The Echo Room

THE ECHO ROOM

Written by Parker Peevyhouse

Published by Tor Teen, September 11, 2018

My star rating: 3 stars

THE SYNOPSIS:

Rett wakes on the floor of a cold, dark room. He doesn’t know how he got there, only that he’s locked in. He’s not alone—a girl named Bryn is trapped in the room with him. When she finds a mysterious bloodstain and decides she doesn’t trust Rett, he tries to escape on his own.

Rett wakes on the floor of the same cold, dark room. He doesn’t trust Bryn, but he’ll have to work with her if he ever hopes to escape. They try to break out of the room.

Rett and Bryn hide in a cold, dark room. Safe from what’s outside. But they’re not alone. Find it on Goodreads

MY REVIEW:

It’s been quite a long time since I’ve been this conflicted about a book. This one surprised me in ways that I didn’t expect. There were elements about it that I expected to just be ok that absolutely blew my mind. Then, the elements that I hoped would be the strongest, ended up being weakest. It’s confusing so I hope that I can explain myself clearly.

First of all, let me start with the positives. The book starts off with a bang! This was one of the most captivating first chapters I’ve read in a long time! We are thrown into a situation right along with the two main characters. There’s no warning, no explanation, and no subtle introduction which was very effective. We meet Rett and Bryn as they wake up in an abandoned bunker of sorts. Neither one has a recollection of how they got there, they don’t recognize each other, and one of them is covered in blood. We learn very quickly how dire and dark their situation is and are immediately thrust into a game of who and what to trust. Normally suspense isn’t something I enjoy – AT ALL! But in this case, I couldn’t get enough! The way the beginning of this book was written was just so gritty and dark! These characters are desperate, afraid, and confused, and I felt like I could feel all of these emotions along with them. The atmosphere she creates is fascinating!

My second favourite thing about this book was the Groundhog Day effect. If there’s ever a book, movie, or TV show that has this, I will consume it no matter what. I am a complete sucker for this! If you aren’t aware of what this means, it’s where a person re-lives the same day over and over again. If you react in the same way, the day will play out exactly as it did the first time. But if you start to chance subtle things, there’s a domino effect of the day ending a little differently every time. Check out the movie Groundhog Day! I was a little confused at first though as there was no indication that this was happening. Each part of the book is separated by time stamps, so when the same things were repeating along with the times, I finally figured it out. If I would have known that’s what was happening, I would have been less confused and been able to focus more on the story. So I hope that by telling you this, that you will be a little less confused than I was. This was one of my favourite things about this book though, confusion aside.

After the first half of the book is where things went downhill. I enjoyed the first half IMMENSELY!!! But, little by little, the book started to feel familiar. It reminded me so much of other dystopians that I’ve read in the past (specifically The Maze Runner) – so much so, that I could predict what was going to happen. It didn’t feel completely original. Still well written, but not unique.

And then came the truth of the whole situation…… ugh! I’m sorry but no. It just didn’t work for me. I don’t know if it’s because I went into this expecting a thriller/crime mystery or not – but that’s definitely not how this one ends. The big reveal just didn’t make sense and it felt a little too far fetched. I guess I felt as though it was unnecessary. I understood how it all worked and came together, but it was just – weird. I can’t really explain it either. I just didn’t enjoy the direction it went.

As much as I really didn’t enjoy the ending, I will say that the first half of this book completely sold me on her writing abilities! It takes a lot to give me the chills, creep me out, and doubt who to trust. But this one completed that expertly! But due to the lack of originality, and the weird ending, I rated this one 3 stars.

Thank you to Raincoast Books and Tor Teen for providing me with an advanced copy. All opinions in this review are truthful and uninfluenced.

Until next time, happy reading!