The Leaving Room by Amber Mcbride

"It’s easier to be a Leaver. It’s harder to be a Stayer."

Wow. I don’t say this lightly, but this might just be one of the most moving, original, and breathtakingly beautiful books I’ve ever read. A YA novel-in-verse that completely shattered the boundaries of storytelling as I thought I knew them, and then lovingly stitched something brand new in their place. Set in the hauntingly poetic Leaving Room, this story follows Gospel, the Keeper of this liminal space between life and death. Her job is simple: comfort the newly deceased, called Leavers, then guide them through to the next phase. No questions. No deviations. No attachments. But Gospel begins to break the rules. She peeks into memories. She takes naps. She longs for more.

And then a door appears.

Enter Melodee, a fellow Keeper and a forbidden love. As the two form a quiet, fragile connection, Gospel is forced to confront everything she’s ever known about life, death, love, and the cost of choosing to stay. Written in luminous verse, this novella holds the emotional weight of a 300+ page epic inside fewer than 150 pages. It’s poetic, aching, and endlessly profound. The language is so vivid and intentional, it left me breathless more than once. I laughed. I cried. I sat in silence. I reflected on my own grief, my own fears, and what it means to live.

And can we talk about the recipes? The way memories and food were interwoven into the storytelling felt like pure magic. Full recipes, yes, real ones, are included, giving the book a sensory depth I didn’t know I needed. It made the memories Gospel uncovers feel even more intimate and deeply human. This book is for anyone who’s ever felt lost in the in-between. It’s for the ones navigating life, death, identity, and the raw, radiant ache of being young and Black in America.

If I could give it infinite stars, I would. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hands down, one of my top reads of the year. I’ll be talking about this one until long after its release on October 13.

🫶🏻💕🥰 Perfect for everyone.