I was held spellbound from the moment I began reading Room, by Emma Donoghue. No other book has captivated, stunned and engrossed me more than this one. I will never, ever forget Room and its haunting remnants of a mans ability to abuse a woman and a womans haunting perseverance to escape from it. With every passing chapter five-year-old Jacks life in Room uncovered more and more dramatic detail and evidence of how he and his Ma got there. I love how Donoghue mesmerizes me through Jacks words, thoughts, language and his innate ability to sense things without fully understanding them. Without many possessions Jack is still somehow richer than most children. I will always be in awe of how his Ma made unending sacrifices to give her child a sense of normalcy, structure, routine and love under the most abusive circumstances. The normalcy during the abusive captivity unravels when Jack and his Ma must re-learn what normal really is about in the real world and face the fact that it might be more than they bargained for.

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A truly powerful book set in the modern day told from the perspective of a 5 year old born into the single room his mother is held in captivity in by a cruel man they call "Old Nick" who uses her as his sex slave. My mind was entirely blown by this book. It is truly powerful, and I highly recommend it to all who would not find it triggering.

Check out my full review.

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I only read this book because my book club told me to. I suffered through it and I will join the minority by saying that I really did not like it.

First, I have a 5-year-old boy. That fact alone made this book difficult to read. And because my son is 5 and asks a million questions a day, this book wasn't much of an escape for me to read.

Second, the writing style was terribly annoying. I got used to it eventually, but that doesn't make it easier to read. However, the 5-year-old voice and perspective make this book bearable. I could not have read the same story had it been narrated with the mother's voice, thoughts, and reflections.

This book was interesting but it was difficult to read both emotionally and logistically. My book club loved it. I just couldn't get excited very about it, and I cannot say that I would willingly recommend it to anyone else.

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When I first starting reading this book I was turned off. For the first 40-50 pages I felt like a five year old wrote the book. But as the story developed it sucked you in so deeply that I found myself reading faster adn faster to see what was going to happen. It was so realistic that it was heartbreaking yet fascinating all at the same time. I am not sure if the beginning of the book is lacking or if you need to get used to the way it is written in the five year old perspective. Either way this is a wonderful book, it is edgy in its plot, completely enthralling in its delivery and character development and overall a wonderful read

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I bought this book on a whim, before all of the hype came out and must say I wasn't impressed.

I suffered through it and can't say I would recommend it. I was not a fan of the writing style or the long, drawn out beginning and rushed ending.

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After reading Donoghue's excellent novel "The Pull of the Stars" I couldn't wait to read "Room" and I certainly wasn't disappointed. The ability of the author to put herself into the mind of a 5 year old boy (used to be 4) is simply a tour de force of writing ability. She creates a world as the child would see it and thinks like a child would think. The author's task is made even harder because Jack's world has been compressed into an 11 x 11 foot room where he can only glimpse the outside world through a tiny window. The sensory overload that he experiences when he's finally exposed to the real world (not TV) is simply overwhelming and Donoghue expertly captures his confusion and amazement as he attempts to put it all together. I devoured the book and would rate it among my top 20 favorites among the thousands of books I've read over my rather long life. I can't recommend this book more highly. Get it, you won't be sorry.

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Really moving... Great read. Took a few chapters to get into the story, but the payoff was well worth it!

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Jack is five years old. He loves watching 'SpongeBob Squarepants' and 'Dora the Explorer'. He loves playing 'Simon Says' and singing nursery rhymes with his Ma. He loves the candy and chocolates they sometimes get for Sundaytreat.

Jack loves his Ma. He loves Room. To Jack, Room is his entire world. Jack doesn't really understand why Ma doesn't love Room as much as he does.

Room is where Jack was born; it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, Ma makes sure to shut him safely into the wardrobe, where Jack is meant to sleep when Old Nick visits.

To Jack, Room means home; it means safety. But to Ma, Room means prison. Room is the place where Ma has been held for the past seven years.

Yet, her fierce love for her son has made it possible for her to make a life for him. She has created a life for both of them; inside this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But Jack's curiosity is building alongside Ma's own desperation - and she knows for certain that Room cannot contain either for much longer.

I must say that I absolutely loved reading this book. Yes, it was an extremely difficult story to read; terrifyingly and heart-breakingly sad, but also remarkably funny in parts. In my opinion, Ms. Donoghue's writing style is absolutely fabulous; so riveting and poignant. This book is a gripping yet hopeful story - a truly fantastic novel that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I give this book an A+!

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