Room

Definitely one of the more disturbing books I've read, Room tells the story of Jack, a 5-year-old, living in an 11 foot by 11 foot Room, with his Ma. Room is Jack's home, and Ma's prison. It's where she has been trapped for seven years. Told from Jack's point of view, you cannot put down this book once you start. However disgusting it was at parts, it was impossible for me to tear my eyes off the page. The story of Jack and Ma is horrible - Ma was kidnapped off the streets at 19 and forced to live in Room (a shed in her captor's backyard) and be a sex slave for 7 years, giving birth to two children, but only one survived. Jack, though, has no idea anything is wrong. To him, anything outside the walls of Room, "Outer Space" as he calls it, isn't real. It simply doesn't exist. Ma has created this world for him, but it will only keep him for so long. I don't want to give anything else away, but I highly recommend reading this ONLY if you can read heavy material that is the topic of Room. At first, I was reluctant to read Room for fear of looking at something as horrible and obscene as kidnapping and rape through the eyes of a little kid. I didn't know what to expect, and I thought the child wouldn't be able to understand what was going on therefore I would be confused on what was happening. These thoughts were immediately dispelled when I began reading. While this is definitely not a novel I would read again and again, it is definitley one I'm glad I read, and I hope you will be too. Rating: ★★★★