Rooms by Lauren Oliver

Very strangely indeed, the only time I feel inclined to visit my blog is after I read a Lauren Oliver book. This is very, very strange. At this rate, you will have to wait another year or so to hear from me again. Oh well lol.

Rooms begins when Richard Walker dies and his disconnected family is forced to come together again and confront their past and their secrets. The story is told through his family members' points of view as they recollect what they thought they knew. It is also told in the perspectives of Sandra and Alice, two ghosts who previously lived in the house. Their stories intertwine as they rediscover their secrets and the truth.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book and how the stories were woven together. Two-thirds through the book I asked myself, "Is there some way that this is all supposed to come together?" And it's pretty awesome and heart-breaking at the same time (not cry-worthy though) when it does. The only critiques I have are that it was a little difficult to keep track of who was who between the two ghosts and I was easily confused because of all the characters whose names began with the letter "M". I also wish that that story had been longer with just MORE so that I could closer connect with each of the characters and really feel their struggle. The chapters are so short that the reader barely gets time to feel sad or connected with one character before the story moves on to a different point of view. This is a strange story with some sad, sad topics. Don't let the low rating of Rooms fool you, it really isn't that bad. I assume it got such low ratings on this website because the readers are comparing this book too much to Oliver's previous works. Oh well, I still think it's an intriguing story that's worth the read. 4 out of 5 stars.