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19th out of 136 books
—
674 voters
The Humming Room
by
Ellen Potter
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.
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
February 28th 2012
by Feiwel & Friends
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Oh friends, I love reading books that just fuel my love of the middle grade category. The Humming Room by Ellen Potter is a very small book. Your eye might not even see it on the shelf – which is quite unfortunate. I’ve not seen much fanfare for The Humming Room which is a shame, because it’s a quiet, beautifully written take on The Secret Garden.
Read the rest of my review here.
Read the rest of my review here.
The writing was superb, but unfortunately the story was too similar to the original story, The Secret Garden. What started off as a fresh tale with quirky characters turned into a predictable and, at times, disappointing rehash of the great classic.
I understand the author's intent was to retell the original story, but felt she needed to claim it as her own. Early in the book there was the suggestion of an other-worldly force at work, which seemed capable of giving this story a new twist. Unfortu...more
I understand the author's intent was to retell the original story, but felt she needed to claim it as her own. Early in the book there was the suggestion of an other-worldly force at work, which seemed capable of giving this story a new twist. Unfortu...more
4.5.
I guess I should start by telling you how much I love the classics - how I was this weird little girl who read Oliver Twist like 45 times, or got more excited about the box of illustrated classics I got for Christmas when I was 9 than I was for the toys (in fact, I remember none of the toys, but still have most of the books). And I should probably tell you about how much I adore Francis Hodgson Burnett, and have read The Secret Garden more times than should be mentioned in polite society.
I...more
I guess I should start by telling you how much I love the classics - how I was this weird little girl who read Oliver Twist like 45 times, or got more excited about the box of illustrated classics I got for Christmas when I was 9 than I was for the toys (in fact, I remember none of the toys, but still have most of the books). And I should probably tell you about how much I adore Francis Hodgson Burnett, and have read The Secret Garden more times than should be mentioned in polite society.
I...more
I'm not really sure what to think of this book. First of all, I think that Roo Fenshaw is a really cool name. Also, I'm kind of confused about this book. When I read it, I think that it was strange and it didn't really make much sense to me. I didn't get the whole garden and cave thing with Roo and Phillip. I think that Phillip was overly scary and anxious, and that the author did a good job of portraying his characteristics as a sick child. I didn't really understand the "river boy" concept and...more
Apr 09, 2013
Charlyn Trussell
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Grades 4 and up
Recommended to Charlyn by:
Texas Blubonnnet Reading List 2013-14
Roo’s life has not been good. She doesn’t know her mother and both her father and his girlfriend were both murdered in a drug-related crime. She has adapted—she can hide and disappear in a flash and she has developed a protective shell against the cruelty of other children and the criticism of adults. And, in spite of the obvious shortcomings of her father, she obviously felt loved by him and cherished the times the two of them had spent alone together. She knew nothing of family beyond him.
So...more
So...more
In this rewrite of Secret Garden, Roo Fanshaw loses her parents not to a disease, but to a drug deal gone wrong (maybe--it's never really explained). The half-wild girl, who knows only how to hide, steal, and listen to the earth, is sent to her wealthy uncle, wholives in an old tuberculosis hospital on an island in the St. Lawrence seaway. Roo doesn't see him, and is told she must never go into the east wing. She makes the best of it, befriending a Dickon-like boy who lives wild on the river, al...more
Twelve-year-old Roo Fanshaw has seen more than a kid her age should ever have seen or experienced. After her father and his girlfriend are killed, she comes to stay with her uncle in his huge mansion. He is a distant sort of man, terse, and given to traveling when things upset him. Roo is provided with a home, clothing, and a tutor and warned to stay away from certain parts of the mansion. She eventually traces the odd sounds she hears in the building to her cousin Phillip who is given to fits o...more
Book #69 Read in 2012
The Humming Room by Ellen Potter (YA)
This book was inspired by the classic book, The Secret Garden. Roo's parents are murdered and she is sent to live with her uncle, whom she has never met before. Roo is exploring her surroundings when she hears humming. She tries to locate the source but cannot. She does, however, find a garden that has been so neglected that it is almost dead. She vows to bring it back to life. Shortly after discovering the garden, she meets Phillip, her...more
The Humming Room by Ellen Potter (YA)
This book was inspired by the classic book, The Secret Garden. Roo's parents are murdered and she is sent to live with her uncle, whom she has never met before. Roo is exploring her surroundings when she hears humming. She tries to locate the source but cannot. She does, however, find a garden that has been so neglected that it is almost dead. She vows to bring it back to life. Shortly after discovering the garden, she meets Phillip, her...more
With a captivating beginning, we find Roo hiding and know something terrible has happened to her family. Up to now, Roo has lived a rough life with a father who doesn’t know how to properly care for her. By age 12 she has learned how to guard herself. Wild, self-preserving Roo is sent to live with a previously unknown, wealthy uncle and she moves to his island, called Cough Rock, where there are very few inhabitants. Although it is a family home, there is some curiosity and eeriness about it for...more
Oct 07, 2012
Karen Yingling
added it
Roo's drug dealing parents are killed, and she is shunted off to a foster home briefly before being taken into the care of an uncle she has never met. The uncle is reclusive and lives on a small, remote island with fairly forbidding household staff, but Roo is glad to be somewhere safe for a while. She hears odd noises in the house, and finds odd things-- the house had been a children's tuberculosis hospital for many years, so she thinks maybe there are ghosts. Still, she blossoms under the care...more
I'm giving this three stars, although I confess that parts of the reading experience were more four stars.
