Review: Room

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Emma Donoghue
Format: Paperback
Pages: 321
Rating: 8 out of 10

Summary (Couldn't live without Goodreads: To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

What I Think: I past this book on the shelves many times before I actually got around to buying it but I'm glad I did. It was not exactly how I imagined. There is a lot of focus on what happens after. I wasn't expecting that but, once I read it, it made sense. Of course the transition wouldn't be easy. I just didn't know how upsetting it would be.

It was interesting to get the story from Jack's perspective. Of course, this means that some of the language is a little off (he's a kid, give him a break). Sometimes he would say things that a young child wouldn't know to use and others it would be very childish. However, this can be overlooked due to content. If this had been written from his mother's perspective it would have been a very different book. It might have become almost unreadable for the pain she must have gone through. I'm glad that it was Jack telling the reader what happened, even if I had to work a little harder to understand what he was trying to tell me at some points. Then again, maybe I'm just slow and my reading comprehension was lacking. Either way, I managed to figure everything out.

It is a very sad story and not to be read by the faint of heart. I didn't cry exactly but I was very upset and felt strongly for the characters. This story is, thankfully, just something so outside of my realm of experience that, for a lot of the story, I wasn't sure how to respond. That said, I came to care about the characters and wanted them to end up alright. I equally had to remind myself that it was a made up story while, also, reminding myself that this happens to people more than we like to believe.

I haven't seen the movie but the awards speak for itself. I think that it reflects how good the book really is. I thought that it was outstanding and well written. It doesn't seem like a book that one might reread over and over again, and it wouldn't be because of the depressing content, but it was so good that I just might reread it anyway.

Basically, I've wanted to read this book for a while and I'm glad I did. It's definitely and adult book and be warned that the content can get pretty upsetting at times. It was worth the read though and I'm looking forward to seeing the movie now.