Room

I finished reading Room by Emma Donoghue a couple of days ago, and I got to say it's a hard book to put down.  This story is told from the point of view of five-year old Jack.  Jack and his mother live in an eleven-by-eleven foot room, the room where Jack was born.  Jack has never been outside of the room he calls home, and his Ma hasn't since she was locked inside of it seven years ago, not that she hasn't tired, though.  The only things they ever see of the outside are through their TV, and the only window they have, a skylight.

Their prison is sound proof, and kept locked by a security door, and only Old Nick, the man who put Jack's Ma there, knows the code to get them out.  Jack doesn't know his home is a prison though; in fact Jack loves it, because it’s the only home he’s never known.  He doesn't know much about Old Nick, either, not even his real name.  He only knows that Old Nick comes at night, after Ma puts him in the wardrobe, and leaves them their Sunday treat.  He doesn't know that this isn't how people are supposed live, or that the TV isn't an imaginary world, and he's content to stay that way.  But, when Old Nick's house goes into foreclosure, Jack's Ma realizes that if her and Jack don’t escape soon, they probably won’t be alive much longer.  So Jack’s Ma comes up with a plan, that just might get Jack out, and if everything works out, her as well.  I would recommend that anyone read this book, because in Jack’s world there is never a dull moment.