Room by Emma Donoghue

I know many readers and bloggers have read this one already but I just have to reiterate what an awesome read this one was!  What a fresh and youthful voice Donoghue creates for Jack.  I love the relationship between the mother and son; that even in this horrific situation she has created this room of love and security.  Stolen at 17 by "Old Nick" she has been kept in a restructured and reinforced garden shed at the mercy of his 9:00 visits.  Jack is born from this awful relationship and she nurtures him, teaching him only about what exists in their small world.  They do have a television to watch but Jack thinks everything on it is pretend; nothing real beyond their walls except the nighttime visits of Old Nick. 

The book opens as Jack is turning 5 and his curiosity grows as his "Ma" begins to unveal more than just the existence of their room.  She shares with him bits and pieces of her life before "Room" became her world.  As Jack struggles with this new information and they plot a course to escape both Ma and Jack struggle with what lays before them.  Jack wishes to go back in time to just those few days before he turned 5 when his world was simple and his mother can't bear living in their prison for another moment.  It is heart-breaking as the two of them struggle over what is real and what is not and Jack cannot understand why his mother can't just be happy in room with him as she has been for the last five years.

Janssen's review of Room inspired me to keep it high on my radar even though it took me 2 years to actually check it out from the library.  Such is my crazy busy life but I'm happy to have read it and will continue to recommend it to friends and family.  If you haven't already read this one, give it a try.  Jack will inspire you.  Donoghue has several other novels and want to read down her list.  I would love to know if others were as striking as this one was?  Any suggestions?