A Thief in the House of Memory

From Booklist
Gr. 7-10. Whenever 16-year-old Dec visits the house where his family lived before his mother's disappearance six years earlier, he slips into long-forgotten scenes that he had shared with her during his childhood. Drawn with a skilled hand, the protagonist is placed in a memorable eastern Ontario setting, where Dec's ancestral family home is preserved, museum-like, near his current house. The violent death of a man who breaks into the old house sets in motion a series of mysteries and revelations that drive Dec to remember things about his mother and try to learn the rest from her best friend and from his father, who guard their secrets well. Vividly written, the narrative conveys a strong sense of Dec's uneasiness, as past and present overlap in an unsettling way. The final revelations about his mother seem almost anticlimactic, as Dec has already developed a sure sense of who he is and where he is headed. An original coming-of-age story from the author of The Maestro (1996). Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"This is a beautifully written novel...rich and rewarding."  -- Starred, School Library Journal "Vividly written."  -- Booklist

Book Description
Family secrets, forgotten memories, and the transforming power of truth

It's been six years since sixteen-year-old Dec's free-spirited mother, Lindy, disappeared. Dec feels so trapped in the present, he's avoided examining his past. But when an intruder dies in the museum-like family home, the man's death sends forth tremors that reawaken forgotten memories. Suddenly Dec is flooded with visions of his mother so tangible it's hard to believe they're not real. At least Dec has his best friend - gifted, funny Ezra - to help him sort out what's real and what isn't. But as Dec's dream visions of his mother turn into nightmares, Ezra announces he's going away, leaving Dec haunted by questions that must be answered. What did happen to his mother? And who really is the thief in the house of memory?

In this masterful new novel, Tim Wynne-Jones explores with wit, compassion, and humor the fictional territory he knows best - the prickly ties that bind families, the murky connections between imagination and real life.


About the Author
Tim Wynne-Jones's many award-winning books include The Boy in the Burning House, winner of the 2002 Edgar Award for Young Adult Fiction. He lives near Perth, Ontario.


Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From A Thief in the House of Memory:

They rounded the final curve and the big house sprang fully into view. Light glinted off the glass of the conservatory. The newly budding maples shhhhhed in the breeze. There was always wind up here.

Steeple Hall. The words were carved in stone above the entranceway with a shamrock on either side. Sunny broke into a run. Her yellow boots made galumphing noise on the wide stone pathway.

She waited for him by the door, wiggling like a puppy back from a walk. Dec dug out the long brass key. The tumblers turned. Sunny pushed open the door.

He smelled it before he saw it, a disturbing scent on the dry, old air. The frosted-glass vestibule door was slightly ajar. Sunny slithered out of her boots, pushed open the door, and stopped dead.

"Uh-oh," she said.

A glass-paneled bookcase had fallen. The spacious front hallway was lined on the eastern wall with bookcases, ten feet tall and the three feet wide. One of those cases lay before them. Books were strewn everywhere. A bronze bust of Plato lay at Sunny's feet. She stepped back into her brother's arms.

Then they saw the hand.



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Gr 7-10-Six years ago, when Declan Steeple was 10 and his sister was just a baby, his mother, Lindy, disappeared, searching for something better than the dusty family estate with its generations of clutter and memory. Now the Steeples live in a modern split-level down the hill from the Big House, but the mansion is still there, filled with a past that hides secrets. When a local man is found dead in the house, memories of Lindy and her unhappiness living there suddenly become a pressing weight on Dec, compounded by the fact that he and his sister were the ones to discover the body. The teen feels lost and suspicious; his father seems to be hiding something and Dec realizes how much has never been discussed. This is a beautifully written novel, slim and surprising but ultimately satisfying. Declan's vivid memories and conversations with his father and his friend Ezra bring the pain of his abandonment, and the strength of his determination to move on, vividly to life. Declan's other friends, especially the creative and quirky Viv, appear only briefly but have enough character to bring them to life and to illuminate the protagonist. The dreams and memories that haunt Declan sometimes seem almost fantastic, but overall this is a realistic and moving story. Given that it focuses on an internal journey, this rich and rewarding novel will appeal most to thoughtful readers who appreciate a sad and bittersweet read.-Karyn N. Silverman, Elizabeth Irwin High School, New York City Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.


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