The Leaving Room

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AVAILABLE OCTOBER 14, 2025

 By: Amber McBride

For fans of You've Reached Sam and If I Stay, a hauntingly beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about a girl in between life and death, by National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.

Gospel is the Keeper of the Leaving Room—a place all young people must phase through when they die. You see, the young are never ready to leave; they need a moment to remember and a Keeper to help their wispy souls along.

Gospel assumes that there are countless other Leaving Rooms because many children pass, but she suspects they are not like her Leaving Room which is small (like a walk in closet) with large trees that stretch their hands up and up into the canopy of stars. In one corner is a small green kitchen where Gospel prepares meals for Leavers and on the shelves thousands of tiny jars hold the memories of those who have gone.

When a random door opens and a Keeper named Melodee arrives, their souls become entangled. Gospel seriousness melts and Melodyee's fear of connection fades, but still—are Keepers allowed to fall in love? Now they must find a way out of the Leaving Room and be unafraid of their love. They must claw their way back to their bodies because there is so much more life to explore—together.