The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone

Malone, Marianne. The Sixty-Eight Rooms. Random House, New York, 2010. 278 pages. $16.99 ISBN 978-0-375-85710-2

This title is a Junior Library Guild Selection

The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone offers a magical adventure. Young readers, 9 to 12, will embark on the journey of two friends on a school field trip who discover a secret key. They use it to unlock the mysteries of the Thorne Rooms, a miniature collection of 68 period rooms on exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. With this key, they are able to shrink themselves to 5" tall and experience not only the small, delicate nature of the rooms, but also their enchanting animation -- a step onto a room’s balcony enables time travel to periods in world history, such as the Salem Witch Trials and The French Revolution. In this way, the two friends impact history by meeting other individuals whom they directly influence and save.

Historical fiction fans will enjoy the time travels of Ruthie and Jack. The two kids, like others their age, navigate the everyday world such as their homework load and different life situations. They make an adventuresome team, living an urban life and using public transportation as city kids often do. And they are adept problem-solvers. Readers will enjoy how they put their heads together to go in and out of the Thorne Rooms and to escape a few potentially dangerous situations as they work to unlock mysteries. Ruthie and Jack discover even more magic related to the history of the rooms and to the possibility that others may have traveled in and out long before they did.

Readers will learn that the Thorne Rooms are indeed real, that Mrs. Thorne collected miniatures. Her story along with the exhibit are on display where Ruthie and Jack saw them -- the Art Institute of Chicago. A photo of one of the rooms is included within the book, as is the author’s note describing the collection's effect on her as a child. She describes how she incorporated real events in history with her created characters to spin a story that appeals to fans of historical fiction, mystery, and fantasy.