Rooms

Starred review from June 2, 2014
YA-bestseller Oliver’s (Before I Fall) assured adult debut skillfully weaves an innovative ghost story into a nuanced domestic drama. Upon Richard Walker’s death, his scattered family returns to clear out his house, which they hope to inherit. His ex-wife, Caroline, soothes bad marital memories with alcohol. His grown daughter, Minna, brings along her own six-year-old daughter, Amy, and a deep-seated resentment of her father, while his suicidal son, Trenton, struggles with teenage angst in the aftermath of a debilitating car accident. Trenton first senses the haunting presence of others in the home. The spirits of Alice and Sandra, two women who lived in the house at different times, now find themselves confined there together, squabbling with each other as they watch the family cope with Richard’s messy legacy. Soon a new female spirit close to Trenton’s age enters the house, and Alice conceives a dangerous plan to free herself of its prison. Oliver makes vivid use of both dead and living characters—all of whom are trapped in the past and striving toward a happier existence—to narrate her intricate, suspenseful story. The house’s breathing residents and ghosts alike find freedom, and the story culminates with an ending that arrives in dramatic and surprising ways.

April 1, 2014

Oliver has already triumphed in the YA arena with Before I Fall and the "Delirium" trilogy; her first novel for adults has already been called "a magnificent gothic fugue on the themes of longing and buried secrets" by Time critic Lev Grossman, author of "The Magicians" trilogy. After Richard Walker dies, his embittered ex-wife and two sullen children arrive at his overstuffed mansion to claim their inheritance. The house also comes with two ghosts who exchange observations that no one can hear--until a new ghost starts communing with Walker's son. With a 150,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2014
A smoky and realistic ghost story that subverts cliche. This first adult novel from Oliver (Panic, 2013, etc.), a best-selling writer for teens, has two standard horror tales at its foundation. First, a ghost story in which the ghosts can't leave the house but don't know why. Second, an estranged family story in which the ex-husband dies, leaving his alcoholic ex-wife, angry daughter and disaffected teen son to clean out their former home, not knowing that it's haunted. When the stories collide, they make a novel that's greater than the sum of its parts. The ghosts and people here have a surprising amount in common-on both sides of the veil, there is pain, regret and a lot of irritation with one's counterparts. That the book succeeds is due in large part to Oliver's characters. Though some are flat in internal monologue, most come to life when interacting with each other, as Oliver's ear for dialogue is finely tuned. She's able to take the tropes of the traditional ghost story and give them new energy by creating ghosts who are realistic but still terrifyingly paranormal. The story is well-served by Oliver's sense of drama, though she seems unable to resist ending each chapter with some sort of meaningful cliffhanger, like "I pretended not to notice his wedding ring the whole time." These touches aren't necessary, thanks to her careful unfolding of each character's secret, and weaken an otherwise compelling set of stories. Nevertheless, the book is a page-turner. This satisfying novel will be enjoyed by Oliver's fans and bring new ones to the fold.

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August 1, 2014
Richard Walker has died and his estranged familydipsomaniacal wife, Caroline; adult daughter, Minna; and suicidal 16-year-old son, Trentonhave returned to his house, which, though only Trenton senses it, is haunted by the ghosts of two women, Alice and Sandra, who have their own connections to the house. Popular young-adult author Oliver's first adult novel is an unconventional ghost story. Don't expect horror or things that go bump in the night. The focus here is not on what the ghosts are but who they have been. Their stories unfold through their respective first-person narratives while the points of view of the unhappy Walkers emerge in the third person. In keeping with the title, each section of the story takes place in a different room of the house. Without much in the way of action, however, the pace of the story is slow, though it does pick up appreciably near the conclusion as closely guarded secrets and surprising connections are revealed. In the end, patient readers will find the story as haunting as it is haunted.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)