Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Series: Standalone
Genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Published: September 13, 2010
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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.

Review ~

I couldn't read from a smart 5 year old perspective. He changes, a lot, I mean, by intelligence. One moment, he's how a five year old should act, the next, he describes and says words too complicated for a five year old who's spent his life in a room, thinking that's the whole world. I would always usually think this is being told from an adult's point of view while reading for a moment or two, and then he starts using toddler language, and it really just ruins the whole thing.

“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”

When reading Room though, a smart five year old's perspective is a benefit, because you felt like you were there, not just reading some lousy old kid's limited words, there were details, not complicated or bizarre, but enough so that you could imagine what kind of life they were living in. Emma Donoghue had done an amazing job writing details so vividly clear that you could be scared out of your mind at on point while reading, or you could be jumping up and down out of happiness. It's simply amazing.

“Everybody's damaged by something.”

Here's the thing though. I liked reading when they were in the room and when they were doing something amazing, but I kind of sped through the second half of the book, which is the part where J___ Sa__ Ma and Es____. Yea, you get it right? Sorry, no spoilers, fill in the blank. :) Jack's mother was definitely my favorite character out of all. I saw her develop and change if you compare the first half and the second half of the book. She's brave and loving for a woman who's been kidnapped and trapped for seven/eight years of her life, and when a miracle happens, you could definitely see the change!

“Stories are a different kind of true.”

And the ending? Sure, it wasn't one of those books with a sad ending, it's one of those with a happy ending, and you're so filled with joy about the joys that occurred in this books that you don't even care this book is over! It's a compelling story, one that will captivate your mind until you're done with it.

Instead of my usual signature, I've decided to add a trailer for the book. Enjoy!