The Root Cellar by Janet Lunn

from goodreads

4 stars

Well, I finally read this book. I was supposed to have had it read by my October book club meeting. Unfortunately, the library only had one copy. By the time I got around to putting it on hold someone else already had it on hold. For a pretty fast read both patrons sure took a long time reading it, especially the last one which returned it three days after it was due!

Now I know that libraries can't possibly hold all known books, or multiple copies of them on their shelves, but seriously, how inconvenient. What are the odds that three people in this city wanted to read this book at the same time? (My other book club ladies either owned a copy or use a neighbouring city's library system.)

Oh, well. That being said, I love the library. I love that my kids love the library. Yesterday Miss G. (click here to find out more about Miss G. Miss V. and Miss P.) was so excited to tell our favourite librarian, Sam, about officially becoming a Spark and Miss V. felt comfortable asking Sam to help her find a new book series. It is nice when you can go into a place and feel completely at ease. That is what our library does for us. What do you love about your library?

Synopsis

When Rose's grandmother dies she is sent from New York to small town Ontario, Canada to live with an Aunt and family she has never met. Scared, shy and a bit overwhelmed Rose has a hard time adjusting. When she discovers a root cellar behind her Aunt's house she is pulled back in time. Rose goes on the adventure of a lifetime and learns from the past how to be more happy in her present.

My Thoughts

This was a really interesting book. As stated above this was a book club pick. The only thing I knew about it going in was that a girl goes into a root cellar and back in time. So I was picturing it being set in Saskatchewan or some prairie setting. I was really surprised when it ended up being set in Prince Edward County. I spent two weeks of my summer on the island of Prince Edward County every summer for about 8 years of my youth. So I know that setting well. Then when the setting in the book changed to Oswego, New York, I was like, "whoa, I've been there". My family and I spent time in a State Park that is near by and did our laundry in Oswego. I wanted to walk around the town more, but it was raining when we were there, but I would love to go back. It is always fun when you read a book and the setting is a place where you have been and know fairly well.

The story was engaging. It was an ingenious concept. You get sucked right in. It was interesting to learn more about the history of the Civil War and the aftermath that followed. I never really thought about Canadians going down to fight in the war, but I guess that would have made sense. (Well I guess we wouldn't have been technically Canadians yet, but you know what I mean.)

There was only one thing that drove me up the wall, and that caused me not to give it a full 5 stars. What's up with the family? Rose's Aunt and cousins completely spaz on her and call Rose, ungrateful, rude, hateful etc. Where did that venom come from? It seemed completely out of left field. Rose really hadn't done anything to cause such anger to come from these people. They showed no compassion for her or her circumstances. You would think the Aunt or Uncle would have had a little bit of a clue to the fact that Rose was shy and trying to get her bearings after being completely uprooted. It just all kind of threw me for a loop. Everything gets rectified at the end, and it is all good, but I don't get it at all. I guess I would have expected more build up to that kind of negative emotion and reaction, but there really wasn't.

Even with all that, I would thoroughly recommend this book. I would say it would be a great book for ages ten and up.