From the Publisher
I burned through the pages of Dark Room Etiquette—riveted, transfixed, and deeply moved by Sayers’ journey and Roe’s stunning prose. This book is important and necessary and filled with love and hope. I ached when I finished. The best sort of ache. The kind that haunts you. Dear readers everywhere: read this now.” — Jennifer Niven, #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places
"Intense and visceral, Dark Room Etiquette is an unforgettable story about trauma, resilience, and hope. A powerful, raw, and ultimately touching survival story.” — Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces, You'd Be Home Now, and The Agathas
“I absolutely loved DARK ROOM ETIQUETTE. What a surprising, gripping, jolt-of-adrenaline novel Robin Roe has crafted! DARK ROOM ETIQUETTE is guaranteed to keep you awake at night, and not just because of suspense—you will not be able to stop reading it. What Robin Roe has done with the story of Sayers Wayte is refreshing and remarkable: We get to see the true evolution of his character through iterations that are at times repulsive, heroic, and yet inescapably human. This is quite honestly the best Young Adult fiction I have read in a very long time. Buckle up—this is one wild ride!” — Andrew Smith, author of the Michael L. Printz Honor Book Grasshopper Jungle
“With Dark Room Etiquette, Robin Roe has surely cemented herself as one of the most compelling and honest YA writers of our time. Through searing and haunting prose, this exploration of trauma, identity, and resiliency will take your breath away—but not your light.” — John Corey Whaley, Printz winning author of Where Things Come Back
“Raw, dark, and equal parts funny and poignant, Dark Room Etiquette is about a broken boy fighting against a very broken world. It's a book that is a reminder that even though life may take and take and take, there can be hope on the other side! An impressive and soul-stirring read.” — Jay Coles, author of the critically-acclaimed Tyler Johnson Was Here and Things We Couldn't Say
“DARK ROOM ETIQUETTE is an utterly harrowing, enthralling, and ultimately hopeful exploration of survival and the journey of recovery from trauma. This book will make you think, but more importantly, it will make you feel.” — Jeff Zentner, Morris Award winning author of The Serpent King
“Haunting, beautiful, and impossible to put down, Dark Room Etiquette is nothing short of a masterpiece. Expertly paced with unforgettable characters and addictive, gorgeous writing, Robin Roe offers up a story that is as deeply thrilling as it is profound.” — Amber Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Way I Used to Be
"A stunning achievement in psychological terror. I couldn't look away." — Gretchen McNeil, author of Ten and #murdertrending
“There are no easy answers for Sayers’ issues, but with determination and help from key friends, he finds hope… A deep dive into trauma, with light at the end of the tunnel.” — Kirkus Reviews
"[A] gripping and impossible-to-put-down read." — Booklist
Praise for A List of Cages: “A LIST OF CAGES is painful, devastating, beautiful and brilliant.” (starred review) — Shelf Awareness
“Emotion courses through every sentence of this novel, whether it is love, compassion, or bone-chilling cruelty. A triumphant story about the power of friendship and of truly being seen.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A page-turner with a lot of compassion.” — Booklist (starred review)
“A psychologically taut tale of foster brothers unexpectedly reunited . . . Written with honesty and compassion, this book will resonate with a wide range of readers.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Emotional, visceral, and heartbreaking, this novel offers expertly rendered characters and beautiful language. A potent and moving work. Do not pass over this book.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“This is Roe’s first novel, and it’s impressive. Julian’s and Adam’s perspectives alternate, moments of beauty and humor interspersed with scenes of abuse and violence. While the crimes she portrays are truly vile, their evil can’t stand up to the goodness in her protagonists, and the lesson that every kindness matters.” — The New York Times Book Review
“I love this book with my whole heart. A LIST OF CAGES is beautifully, achingly real. A heartbreaking yet hopeful reminder that kindness and love can change the world.” — Jennifer Niven, New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places
“A remarkably gripping and moving tale of a life saved—in more than one way—by the power of friendship.” — Emma Donoghue, author of Room
Shelf Awareness
Praise for A List of Cages: “A LIST OF CAGES is painful, devastating, beautiful and brilliant.” (starred review)
Andrew Smith
I absolutely loved DARK ROOM ETIQUETTE. What a surprising, gripping, jolt-of-adrenaline novel Robin Roe has crafted! DARK ROOM ETIQUETTE is guaranteed to keep you awake at night, and not just because of suspense—you will not be able to stop reading it. What Robin Roe has done with the story of Sayers Wayte is refreshing and remarkable: We get to see the true evolution of his character through iterations that are at times repulsive, heroic, and yet inescapably human. This is quite honestly the best Young Adult fiction I have read in a very long time. Buckle up—this is one wild ride!
