Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
“A sensational novel that easily glides between the normal and the paranormal. At times humorous, at times heartbreaking, ROOMS is always emotionally resonant and, despite the presence of ghosts, very, very real.” < strong=""> & #151;Ivy Pochoda author of < em=""> Visitation Street < m=""> < strong="">
Review
“A chilling ghost story, and much, much more: Rooms is a magnificent gothic fugue on the themes of longing and buried secrets.”-Lev Grossman, bestselling author of The Magicians Trilogy < strong=""> & #151;Lev Grossman, bestselling author of < em=""> The Magicians < m=""> < trong="">
Review
“…in this spectral soap opera theres fun to be had as the plots many traps are set and then snapped shut.” New York Times
Review
“A spirited new novel.” W Magazine
Review
“Best-selling young adult novelist Lauren Oliver, author of Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy, enters new territory with Rooms, her first novel for adults--though spooky supernatural elements remain.” Wall Street Journal
Review
“[A] fantastic ghost story…. Highly recommend.” Washingtonian, Top 10 Books for September 2014
Review
“ROOMS is, overall, a very successful work, and an impressive demonstration of Olivers craft.” NPR
Review
“In Olivers moody and mysterious novel, a pair of ghosts inhabits the house of the recently deceased Richard Walker and serves as an invisible chorus to his familys bleak memories and motivations.” O magazine
Review
“A powerful haunted house story … Excellently paced… Ultimately, Rooms is an outstanding novel, with a brilliant array of characters...compelling and difficult to put away...it has stuck with me in ways that few books do. Olivers particular blend of fantasy is at times funny, other times heartbreaking.” io9
Review
“Lauren Oliver leaves the young-adult realm with her latest novel, in which the living and dead intersect, and family secrets are unearthed when you least expect it.” San Francisco Chronicle
Review
“[Olivers] first novel for adults, Rooms, is a ghost story, but is completely unlike any weve read before… an elegant blend of real and supernatural worlds.” BookPage
Review
“Oliver skillfully weaves her tales together clearly and cleanly… The real strength of this novel is Olivers knack for rendering charmingly flawed characters with real-life problems and complicated relationships… Olivers prose is crisp and clean; it gives the book much of its energy.” Washington Independent Review of Books
Review
“Pleasantly spooky.” New York Times Book Review
Review
“A family faces its demons-such as sex addiction and alcoholism-when they gather after Dads death. (Adding stress: His house has ghosts!) A complex first adult novel from the Delirium writer.” Us Weekly
Review
“[Oliver] turns triumphantly to adult fiction with her latest, Rooms… The last 50 pages of Rooms are as devastatingly emotional as any book Ive recently encountered… For a thriller, thats as strong a recommendation as I can make.” Dallas Morning News
Review
“Lauren Oliver, best known for her Delirium series, makes her adult debut with the stand-out Rooms, a creepy ghost story and domestic family drama rolled into one.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“[A] sweet-but-sad-totally-engrossing-reading-at-stop-lights-in-the-car kind of tale… A fabulous read-good for a mature tween straight on up.” Chicago Now
Review
“Olivers first adult novel is packed with complex, flawed characters, and she manages to turn the ghosts observations into a story about how people are haunted by memories. Its like a Wes Anderson movie in book form, with ghosts.” io9
Synopsis
After her
New York Times bestselling novels for young adults, Lauren Oliver returns with her first book for adults, a spellbinding novel that confirms her place as one of our finest storytellers.
Rooms is a mesmerizing and suspenseful story of guilt, love, and family secrets.
Estranged patriarch Richard Walker has died, leaving behind a country house. His alienated family arrives for their inheritance—but they are not alone. Two restless ghosts linger within the house's walls. Both the living and dead are haunted by painful truths that surface with explosive force. When a new ghost appears, 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, as haunting as it is resonant.
About the Author
Lauren Oliver is the author of the YA bestselling novels Before I Fall, Panic, and Vanishing Girls and the Delirium trilogy: Delirium, Pandemonium, and Requiem, which have been translated into more than thirty languages and are New York Times and international bestselling novels. She is also the author of three novels for middle grade readers: The Spindlers; Liesl & Po, which was an E. B. White Read Aloud Award nominee; and Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head, co-written with H. C. Chester, and a novel for adults, Rooms. A graduate of the University of Chicago and NYUs MFA program, Lauren Oliver is also the cofounder of the boutique literary development company Paper Lantern Lit.