Title: Room
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: September 13, 2010
Hardcover: 336 pages
Where’d I Get It: For Review from the Publisher

Synopsis (From 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.

My Thoughts: Wow.  Really, just wow.  This book is, by far, my favorite read of 2010.  I admit that coming into it, I was skeptical.  SO much hype, so much buzz, so much chatter about how wonderful and fantastic and lovely this book is…could it really hold up to that? Could it deliver as promised?  Oh yes…yes it could. It does. It did. Room is -spectacular- on so many levels.

The story is told from the point of view of Jack, a 5 year old little boy who has never seen the world beyond that of the single room in which he and his mother live.  His world consists of that room, his Ma, and the fantasy land inside the television.  It’s amazing how spot on the author was able to portray a curious, intelligent, and yet very socially handicapped young child.  His voice was so plaintive, so real, that it makes the reader want to reach into the pages and hug him close.

I could just go on and on about every tiny little thing that I absolutely loved about this book, but I still don’t think that I could really do it justice.  The novel just packs such a huge emotional punch that you really have to read it yourself to experience the beauty of the author’s story.  Read Room.  You will absolutely not regret it.

Rating: 10 of 10

Bellaesque Rating: Not Applicable

As stated in my lovely FTC Disclaimer below, I was not paid, lured, snuggled, patted, or prodded in exchange for this review.  It is my honest opinion, and it’s a free opinion. 🙂