Roo (whose name is never explained, that I could tell) is sent to live with her mysterious uncle in his weird hospital-converted-to-a-house in the Thousand Islands. This is clearly a retelling of The Secret Garden, and in a lot of ways, that was pretty awesome. If you're familiar with the Secret Garden plot (heh), you have the gist of what is going on here.
The setting in the Thousand Islands...more
Roo (whose name is never explained, that I could tell) is sent to live with her mysterious uncle in his weird hospital-converted-to-a-house in the Thousand Islands. This is clearly a retelling of The Secret Garden, and in a lot of ways, that was pretty awesome. If you're familiar with the Secret Garden plot (heh), you have the gist of what is going on here.
The setting in the Thousand Islands...more
a. Fantasy
b. 182 pgs
c.The Humming Room is about Roo Fanshaw right after her parents died. First she is sent to a foster family, the Burrows, who have three other foster girls until her uncle can be found. Once her uncle is found he sends his assistant Ms. Valentine to pick her up and take her to St. Lawrence. There she finds out that her uncle owns an island that everybody calls Cough Rock. Uncle Fanshaw has a mansion there and lives there with Violet, the maid, and Ms. Valentine, his assistant....more
b. 182 pgs
c.The Humming Room is about Roo Fanshaw right after her parents died. First she is sent to a foster family, the Burrows, who have three other foster girls until her uncle can be found. Once her uncle is found he sends his assistant Ms. Valentine to pick her up and take her to St. Lawrence. There she finds out that her uncle owns an island that everybody calls Cough Rock. Uncle Fanshaw has a mansion there and lives there with Violet, the maid, and Ms. Valentine, his assistant....more
Before picking up the book, I had no idea that it was closely based on The Secret Garden. I just knew Ellen Potter wrote it, and I think she's an excellent writer. Honestly, if the inside cover hadn't mentioned The Secret Garden, I still wouldn't have known for a while, because it was not immediately obvious. (Once it becomes obvious, though, it is quite obvious.) I know some readers haven't liked how closely it mirrors the original story, but I thought the characters and setting were unique eno...more
Aug 15, 2012
Lizzy
added it
Most people assume that being strong or tough is the skill that will protect you and save you, help you survive when you're in a dangerous situation, but Roo Fanshaw sees it differently. Her special skill is hiding, being able to disappear at a moment’s notice. Roo has spent most of her life hiding, finding the smallest spaces to curl herself into. It is in these small spaces that she feels able to breathe freely; in fact, open spaces make her feel enclosed, as if she can't breath. It is Roo’s h...more
A Junior Library Guild selection
“Ms. Potter revives the story [The Secret Garden] with such grace and sensitivity.” --The Wall Street Journal
“Noteworthy...Potter, with classic and contemporary storytelling flair, deftly interweaves fantasy, mystery, suspense, and realism. Beautifully wrought, eloquent prose combines with vivid setting details and diversely drawn characters to affectingly portray themes of loneliness and grief. Roo is a memorable character—her experiences prove transformative in...more
“Ms. Potter revives the story [The Secret Garden] with such grace and sensitivity.” --The Wall Street Journal
“Noteworthy...Potter, with classic and contemporary storytelling flair, deftly interweaves fantasy, mystery, suspense, and realism. Beautifully wrought, eloquent prose combines with vivid setting details and diversely drawn characters to affectingly portray themes of loneliness and grief. Roo is a memorable character—her experiences prove transformative in...more
The story begins with Roo hiding beneath her trailer, after her father and his girlfriend are murdered. Shortly after, Roo is taken to live with her uncle - a man that she's never met, on Cough Rock. Used to being left on her own, Roo struggles to deal with the watchful eyes of her uncle's staff. She finds herself wondering off throughout her new home, discovering that there are many secrets hidden on Cough Rock.
