Room by Emma Donoghue

Jack is a sweet little boy, curious, and mature for his age.  He's intelligent and he loves his Ma more than anything in the world.  Jack's world is a small room in a shed, in a back of a yard.  His Ma and him are locked in, with only a TV with bunny ears that is often fuzzy to view the world 'outside.'  Old Nick tricked Ma 7 years ago, and she's been in Room ever since.  Jack doesn't know that the TV is the world though, he thinks its not real, he believes his Room is his real.  Soon, Ma convinces Jack to pretend he's dead, and he does an amazing job.  He's the savior of their little world, saving Ma and him from a lifetime in Room.  This book takes the reader on a journey through the eyes of a 5 year old little boy, who is very intelligent, his Ma does an amazing job of teaching him to read and write, explaining things in a way he understands.  Soon, Ma and Jack are thrust into the world, Jack is brand new to the world, he's never even been outside in the fresh air before.  He is experiencing everything in the world that you and I would take for granted.  The colors of paints, shoes, foods, anything that we as a culture experience every single day, is brand new for this remarkable 5 year old child.  There are, of course, ups and downs when it comes to living in the 'outside.'  It gets stressful, difficult and at times, he just wants to go back to Room with his Ma.  Ma has a difficult time adjusting as well, 7 years is a long time to be locked away from society, away from the world, people, and family.  The world has changed, people moved on, family has grown.  All in all, this is an amazingly heart wrenching book.  You won't want to put it down after a while.  Wanting to see what could happen next.  What happens to Jack, what happens to Ma.  How are they able to move on and live now that they are outside of Room.  Attachments and change are hard to deal with, especially when you are only 5 years old.

I loved this book.  I will admit that at first, it was a bit difficult trying to read in a 5 year olds language, but the author does a very good job relating to Jack.  You really feel as if you are right there with him.  You end up wanting to hold this sweet child, and make him feel loved.  You may even want to scold him when he does something any other 5 year old would do.  I felt that this book portrayed the characters accurately.  As a Mother, I just wanted to hold onto my children and be grateful for my own life.  I would highly recommend this book, its a MUST read for all.  It will make you want to cry, want to laugh, and want to yell.  That, in my opinion, is what I call a good book.  When it can elicit emotions from the reader.  This book may not be a true story, but it very well could be.  I enjoyed it, and I hope you do as well.