Kathleen Glasgow
"Intense and visceral, Dark Room Etiquette is an unforgettable story about trauma, resilience, and hope. A powerful, raw, and ultimately touching survival story.
Jeff Zentner
DARK ROOM ETIQUETTE is an utterly harrowing, enthralling, and ultimately hopeful exploration of survival and the journey of recovery from trauma. This book will make you think, but more importantly, it will make you feel.”
Jay Coles
Raw, dark, and equal parts funny and poignant, Dark Room Etiquette is about a broken boy fighting against a very broken world. It's a book that is a reminder that even though life may take and take and take, there can be hope on the other side! An impressive and soul-stirring read.
John Corey Whaley
With Dark Room Etiquette, Robin Roe has surely cemented herself as one of the most compelling and honest YA writers of our time. Through searing and haunting prose, this exploration of trauma, identity, and resiliency will take your breath away—but not your light.
Jennifer Niven
I burned through the pages of Dark Room Etiquette—riveted, transfixed, and deeply moved by Sayers’ journey and Roe’s stunning prose. This book is important and necessary and filled with love and hope. I ached when I finished. The best sort of ache. The kind that haunts you. Dear readers everywhere: read this now.
Gretchen McNeil
"A stunning achievement in psychological terror. I couldn't look away."
Amber Smith
Haunting, beautiful, and impossible to put down, Dark Room Etiquette is nothing short of a masterpiece. Expertly paced with unforgettable characters and addictive, gorgeous writing, Robin Roe offers up a story that is as deeply thrilling as it is profound.”
School Library Journal
10/01/2022
Gr 9 Up—Roe's abduction thriller opens with protagonist Sayers "Saye" Wayte chained in a room, beholden and captive to a man with an unknown motive. Roe quickly shifts the narrative to the start of Saye's junior year at Laurel High School, where readers learn of his popularity, wealth, and complete disregard for the rules. The first chapters show Saye, knowing the influence of the Wayte family name, interrupt a school assembly, bully a fellow student without consequences, and cut class to hang out with his friends. This is when he is abducted, with his captor, Caleb, believing Saye to be his missing son, Daniel. Caleb forces Daniel's identity onto Saye through emotional and physical abuse, and almost a full year passes before Saye is rescued. The final third of the book encompasses Saye's recovery from the trauma, and how he makes amends while trying to forge a new identity. Unfortunately, Saye's entitlement and actions in the early chapters make him hard to identify with, and supporting characters are flat, two-dimensional, and default to white. The captivity is disturbing, but it proceeds too slowly to hold readers' interest. References to drugs, sex, and alcohol exist, but connect to school events and exist separately from Saye's abduction. VERDICT The premise certainly grabs interest, but a lack of strong supporting characters, slow plot development, and a meandering resolution will frustrate even the most patient readers. Not recommended.—Michael Van Wambeke
Kirkus Reviews
2022-07-27
A teen’s sense of self is unsettled by a kidnapping.
After a prologue reveals the hero’s captive status, the story introduces Sayers Wayte as he was before—an uber-wealthy, hard-partying, privilege-flaunting Texas teen who’s falling in with a meaner crowd (including a friendship with a bully who ridicules Sayers’ best friend for his bisexuality and targets a vulnerable nerd in encounters that rapidly escalate to disturbing levels off-page). The first act balances Sayers’ charm and potential with his character failings while keeping readers guessing who the kidnapper will be (and what their motivations are). Once he’s been kidnapped, Sayers must attempt to manipulate his kidnapper by playing along with who the kidnapper wants him to be—at first, it’s a ruse to create chances to try to escape, but eventually Sayers’ identity and feelings toward his kidnapper begin to blur. A dangerous discovery pushes his mind to the brink to protect him and keep him alive. Unlike hostage stories that end with the rescue, Roe digs deep into what happens in the aftermath as Sayers tries to learn how to be a functioning individual again and struggles with rebuilding his entire self. There are no easy answers for Sayers’ issues, but with determination and help from key friends, he finds hope. Aside from a character with a Guatemalan father, most characters default to White.
A deep dive into trauma, with light at the end of the tunnel. (Thriller. 15-18)
