The Leaving Room

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 others that 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 one another. 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 McBride’s 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, homosexuality, and self awareness are rooted in our world, but seem to take on a magical feel in McBride’s stories.