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Title: The Secret Room
Author: Antonia Michaelis, Mollie Hossmer-Dillard (translator)
Narrator: Richard Allen
Format: Unabridged
Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
Language: English
Release date: 04-03-13
Publisher: Audible Studios
Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes
Genres: Teens, Ages 11-13
Publisher's Summary:
Achim is 11 years old when he moves from the orphanage to the house by the sea. Here everything is strange and new. But one day he discovers an unusual door that leads to a circular room with walls made of rough stone. The light coming through the window is hazy, as if the room is under water. It is a magic room - which he calls The Adopted Room - belonging to another world. And on a bed in the room sits a boy who is waiting to take Achim with him into the realm of the powerful Nameless One.
Achim learns that the boy, Arnim, is the long-dead son of Achims new parents. When he died in a car accident at the age of four, Arnim was supposed to have become a bird and flown free to the land of the dead, which can be seen through the window of The Adopted Room. But the Nameless One has somehow locked Arnim inside, so he cannot leave. Achim, however, finds he can turn into a bird, slip through the window, and fly across the strange land. And thus begins a journey in which Achim must fight the Nameless One and free Arnim so he can finally leave his parents and they can let go of their grief.
Antonia Michaeliss fresh voice helps to address the delicate issues of death, grief, and mourning, portraying them as an essential part of life. The Secret Room is full of humor and adventure, but also brings to light these difficult life issues in a way that young listeners can understand. The first in a trilogy, with its sequel, The Secret of the Twelfth Continent, to follow next spring, this captivating mid-grade novel is sure to become a favorite series with young listeners.
Editorial Reviews:
Antonia Michaelis' modern-day fairy tale soothes its characters' - and young listeners' - anxieties with lyrical descriptions of its Narnia-like land of the dead. It is impossible not to pull for the grieving Ribbeks and the orphaned Achim tasked with the fearful challenge of healing them to build himself a family.
Richard Allen's gentle voice bubbles with inviting warmth and humor, pitch perfect for the touching adventure of a child's conquest of the prison of sadness, both in his beautifully realized metaphorical wonderland and in his new home for life.
Members Reviews:
A perfect book with a perfect ending...
The Secret Room, by Antonia Michaelis, is set in modern England. Achim, an orphaned boy who is adopted at the age of 11, is the main character. Arnim, the biological son of Achim's new parents, is also a big character. The parents, Paul and Ines, are also important characters in the book.
In the book, Achim comes to Paul and Ines' house and soon finds a secret room that no one else can see. He meets his brother Arnim, who had died six years before, living in the room! It turns out that Arnim is stuck -- he can't go on as he is supposed to, because he is trapped by longing and his parents are trapped by sadness, unable to let him go. Both the parents and Arnim need Achim's help to be able to move on. He has many scary and dangerous adventures, and is helped by two intriguing birds named Yellow Pea of Santorini and Spinach Luggage, before he succeeds.
I won't give the ending away, but it is PERFECT. I love this book, and I hope the author writes another like it!
Stella - 4th grade
Heartfelt fantasy
This is a great fantasy for the young reader who prefers rich description and emotional power to fast-paced action.