I thoroughly enjoyed "The Humming Room". Roo is a truly fantastic character. I love...more
I thoroughly enjoyed "The Humming Room". Roo is a truly fantastic character. I love...more
Jun 08, 2012
Amy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
YA lovers, MG lovers, people who liked The Secret Garden, lazy day reading
Roo starts the book off pretty rough. Well, it started way before we came in on the story, but we find that out as we go along. Her father and his girlfriend were killed, leaving Roo all alone. Not that things were all that great before, she was never dressed properly, never fed well, and she preferred the company of dirt over people. Her knack of hiding comes in handy when her uncle takes custody of her. Not only does she find some amazing new hiding spots, but she learns a little more about li...more
Roo has had a difficult life and she's learned to cope by hiding. When her parents are murdered, she survived because she had a hiding place under the trailer where they lived. She's sent to live with an unknown uncle, a man with no interest in her, and left to the devices of a casually cruel housekeeper and a warm, but cautious, housemaid.
The house, an old tuberculosis sanitarium for children, is the only structure on Cough Rock, an island in the St. Lawrence River and ghost stories abound. Ro...more
The house, an old tuberculosis sanitarium for children, is the only structure on Cough Rock, an island in the St. Lawrence River and ghost stories abound. Ro...more
Almost four stars. I like Potter's writing and characters. This one didn't feel as risky (or as meaningful) as The Kneebone Boy (and now I can hear Peter Sieruta's voice in my head, saying "well, maybe I'll actually like this one, then; it's an intriguing premise, an updated version of The Secret Garden"). I loved the Secret Garden parallels in the first few chapters--the hiding, the being transported away to her uncle's place by the housekeeper/personal assistant--but rather wished that things...more
I am disappointed with this book.
On the one hand, it's a not bad story of Roo Fanshaw, an orphaned girl taken in by her uncle, who discovers new friends and brings a neglected garden back to life.
On the other hand, it's a complete retread of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, almost scene for scene and character for character.
The author says outright this book was "inspired" by Burnett's classic. That's probably a good thing, because otherwise she would probably be at the center of a f...more
On the one hand, it's a not bad story of Roo Fanshaw, an orphaned girl taken in by her uncle, who discovers new friends and brings a neglected garden back to life.
On the other hand, it's a complete retread of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, almost scene for scene and character for character.
The author says outright this book was "inspired" by Burnett's classic. That's probably a good thing, because otherwise she would probably be at the center of a f...more
I'm impressed that Potter was able to do a novel based so closely on The Secret Garden that I still enjoyed. I mean, TSG is one of my all-time favorites, and I've read it more than a dozen times (seriously). I'm a hard one to impress.
What I liked: Potter kept the "feel" of the original amazingly well, despite its modern setting. Some of the details she worked in were quite fun to discover (like the snake in the beginning, the hat on Mrs. Metzger's/Ms. Valentine's lap in the train, the tame squir...more
What I liked: Potter kept the "feel" of the original amazingly well, despite its modern setting. Some of the details she worked in were quite fun to discover (like the snake in the beginning, the hat on Mrs. Metzger's/Ms. Valentine's lap in the train, the tame squir...more
In the tradition of “The Secret Garden,” Potter captures the dreaminess and tone of the original novel. The theme of growth and awakening carries over from the earlier story to “The Humming Room.”
Potter’s characters are engaging and slightly dysfunctional. Roo is still reeling from her parents’ deaths when she must relocate to isolated Cough Rock Island to a residence that once served as a tuberdulosis sanitarium for children. Her wealthy, but eccentric uncle, forbids Roo from entering a part o...more
Potter’s characters are engaging and slightly dysfunctional. Roo is still reeling from her parents’ deaths when she must relocate to isolated Cough Rock Island to a residence that once served as a tuberdulosis sanitarium for children. Her wealthy, but eccentric uncle, forbids Roo from entering a part o...more
Roo Fanshaw knows about hiding. She finds the small places, the forgotten places, and listens to the sounds of the earth. After her parents’ deaths, she’s sent to Cough Rock to live with an uncle she’s never met, or even heard of. At first sight it’s nothing to inspire- a former children’s sanitorium, Cough Rock is a cold, forbidding place full of secrets. Like the humming Roo hears through the halls. Like the uncle who vanishes for long periods of time. Like the river boy who isn’t tied to anyt...more
Hesitant about a rewrite of one of my favorite books, I was pleased to read the last page feeling that this book's connection to The Secret Garden actually enhanced the experience. Many of my students want to read that classic, but the language (including the Yorkshire dialect and accent of some characters) makes it inaccessible to most non-native speakers for several years. Abridged versions have their place, but aren't the best solution. The Humming Room, however, has its own merits, distinct...more
The Secret Garden is one of my favorite books of all time. So, when I heard about The Humming Room, by Ellen Potter, a retelling of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic story about growth and renewal, I had to check it out.
