Rod Labbe ‘The Blue Classroom’ Review

Written by: Vitina Molgaard

His life was a sort of dream, as are most lives with the mainspring left out.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Rod Labbe is a new author, for me and what a journey my first foray into his realm has been. Here is a man who catches your attention immediately with his talent for the use of language. He’s quite simply a highly  skilled and fluid writer. And The Blue Classroom is a daring tale that deals with the supernatural. The story delivers a rich Gothic feel as Labbe braves what many may feel is an attack on the Catholic Church and the hypocrisy that has long lived within religion itself.

For years Sister Emmanuel taught second graders at Immaculate Heart of Mary Academy. But what she taught there was primarily fear, using sadistic measures and torture infused with the fear of God and herself. This woman was extremely effective during her reign of terror, which finally ended in the fall of 1957, when she met her violent death.

It didn’t end there. For forty years her past students had kept her secret method of teaching quiet, but this all comes to an end as various students begin to come together and decide it is time to reveal what had really happened within her blue classroom. All Hell begins to break loose as they gather and try to fight off not only their own personal demons but also the one they had once recognized as their teacher, who is apparently not resting in peace.

I am leaving the remaining details of this excellent story for you. It’s worth a read, if not two. It should be known that while its setting is deeply ensconced in the church and the many secrets that have been brought to life – quite literally – it does not rely on that aspect alone to bring terror and character to life. There is so much more that happens here that makes this a worthwhile tale of horror and nightmarish behavior. Just be prepared to think about the inhumanity that exists in the real world and the damage it can do to the human soul.

The Blue Classroom is a fine novel that will keep you turning the pages. Do yourself proper justice and pick it up (right here).

Rating: 5/5