“The Room in the Attic” by Louise Douglas
I just finished reading this and thought I’d share. I hadn’t read anything from this author before so I wasn’t sure what to expect going in. But when I read the synopsis for this book while I was at the bookstore, I just knew I had to have this book.
This book flips back and forth between a nurse taking care of a child back in 1903 and two teen boys living in a boarding school in 1993. It involves the same building, just 90 years apart. The building was an asylum in 1903 when Nurse Emma Everdeen takes care of a small child. The building becomes a boarding school by the time 1993 roles around when Lewis and Isak are sent there for different reasons. Both stories run simultaneously over the course of the book. The chapters are kind of short but to the point.
I was able to stay with it throughout the entire book. The author is able to drop little curve balls throughout the entire book which keep you coming back for more until you reach a climactic ending. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it (teens and up; probably not suitable for children).
Synopsis: A child who does not know her name. Two motherless boys banished to boarding school…
In 1903 fishermen find a wrecked boat containing a woman and a young girl. They are taken to All Hallows, the imposing asylum, deep on Dartmoor. The woman remains in a coma, but the little girl, Harriet, is taken to an attic room, and is put in the care of Nurse Emma Everdeen.
In 1993, All Hallows is now a boarding school. Following his mother’s death, Lewis Tyler is banished to Dartmoor. There he meets Isak, another lost soul, and whilst refurbishment of the dormitories is taking place, the boys are marooned up in the attic.
All Hallows is full of memories. As Lewis and Isak learn more about Harriet, and Nurse Emma’s desperate fight to keep her safe, it becomes clear there are spirits who are still restless. Are they ghosts the boys hear at night in the room above? Can Lewis and Isak bring peace to All Hallows?