Apartment 713

Jake and his mom move into the Regency, a very old, very dilapidated apartment building, because his mom lost her job. It is an understatement to say that Jake is not thrilled with this development. He used to have a pretty great life filled with friends, TV, and video games. Now, he is living in a sketchy part of town where his friends wouldn’t dare come.
When he just can’t stand the four walls of his new bedroom any longer, he finally ventures past the door of the apartment. Soon he starts to meet some of the dubious individuals that call the Regency home, and he finds himself helping Larry, the apartment’s superintendent. The secrets of the old building that Jake learns while working with Larry intrigue Jake, and he starts to wonder about the Regency’s history. For example, around the outside of the building, reads an inscription which encapsulates what Jake will come to learn during the novel – while also setting the stage for one of the mysteries of the tale. The inscription reads, “A home is a place with heart. A heart makes a place a home. This is my home. You are always welcome here.”

The reader follows Jake who, through his explorations, begins to develop an appreciation and love of the grandeur and mysteries of the Regency. As the Regency starts to reveal its secrets, Jake also opens himself to his new experiences and develops relationships with the odd cast of characters that also call the Regency home. Like the Regency, many of these characters have a depth that Jake would never have guessed based on his first impressions of them. It turns out that the person who created the Regency had a different way of viewing the world. As Larry explains, “So the deal was – and is – come stay here, contribute what you can as rent, and if you ever hit some kind of success, you give back. But remember that inscription I told you about? Once you’re here, you’ve always got a place to come back to. As long as there’s space.” As a result, all of the people staying at the Regency are people who need a little help for a variety of reasons, and Jake has found purpose by being one of the people to provide that help. Then the rug is pulled out from under him again; the city has decided to tear down the old building. The long-term lease agreement signed between the city and the original builder, Mr. Williams, has expired. In six months, the residents will be evicted, and the building will be demolished. It will take a miracle to save it!

Which brings the reader – and Jake – to apartment 713. Although Larry said that apartment 713 is off limits, Jake is mysteriously summoned to the apartment. When he opens the door, he finds himself in the past, during the Regency’s construction. Maybe travelling to the past will help him solve the problem of the building’s imminent destruction in the future. With his new friend, Beth, guiding him, Jake sets out to find a way to save the Regency. In the process, he uncovers forgotten secrets and meets many legends of the day, including Louis Armstrong, Babe Ruth, Cool Papa Bell, and a painter introduced simply as Georgia. Unfortunately, the novel lacks a notes section to provide historical notes for the curious student. As a result, I suspect that students who aren’t history buffs may miss the rich historical details and people the author used to create the world of the Regency.

Apartment 713 is one part scavenger hunt, one part a love letter to a bygone era, and two parts a story of finding oneself through helping others. In fact, most of the secondary characters in the novel are portrayed helping others. Of course, Apartment 713 is also a fun tale filled with secret rooms, mysteries to solve, and adventures to share. Sylvester has created a realistic young person, disillusioned with misfortune, but whose curiosity opens a world worth discovering under the grime of his day-to-day situation.

Apartment 713 is an uplifting novel with a positive message – something our readers may be willing to follow their own scavenger hunt to find.