Skip to main content

The Humming Room

Last year I read and loved The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter (my review). When I discovered she had a new book out this year and that it was a reworking of The Secret Garden I as eager to see what she would do with it. The Humming Room is faithful to the original plot while bringing the story into a more modern world.


Synopsis(from Goodreads):
Hiding is Roo Fanshaw's special skill. Living in a frighteningly unstable family, she often needs to disappear at a moment's notice. When her parents are murdered, it's her special hiding place under the trailer that saves her life. As it turns out, Roo, much to her surprise, has a wealthy if eccentric uncle, who has agreed to take her into his home on Cough Rock Island. Once a tuberculosis sanitarium for children of the rich, the strange house is teeming with ghost stories and secrets. Roo doesn't believe in ghosts or fairy stories, but what are those eerie noises she keeps hearing? And who is that strange wild boy who lives on the river? People are lying to her, and Roo becomes determined to find the truth. Despite the best efforts of her uncle's assistants, Roo discovers the house's hidden room--a garden with a tragic secret. 
  
Roo is the best thing about this book and she captures the reader's heart from the beginning as she huddles under her trailer hiding after her father's murder. She is a loner who won't admit she is lonely, but revels in the wild freedom she has in the new island home she has been brought to. It was easy to go along with her for her story and experience it with her. I also very much liked the character of Jack, actually I liked him a bit better than his counterpart, Dicken, in the original story. He was a bit more wild and unpredictable and seemed to view more as an equal and less as a protege. I did wonder if I was projecting a bit of what I knew of the original characters onto these characters as I read, particularly Roo. I didn't really like Philip much at all though. He is the counterpart to Colin in this and I found him less sympathetic and hard to reconcile with the 21st century time.


The setting is a strong element in this. The house the characters inhabit is an old children's tuberculosis hospital, complete with an old chute for sending out dead bodies. It is located on an island and Potter brings the scenery to life with her prose. 


Here is the question: Does The Secret Garden need a retelling or an updating? I think that will depend on who you ask. There are many purists who will say no. There are many who have fond nostalgic memories of the original who will say no.  Hand a 9-12 year old girl a copy of both books and which she chooses will probably depend a great deal on whether she enjoys contemporary or historical novels (and on which edition of The Secret Garden you are offering up). As a teacher I had about two dozen fifth graders check The Secret Garden out either from my classroom library or the school library. Only a handful of them finished it. They just couldn't relate. A story about a girl whose drug dealer father is murdered while she hides under the trailer? Unfortunately, that wouldn't have been so hard for them to understand. So I like that this book  is here now and I certainly think it has a place on the shelves of classrooms and libraries. And if it inspires some kids to read the original, so much the better.


The copy of this I reviewed was an e-galley received via NetGalley. The book will be in stores on February 28.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak  by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein...

Shorter Musings MG Fantasy

Here are some shorter musings on recent MG fantasy reads. Anya and the Dragon   by Sofiya Pasternack This book is fun. It is a book full of adventure, an obvious bad guy, some more complicated morally gray area characters, and a strong, brave heroine. It is also a book about friendships, community, and fighting for what is right. All things that usually work for me really well. While I enjoyed this, I did feel it was a little overlong and there were certain plot points at the end I didn't love. However, there were things I thought were done really well, such as Anya's Jewish faith and the idea that power needs to be challenged. In the end it was a middle of the road read for me, but it is one I will certainly be recommending to dragon and fantasy adventure lovers I know! R is for Rebel   by J. Anderson Coats This is tough because I usually really like Coats's books. I had such a hard time with this one though on so many levels. It's difficult to get into because t...

Favorite Kissing Scenes

When thinking of a favorite things post I could do for February I decided it would have to be kissing. I've already done couples and I was feeling in the mood to do something fluffy and Valentine's related. So kisses it is. I read more MG than YA, and the YA I read tends to not focus on romance so this was actually harder than I expected it to be though a few jumped into my head right away. (And one of my choices does actually come from a MG book. One is adult. Gasp!) The actual scene from the book is quoted followed by my thoughts. The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and a groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day . - The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Turner doesn't write the...

Shadowshaper

Shadowshaper  by Daniel José Older is everywhere. Best of lists. Award buzz. Blogs everywhere. It's one of those books everyone is reading and talking about. I had it on my TBR but decided I definitely needed to read it before the year was out just so I could weigh in on one of the most talked about books of 2015 if asked. It is deserving of every good thing said about it. Every. One. Sierra was looking forward to a relaxing summer break. Her plans involved hanging out with her friends and painting. They did not involve being chased by zombie like creatures and threatened by a magical power connected to her family's heritage she has never heard of. When murals begin fading all over her Brooklyn neighborhood, Sierra is perplexed. When her grandfather, who had a stroke, begins to apologize and starts repeating strange phases and insisting Sierra get the help of a boy she barely knows to help her finish her mural, Sierra is concerned but mostly about her grandfather. Then at a...

The Penderwicks in Spring

The Penderwicks is not just one of my favorite ongoing series; it is one of my favorite series of all time. I'm always astounded by the depth of emotion and diverse, realistic relationship dynamics Birdsall is able to capture with these characters. The Penderwicks in Spring  surpassed my expectations even though they were astronomically high already. It is now my favorite, having edged out  The Penderwicks on Gardam Street . Minor spoilers for first three book are in this review. If you haven't read this series, get started: The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy  The Penderwicks on Gardam Street The Penderwicks at Point Mouette   Spring is coming to Gardam Street and Batty and Ben Penderwick couldn't be more excited. The season is bringing with it anticipation and new opportunities. Nick Geiger, the Penderwicks' neighbor, is returning home on leave from the Army after being at war. Both Skye and Ba...