"Rooms" is a ghost story. But not the typical kind of ghost story -- these ghosts are woven into the house they occupy. Always watching and aware. 
 And while it seems like just an artistic conceit at first, Lauren Oliver puts it to good use in her first novel for adults. "Rooms" moves slowly and painstakingly for a long time, as Oliver explores the personalities of the dysfunctional Walker family. But once she starts weaving the supernatural into the everyday, the novel begins its slow build towards the inevitable eruption. 
 After a long illness, Richard Walker has died in his country house. The ghosts Alice and Sandra are kind of relieved by this, especially when the rest of the Walker clan returns to the house -- the ex-wife Caroline, who dulls her pain with booze; suicidal teen son Trenton, who has barely recovered from a serious car crash; and wild daughter Minna, a single mom who immerses herself in sex and cosmetic surgery. 
 They're completely uncomfortable around each other, almost as uncomfortable as the reserved Alice is around the vulgar, blunt Sandra -- both of whom have their own secrets that still haunt them even after they die. As the family unwillingly spends time together, their problems and secrets begin to surface -- and the arrival of a new ghost causes new complications when Trenton senses her presence. 
 Though it has ghosts in it, "Rooms" is not really a ghost story. Alice and Sandra are more like a pair of grumpy old ladies living in the attic than something scary or even spooky -- they observe the people who lived there, and bicker between themselves. No, this is more of a story about the human characters, and the ghosts really are just another set of people in it. 
 Oliver's writing is clear and fluid, neither too stark nor too flowery. She switches perspectives with rare skill, flitting from first-person to third person seamlessly, and giving each person's thoughts a different flavor. And she conjures a thick fog of discontent and haunting misery, slowly untangling each character's story and exploring just why they are here, and why they are the way they are. It's a little TOO slow, actually. 
 And if there's a message, it's that people's secrets, resentments and lies will ultimately entrap them. Everyone in the book is trapped -- sometimes literally (by walls, wire and doors) and sometimes through depression or anger. The slow-burning plot starts to move faster as the secrets are revealed, building up to an inevitable... well, when you release that much energy, something has to blow. 
 The biggest problem is quite honestly the characters. Nobody in the book is very likable except Trenton -- and yes, that includes the ghosts -- and the gathering of damaged, distant people who barely tolerate each other becomes kind of tiresome by the halfway point. The closest to a likable character would probably be Trenton, a depressed teen boy who often seems to be lost in his own darkness. He spends a lot of time mulling over the possibility of suicide, his past near-death experience, and public humiliation. Poor kid. 
 "Rooms" is too slow and bleak for its own good, but Oliver's excellent writing and intriguing storycraft make it worth the read. Just don't expect spooky woo-woo ghosts.