WOW. This book was GOOD. I could not put it down, and even when I did put it down it was always in the back of my mind. Shocking and sad and haunting, yet hopeful at the same time. Told in the voice of Jack, a five year old boy who knows of nothing in the world except Room (an 11 x 11 foot space), this is an extremely powerful story that will leave you thinking about the subject for days. An exceptional book that I will never forget.

Synopsis from book cover:

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the world. It’s where he was born, it’s where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. There are endless wonders that let loose Jack’s imagination – the snake under Bed that he constructs out of egg shells, the imaginary world projected through the TV, the coziness of Wardrobe below Ma’s clothes, where she tucks him in safely at night in case Old Nick comes.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it’s the prison where she has been held since she was nineteen– for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in that eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But Jack’s curiosity is building alongside her own desperation – and she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.

Told in the poignant and funny voice of Jack, Room is a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child. It is a shocking, exhilarating, and riveting novel – but always deeply human and always moving.

Spread the word, Room is breathtaking.

I just returned from the library, where I borrowed my very first book on CD. Since I have a pretty decent commute to work every day, I’ve decided to give this “book on tape” thing a go. There was one thing holding me back in this decision: I love to read. I love to look at the words on the paper, proccess them in my brain, and make meaning through the writing. I’m nervous that a book on tape won’t be the same experience. I mean, it’s not my voice I will be hearing anymore, it’s the narrators. And he/she won’t read the book exactly like I would read it. So what if it’s not the same? Well, I’ve decided to start off with something light. Although I do enjoy some of those fun “girly” books out there, they are not usually the ones I pick up and read. I’m more of a “this story is so intense/I’m crying my eyes out/these characters are so intriguing” sort of reader. My feeling is, there are SO many AMAZING stories out there about people and culture and experiences that there is NO WAY I will ever read them all so those are the genres I usually go for. But every once in a while I do love a light read and for my first book on CD I made the decision that this was the type of book that I wanted to start out with.

And so, after perusing through the CD books at the library, I came across Emily Griffin’s Something Borrowed. I’ve always seen this book out there, but never gave much thought to reading it. After checking it out I popped it into the CD player and began to listen to Chapter 1 while running errands this afternoon. So far, I’m really excited about it, and think it will be great for my rides in the car. Weirdly, I already can’t wait for tomorrow (MONDAY) morning, for my ride to work and my time with Rachel, who’s gotten herself into a real pickle with Dex, her best friend’s fiance. I think I made the right choice with this one! Who knew Mondays (and car rides to work) could be so exciting?