of the Leaving Room is reveal, I was absolutely moved.
Gospel is literally the heart and soul of the novel. At the beginning she is described as the absolutely sweetest, most innocent, most rule following Keeper. She cares for her role in helping other youth move on and has a created a very soothing atmosphere to help them with their transition. The thing is, is that she doesn’t know how she became a Keeper and why. She also doesn’t know what she looks like. I found these two qualities of her so sad, yet it completely added to the mystery and the meaning of identity that McBride weaves throughout the novel. Gospel eventually begins to question her world and starts breaking the rules little by little until Melodee arrives. And then they break the rules together and the Leaving Room, both of theirs, comes “alive”. Gospel also begins to develop a personality, so to speak, as she becomes self aware of her feelings and starts to really question her identity, her role. As she grows the Leaving Room changes with her in both positive and negative ways. This leads to the reveal of what the Leaving Room actually is and why Gospel is there, leaving me happy that this sweet character was able to get her questions answered.
One fun aspect of the novel that I really loved with that Gospel would help youth move on through food. She had recipes that came from memories of children who had moved on. It was also very stylish in the book as each recipe page seemed to be handwritten taken from a notebook with a loving memory at the beginning. It really brought home how much food is tied to memory, love, and the concept of a home.