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Room

Emma Donoghue

Start date: May 1, 2017

Finish date: May 31, 2017

Discussion: Monthly Bonus Reads

Why we're reading this: May's Bonus Read for Mother's Day is Room by Emma Donoghue. …more
[close] May's Bonus Read for Mother's Day is Room by Emma Donoghue.

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Monthly Bonus Reads

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What Members Thought

Mar 25, 2014 Mariah Roze rated it it was amazing

This book was so good! I picked this up, because this book kept going through my goodreads home page. Also, this book is going to be a movie and I wanted to read it before it came out.
This book made me have to think a lot! I love books that challenge my mind and I love reading about new situations! Also, this book is from a 5 year olds point of view which is a new experience for me to read and a really cool experience :)
I highly recommend this book!

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Aug 07, 2017 *TANYA* rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I saw the movie first and I HAD to read the book. I found this book to be very endearing. What terrible circumstances, but I think Jacks voice made this a very unique read.

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Apr 10, 2016 Marcela rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction

3.5 STARS
Finished reading Room by Emma Donoghue and my first thought describing this book is what an interesting concept—to tell such a harrowing story from the point of view of a five year-old boy named Jack.
The plot follows Jack and his 'Ma' living in captivity in "Room" at the mercy of 'Old Nick,' their captor. This book made me think of how -sadly- the plot is based on real events, and how there are a few cases of young women that have lived through such horrific circumstances.
Even though 3.5 STARS
Finished reading Room by Emma Donoghue and my first thought describing this book is what an interesting concept—to tell such a harrowing story from the point of view of a five year-old boy named Jack.
The plot follows Jack and his 'Ma' living in captivity in "Room" at the mercy of 'Old Nick,' their captor. This book made me think of how -sadly- the plot is based on real events, and how there are a few cases of young women that have lived through such horrific circumstances.
Even though I was quickly enthralled with the premise of this book, it took me a while to get used to Jack's voice. Being a second grade teacher of students learning English, I am constantly rephrasing my students' grammar errors. Given the fact that the whole book is told from Jack's perspective, I had to adjust to reading all of his grammar mistakes and continue reading without the need to stop and mentally correct. I think that one thing that really helped me to start overlooking the grammar errors was that Jack is a very likable character—like all five year-olds in my opinion— and one cannot help but root for him and his Ma to escape this horrendous imprisonment.
I would recommend this book with the caution of the POV and what that entitles.
These were some of the memorable quotes:
”I'd love to watch TV all the time, but it rots our brains. Before I came down from Heaven Ma left it on all day long and got turned into a zombie that's like a ghost but walks 'thump thump.' So now she always switches off after one show, then the cells multiply again in the day and we can watch another show after dinner and grow more brains in our sleep.”
”Everywhere I'm looking at kids, adults mostly don't seem to like them, not even the parents do. They call the kids gorgeous and so cute, they make the kids do the thing all over again so they can take a photo, but they don't want to actually play with them, they'd rather drink coffee talking to other adults. Sometimes there's a small kid crying and the Ma of it doesn't even hear.” ...more

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Jan 09, 2016 Will rated it really liked it

Oh my, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book, but after all I liked it, I was expecting a lot more at the ending , but oh well, at least it concluded in something. The main characters (Mom and Jack) were difficult I felt bad for them and felt their sorrow but sometimes they were just AHHHH!, I wanted to slap them, jack is a peculiar little boy , whom I wonder if he was really 5 years old, that boy is smart as hell (credit to her mom), but sometimes he did act like a five year old which ...more

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Jul 13, 2014 Mary Beth Weidman rated it really liked it

This book is the kind that sneaks up on you...the kind that you see on the library shelf, or read about on Goodreads, and think, "I guess that sounds pretty good." You pick it up on a whim, and then when you're reading it, you're so glad you picked it up at all. Intense, at times disturbing, but touching and powerful, Room is a book you won't soon forget about. ...more

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