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As the mom of a four year old boy named Jack this book definitely grabbed me and held on tight. As I was reading I kept thinking about the life this woman created for her son even though they were living in an 11x11 shed. I was amazed at how thoughtful and purposeful she was-structuring their time and managing to build a world where her son was actually happy, oblivious to the fact that they were living in captivity. It made me think about the way I structure things for my own kids-how would I h
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This book grabbed me up and would not let go. It's not so much that I enjoyed the story as that I felt like I had to be there for Jack and Ma while they were going through this experience, and I had to find out what happened to them. Wow. Reading this was such an intense experience, that I now feel emotionally wiped out. Telling the story from Jack's point of view, who is a five-year-old, was simply brilliant. He doesn't know any other life except in Room, and the starkness of their situation is
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I was hooked right from the beginning, if work had not gotten in the way I would have finished the book last night, so with only four hours of sleep left for me and the promise of hot coffee in the morning I finally put the book away.
At first it bothered me a little the way Jack was portrayed as a five year old especially since that's the age group I mostly work with at school, however then I reminded myself that this was a highly unusual circumstance and his mother was abducted at 19 and did th ...more
At first it bothered me a little the way Jack was portrayed as a five year old especially since that's the age group I mostly work with at school, however then I reminded myself that this was a highly unusual circumstance and his mother was abducted at 19 and did th ...more

The reader for the unabridged audio version did a fantastic job of capturing Jack's voice as a strange five-year-old who, until midway through the book, has never been outside of Room. The story, told from Jack's perspective, is of a kidnapping and rape victim who is imprisoned in a reinforced garden shed and her son, Jack, who was born in the shed.
The imagining of the way Jack and his "Ma" spent their days in Room, the games and inside jokes they created, and the way Ma shaped Jack's world for ...more
The imagining of the way Jack and his "Ma" spent their days in Room, the games and inside jokes they created, and the way Ma shaped Jack's world for ...more

Underwhelmed.I am truly glad I didn't buy this book. The idea for the tale might have conceivably worked well if the author had had any idea how to write it from the point of view of the child. I had to keep putting it down because it annoyed the hell out of me to have this kid speak of every noun in his life as a single word with a capital letter. Nobody talks like that! And surely his mother had plenty of time to correct this singularly un-endearing habit.
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What an amazing book! I was hesitant to pick this up, as the entire book is told from the perspective of a five-year-old and I wasn't sure how that would work. I give huge credit to Emma Donaghue for not only making this book work, but for making a poignant story from a very different perspective.
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I seem to be on a bit of a kidnapping story kick right now and this one was as good as the others I've read this fall. Told from the point of view of a five year old, we see the world through Jack's eyes and his world consists of only one room, actually a storage shed. As events unfold, Jack's perception of the world changes. This novel is very well written and unique in its premises as far as I know. It really kept me interested through the entire book.
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What can I say? Just read it! (Room was listed in Booklist magazine as being one of the top ten best books for the year 2010).

I loved this book. I read it in a couple of hours and was mesmerized. I think Emma captured the voice of this very special 5 year old perfectly. While highly intelligent, there were telltale signs of how off he was with the social aspect. It will definately make me think twice when I hear of captives going free into the world and how horrible must be to try and adapt.

Aug 23, 2010
Gaijinmama
marked it as to-read

Aug 28, 2010
Christina
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
contemporary,
2011-reads

Oct 02, 2010
Julianne
marked it as to-read


Oct 13, 2010
Kristina
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2011,
own-kindle

Nov 17, 2010
Catina Hadijski
marked it as to-read

Sep 11, 2016
Amanda A
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
overdrive,
read-in-2016

Jan 05, 2011
Kiki
marked it as to-read

Jan 09, 2011
Katie
marked it as to-read