Room: A Novel

Room: A Novel is the kind of book that is better the less you know about it.

Even the product description, and probably most of the reviews you will read will give you more information than you need to know and it will spoil some of the wonder of letting the story unfold before you.

So this review won’t tell you much about this book. What I can tell you is that it lives up to the hype. It’s a poignant, thoughtful, and completely original book.

What makes it original? — the way of looking at the world, the use of a smart 5-year-old narrator who takes things at face-value.

What makes it poignant and thoughtful? — the theme of how deep a mother’s love goes, how motherhood is instinctive, how a 5-year-old looks at the world.

If you want more, I’ll share the summary from the back of my ARC. I don’t think that it tells too much, but I believe that I read it without even knowing that, because of all the hype this book had gotten (specifically from the publishing community at Book Expo America). So if you want to read the summary, go ahead — without worry. If not, just stop now and run out and buy this book and experience it yourself.

Jacket summary:

To five-year old Jack, Room is the entire world. It’s where he was born, where he and his Ma eat and play and learn. At night Ma puts him safely to sleep in the wardrobe, in case Old Nick comes.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it’s the prison where she’s been held for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for her son. But Jack’s curiosity is building alongside Ma’s desperation — and she knows Room cannot contain either indefinitely.

Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.

Like what you see? We invite you to check out our current giveaways, subscribe to our feed, and/or follow us @5M4B on Twitter or at 5 Minutes for Books.com on Facebook.

Jennifer Donovan loves the opportunity to wrap her head around worlds and situations which she would never encounter, save in the pages of a good book. She blogs about her ordinary life at Snapshot.