Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A teen steward acting as a bridge to the afterlife wonders if there's more to her existence in this achingly tender verse romance by McBride (Onyx & Beyond). Gospel is a Keeper, a being tasked with helping Leavers--the recently deceased--make peace with their deaths. As a Keeper, Gospel must follow a core set of rules: don't lie, don't enter another Keeper's room, don't review the memories collected from Leavers. Despite these mandates, Gospel watches her Leavers' memories and chafes against the reality that "Keepers can't feel./ We Just are. We keep." Nonetheless, Gospel takes pride in her duties, preparing meals for the young spirits in her care to ensure that they "find joy in whatever is next." Over the course of her work, Gospel becomes especially affected by five-year-old Maple and eight-year-old Suvi, and after beautiful and enchanting violinist Melodee, another Keeper, enters Gospel's room, the encounter sparks within Gospel a desire to experience things beyond her perceived purpose. Through quiet, in-between-feeling moments rendered in an eerie, philosophical tone, McBride considers the liminal spaces between life and death, as well as the weight of grief and loss on children, particularly Black youth. Richly imagined settings pulled from Leavers' memories ("Haint-blue ceilings/ & rocking chairs to sit/ & watch giant willows weep") evoke Black Southern gothic imagery, adding texture to this wholesome speculative novel. Ages 12--up. Agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Heirloom Literary. (Oct.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--Gospel is the Keeper of the Leaving Room, where children go before they die. Her job is to comfort these children in her care, and then coax them to give her their best memory so they are not forgotten when they pass through. One of the few rules of the Leaving Room is that there is only one Keeper and one Leaver allowed in the room. A new Leaver is not allowed in Gospel's room until the previous Leaver is gone. As much as Gospel follows this rule, there are other ones she breaks, which causes her room to malfunction. Eventually, she bumps into another Keeper named Melodee. Gospel and Melodee have a strong connection, and even seem to be attracted to each other. They live like this for what seems ages, until their rooms break apart and Melodee disappears. McBride has created a universe to provide an answer to what happens when one dies, and what it must be like to be between life and death. Those who have read We Are All So Good at Smiling will recognize the same type of magical realism with some of the same themes. Weighty topics, such as death, the importance of connection, sexuality, and self-awareness are rooted in our world, but seem to take on a magical feel in McBride's stories. VERDICT Recommended for libraries, and especially for readers who like McBride's previous books.--Jeni Tahaney
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A 17-year-old guardian of the memories of recently deceased young people questions her purpose in the latest from National Book Award finalist McBride. The Keepers stay in their Leaving Rooms, ushering Leavers through this liminal space between life and death. Gospel, a Keeper who struggles with following rules, prides herself on providing Leavers with meals made of loving memories and cares for the souls during their precious four minutes with her. Tending to children who have just died, Gospel takes each one's "best memory," often involving a meal, and places it in one of the mason jars that line her bookshelves, which are "made from living trees." Some of the Leavers haunt Gospel, their presences creating lasting memories for her--5-year-old Maple and 8-year-old Suvi, in particular (readers later learn the reason behind their significance). As Gospel struggles with the weight of her role, Melodee, who's also a Keeper, enters her Leaving Room, breaking another rule. Their connection is instantaneous; "I didn't know Keepers /could feel love," Gospel observes--and she wonders whether her existence might hold more meaning. McBride is a master of verse, weaving lines with emotion and character development, articulating pain and hope with an economy of words, and documenting Black lives with tenderness. Reverberating with a haunting trauma, this powerful narrative is packed with Black joy, queer love, and feminist defiance. Compelling and evocative: a must-read. (author's note, playlist)(Verse fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
