Saturday, February 4, 2012

The Humming Room by Ellen Potter

Roo hid in the crawl space of the trailer because the earth spoke to her and it was peaceful there.  When her father and his girlfriend were shot above her, she continued to hide there.  Then they sent her to live with her father's brother.  She couldn't imagine that things would get worse...

Feiwel & Friends and Net Galley allowed me to read this in ebook form for review (thank you).  The book will be published in hardcover on February 28th.  This is a book to watch for.  This story sparked my imagination and it was a joy to read.

Roo's uncle lives on an island.  Roo had travelled with her parents enough to have been many places, but being on an island wasn't included.  The other strange thing was that her uncle and his staff were living in an old children's hospital.  It was such a strange looking place, with lots of hidey holes and mysteries to explore.

Any story that the main living unit is called "Cough House" ought to give you a clue that things are bit a strange here.  Roo explores and finds a room where she can hear humming or crying, meets a boy who is supposed to be a ghost, and finds a chute they used to transport dead bodies to the basement for disposal.  And she finds even more...

This tale is written well and has enough items of interest to keep the attention of both boys and girls.  I enjoyed the story and the bits of magic that appeared to happen naturally on this island.

The atmosphere in the story makes me think it's set back in time, but Roo seems to be a contemporary creature.  Maybe it's just the island that is stuck in time...

Why not pick up a copy and see what you think?

Happy reading.

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