Review #6: A THIEF IN THE HOUSE OF MEMORY

Wynne-Jones, Tim.  A Thief In the House of Memory.  Toronto, ON:  Douglas & McIntyre, 2004. Print.

Annotation: 

Sixteen-year-old Declan Steeple has not seen his mother for six years, but everyday he sees the empty house, Steeple Hall, on the hill where she--where they—lived before she disappeared.  Why did she leave?  Where did she go?  What really happened that made her go away?  These questions haunt Dec on a daily basis.  When he and his little sister, Sunny, discover a dead body in Steeple Hall, the questions and the memories prove to be too much. Dec must find the answers to  the questions and the murder.  Is there a connection? If so, how? And why are his Dad and Birdie acting so strangely? 

Justification for Nomination:  Because A Thief in the House of Memory seemed a little slow reading at first, I was initially thinking this might be my first rejection review.  However, after reading the novel in its entirety and assessing it according to the criteria for assessing mysteries, I have definitely changed my mind. Using his creation of believable characters in settings that are typical yet unusual, Tim Wynne-Jones develops a story that captures the minds of his readers.  The mysteries held in the memories and in the rooms in Steeple Hall  not only haunt Dec, but also the readers.  They must also know the answers to the questions Dec asks; the crooks and crannies of their minds are as filled with questions and ideas as the crooks and crannies of Steeple Hall are filled with answers.  Every new plot twist sends the reader's mind reeling with ideas of who, what, when, and why.     

In addition to being an intriguing mystery novel, A Thief in the House of Memory  manages to speak to its young adult reader in terms of life and determination.  Young Dec is growing up.  Although he is already hauntingly familiar with love and loss in his childhood, he is learning of love and loss  in new ways.  This time, though, the new world he experiences is a world of hope that springs forth once the chaos of his past is resolved; he is able to see the new sense of order that is ahead.  His quest to find the answers to the questions and conflicts in his mind lead him to an understanding of who he and those around him really are.  He is able to see everything and everyone much more clearly. 

For these reasons, A Thief in the House of Memory is both a fun and a fulfilling read.  As an adult reader, I am quite often looking for the teachable part mixed in with the fun.  I found it here.  The best part is that the unsuspecting young adult reader will unknowingly find it, too.  Thus, for these reasons, I must nominate A Thief in the House of Memory as a literary work  worthy of significant recognition.

Genre:  Mystery, Coming of Age