26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
not badly written or conceived but greatly disappointing in execution, February 9, 2010
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Marianne Malone's The Sixty-Eight Rooms is a YA fantasy novel with a great premise. The problem is she seems to have forgotten to put the fantasy in.
The book imagines two sixth-graders, Ruthie and Jack, who discover a magical key on a field trip to the Thorne Rooms in the Art Institute of Chicago, a famous collection of 68 miniature rooms set in various time periods. The key shrinks Ruthie and Jack down to a size where they can enter the rooms and explore. Even better, it turns out that beyond the room is the entire world of the room's setting: France just a few years before the French Revolution, Mass. during the Salem Witch Trials, etc. The book moves back and forth between Ruthie and Jack's adventures in these worlds, their attempts to sneak into the Art Institute in order to enter the rooms, and their quest in the real world to find out the mysteries behind the Thorne Rooms--who created them and how, where the key came from, how some objects from the Thorne Rooms appear to have entered the real world, and so on. Meanwhile, Jack's mother has some real-world issues of her own to deal with as she's having a hard time selling her artwork and the two of them (Jack and his mom) are in danger of being evicted.
As mentioned, the premise is simply wonderful, combining time travel and Borrowers-type "small-person" adventuring. The problem is, we see almost no adventuring in the worlds outside the Thorne Rooms. We only pop into two of the 68 and for a matter of only a few pages--in total the Thorne Room adventures add up to only about 10 percent of the book. There is a lot of time spent getting the key and getting into the Museum, figuring out the logistics of shrinking and moving among the rooms, tracking down the room's mysteries--all of which have their place but offer far less of a sense of wonder and adventure than adventures in a strange time and place do.
While the book moves along smoothly enough, and the characters are well-drawn and likable, in the end the book severely disappoints by setting up the promise of exciting adventures but not following through.
Malone leaves room for more at the end, so it's possible this was just a set-up novel to further adventures. If so, she would have been better served I think whetting our appetites a bit more fully with the possibilities. Not recommended as a stand-alone. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and hope she returns to the Thorne Rooms with another book more fully set there.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hope there's a sequel..., February 17, 2010
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This is *exactly* the kind of book I would have loved when I was in 3rd or 4th grade! Right now, I'm reading it aloud to a second-grader and he is totally caught up in the story.
Marianne Malone wraps up adventure, art, history, and mystery in a perfectly fun package. The Sixty-Eight Rooms addresses many types of friendship - that of Ruthie & Jack, that of Mr. Bell and Lydia, Ruthie's dad & Mrs. McVittie, Ruthie's mum and her mentor professor. It addresses adversity - Jack & his mum Lydia may have to leave a wonderfully concocted artist's loft if Lydia doesn't sell a few of her paintings to pay the rent. Loss is a theme - when Ruthie's mum's mentor/professor dies, and when we learn that Mr. Bell's best work (he's a photographer) disappeared years ago. And peripherally, who isn't fascinated with miniatures?
The children plan a winter weekend of exploration in the Thorne Rooms in the museum at the Art Institute in Chicago after it closes - their planning is thorough and creative; while they understand that what they are doing is not kosher, the lure of adventure is simply irresistible. I think the book is oh so realistic in all it conveys and portrays of the life and world of modern urban kids, which is a perfect counterpoint to the magic of the key, and the mystery of the exquisite, historically accurate, and totally real Thorne Rooms.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice concept but was very slow moving, July 15, 2010
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I read this with my 10 year old 4th grader daughter. We got through about 2/3rds before I finally gave up making her read it with me. I think both boys are girls would feel the same about this book. For the most part kids that are very interested and have been to the Art Institute and seen the rooms or are very interested in doll houses might enjoy this book. For the rest it is probably too slow of a pace to keep most kids in the target age range interested.
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