ROOM by Emma Donoghue

I'm home sick today and feel pretty sickish. That's something like Jack would say from ROOM. And I have fallen in love with Jack.

He's a five year old boy who has lived his entire short life in an 11 X 11 converted storage shed with his mother...Ma. Room is all he's ever known.

The circumstances that land his mother in Room are harrowing and heartbreaking. But Ma, like any mother worth her salt, has made a life for her little boy inside Room. Jack is happy. Ma is not. She knows she has to get out...get him out...get him away from Old Nick.

ROOM is unlike any book I've ever read because of a few things. The way Ms. Donoghue uses the language is very unique - like Jack. She masterfully has climbed inside of a five year old's head and tells the story through his eyes...not hers. She is a genius.

I read the book in one day. One short day is all it took for me to get lost inside of Jack's head. I felt his wonder, his love, and ultimately his fear. I think it was his innocence that will stay with me, even more than his fear (which is heartbreaking and had me unable to stop reading). Yeah, it was definitely his innocence.

Thank you Ms. Donoghue for creating this character and for writing this book. Your story will stay with me for a long, long time. And that's what writing is all about.