Similarities:
1. A young orphan girl is sent to live with her reclusive uncle at his large and creepy estate.
2. The girl brings a secret and nearly dead garden back to life.
3. Everyone grows a little by the end.
Differences:
1. The changes that Potter makes bring the story squarely...more
Similarities:
1. A young orphan girl is sent to live with her reclusive uncle at his large and creepy estate.
2. The girl brings a secret and nearly dead garden back to life.
3. Everyone grows a little by the end.
Differences:
1. The changes that Potter makes bring the story squarely...more
The Humming Room immediately drew me in. I think what did it was Roo Fanshaw, the main character. Ellen Potter has created a girl that is obviously troubled, but lovable right from the start. This book was inspired by The Secret Garden which I enjoyed reading when I was a child so maybe I was predisposed to like this new children's novel, but I'm sure even those who haven't read The Secret Garden will enjoy this mysterious, slightly spooky story told by a talented author.
Ellen Potter has a gift...more
Ellen Potter has a gift...more
The Humming Room by Ellen Potter is a fantastic, modern retelling of The Secret Garden. In fact, other than the names and the setting, The Humming Room closely follows the beloved original. So why read The Humming Room, you say, instead of just re-reading The Secret Garden?
I give you – Roo. Distrustful and tough, wild and willful, Roo endeared herself to me from the first page. Something about Potter’s sharp and unsentimental description of the flatness of her green eyes, were they should be ali...more
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Childrens Books for providing the ARC.
A brilliant retelling of one of my favorite classic children's books. Beautifully written, with characters that make the story come alive, and a very well-done mystery that keeps you wondering - real or supernatural?
I requested this book as soon as I saw it in the catalog because of how much I loved The Secret Garden, and I was really hoping it might live up to the original. And I gotta say, WOW, was I ever surprised!...more
A brilliant retelling of one of my favorite classic children's books. Beautifully written, with characters that make the story come alive, and a very well-done mystery that keeps you wondering - real or supernatural?
I requested this book as soon as I saw it in the catalog because of how much I loved The Secret Garden, and I was really hoping it might live up to the original. And I gotta say, WOW, was I ever surprised!...more
Roo...
When we first meet her she is hiding under a trailer...her father and his girlfriend have just been murdered and she is soon whisked off to live with an uncle she has never met and didn't even know he had.
She is picked up by the aloof Ms. Valentine and taken by train and boat to Cough Island.
This is where the rest of the drama and mystery begins.
And from the start it is a sort of sinister one and it doesn't help that everyone on Cough Island seems mean...well...except for Violet and the ma...more
When we first meet her she is hiding under a trailer...her father and his girlfriend have just been murdered and she is soon whisked off to live with an uncle she has never met and didn't even know he had.
She is picked up by the aloof Ms. Valentine and taken by train and boat to Cough Island.
This is where the rest of the drama and mystery begins.
And from the start it is a sort of sinister one and it doesn't help that everyone on Cough Island seems mean...well...except for Violet and the ma...more
Young Roo is an expert hider. In fact, she prefers to be hidden and listening to the whispers of the earth around her.
When her parents are killed in a drug deal gone bad Roo is taking into foster care soon to be sent on to an uncle she didn’t know she had. This uncle lives the life of a recluse on an island only accessible via boat. The island, and the house on it, used to be a children’s hospital and stories of dying children and their ghosts might scare a girl whose life hadn’t been as difficu...more
When her parents are killed in a drug deal gone bad Roo is taking into foster care soon to be sent on to an uncle she didn’t know she had. This uncle lives the life of a recluse on an island only accessible via boat. The island, and the house on it, used to be a children’s hospital and stories of dying children and their ghosts might scare a girl whose life hadn’t been as difficu...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Roo F. | 2 | 11 | Oct 21, 2012 05:46am |
Ellen Potter (born 1973) is an American author of both children's and adult's books (as Ellen Toby-Potter). She grew up in Upper West Side, New York and studied creative writing at Binghamton University and now lives in Candor in upstate New York. She has been a contributor to Cimarron Review, Epoch, The Hudson Review, and Seventeen. Her novel Olivia Kidney was winner of the Child Magazine Best Bo...more
More about Ellen Potter...
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O M G YES!!! I just mentioned this in my book chat video for this month. What is it about orphans?
Mar 07, 2012 09:06am