Staff Pick
Emma Donoghue mines current headlines for her harrowing account of a young woman held captive in a room for years. Forced to bear a child by her captor, "Ma" becomes increasingly desperate to escape her one-room hell. On the other hand, Jack, her 5-year-old son, loves the Room; it is his entire world. Narrated by Jack, this terrifying story is so worth the angst you will experience reading it. Heartbreaking, hopeful, gripping, and flat-out fantastic, Room will stay with you long after you put it down. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the world. . . . It s where hewas born. It s where he and Ma eat and sleep and play andlearn. There are endless wonders that let loose Jack s imagination -- the snake under Bed that he constructs out of eggshells;the imaginary world projected through the TV; the coziness ofWardrobe beneath Ma s clothes, where she tucks him in safelyat night, in case Old Nick comes.
Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it s the prison whereshe s been held since she was nineteen -- for seven long years.Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life forhim in that eleven-by-eleven foot space. But Jack s curiosity isbuilding alongside Ma s own desperation, and she knows thatRoom cannot contain either indefinitely. . . . Told in the inventive, funny and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration ofresilience -- and a powerful story of a mother and son whoselove lets them survive the impossible."