The Roof Over Our Heads by Nicole Kronzer
Product Details
Web ID: 17338491delightful and consuming YA contemporary
THE ROOF OVER OUR HEADS is an engaging and charming YA contemporary about family, finding your own path, and falling in love. Finn's family lives in an old Victorian mansion owned by the theatre company where one of his mothers works. The mansion is beginning to fall into disrepair, and the new owner of the theatre company wants to sell unless they can prove that it is profitable. One of his mothers has written a locked room murder-mystery that is to be performed there with the staff living as though they are in Victorian times and the guests dining with them while trying to figure out whodunnit. Finn is not as talented at theatre as everyone else in his family, and he is painfully aware of it. He wants to help and wants to have a real role, but it feels like a big challenge, especially since he'll be doing some of the cooking until the person hired to cook in the Victorian style arrives. His former BFF and current enemy, Jade, is playing one of the characters, and she wants to search for the lost treasure thought to be hidden in the house with his help, just like they used to when they were little. In return, she promises to help him to get with his crush, Alexa. However, nothing seems to be going as planned, and Finn and his family must work with the cast to try to create the experience they have worked so hard to provide. What I loved: This was such a consuming and sweet story with thought-provoking themes around family, finding your place, the importance of allowing people to change, misunderstandings, falling in love, determination, and acting. One frequent thread of the book is around family, which his mothers frequently insist only requires people and love. Finn is afraid of letting them down and not being the best son, but he is still figuring out exactly what that means. As he begins to hear others' experiences with their own families, including one of his mother's stories, he realizes how much the love part of that equation matters as well as how much support plays a role. Finn is in a family dedicated to the theatre, and he is not great at acting. While he is trying to force himself to be great at it and prove that he can join the theatre group at the school to the teacher for it who is also in the play, he begins to learn more about his own strengths and the ways in which those are also important. Additionally, there are strong themes around allowing people to change, as people learn from their mistakes or may not always follow the same patterns you expect. This comes into play not only with Jade and Finn, but also with Finn's brother, Kendrick, who is growing and changing in his own ways. Finn is a really compelling character, who cares so deeply about his family and wants to be everything for them while also figuring out himself. His growth during the story is really strong as he begins to learn more about those he loves and himself. Jade is another strong character who brings in some additional themes and is so easy to love. Their past friendship and current animosity is a stumbling block that needs to be resolved during the course of the story but also brings up new feelings. The romance was really easy to cheer for and buy into, and while there were some mishaps along the way, they were resolved well. Final verdict: THE ROOF OVER OUR HEADS is an enthralling and delightful YA contemporary about family, love, and the theatre. Highly recommend picking up this gem! Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com