Room in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jul 13, 2016 Jamie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: general-fiction, contemporary

I loved getting this from Jack's perspective. The innocence of it all helps tone down the darker truth but also adds an emotional depth to the story. I admire his mother a lot. She was just a young woman who ended up in the worst situation imaginable for years. Yet she did the best she could in raising him. Strong woman! It broke my heart their living situation and how everyone treats them and the struggles they both face. This one in an emotional one. You have to be cold to not feel anything wh ...more

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Oct 30, 2015 Iris rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2015

No estoy llorando, tengo feelings en los ojos.

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Oct 15, 2011 Gina rated it liked it

Shelves: library, psychological-fiction, kidnapping

I kept putting off reading this book because all I heard was how sad it was. Sometimes when I read things that are emotionally heavy, I just have a hard time removing myself from the emotions. But I finally got the book from the library because I didn't want to spend money on a book that I was hesitant to read in the first place. The story begins on Jack's fifth birthday and then goes on to tell the story of Jack and "Ma" who are being held prisoner by "Old Nick" in an 11 x 11 square foot room. I kept putting off reading this book because all I heard was how sad it was. Sometimes when I read things that are emotionally heavy, I just have a hard time removing myself from the emotions. But I finally got the book from the library because I didn't want to spend money on a book that I was hesitant to read in the first place. The story begins on Jack's fifth birthday and then goes on to tell the story of Jack and "Ma" who are being held prisoner by "Old Nick" in an 11 x 11 square foot room. The reader spends many days with Jack and Ma and learn that Ma gave birth to Jack while being held captivity in Room. It is clear that Ma has tried to educate Jack with the many stories she knows along with the television, but in order to protect Jack, she leads him to believe that the world is only Room and outside the door is outerspace. He thinks that what he sees on television isn't real and that only Ma, Old Nick and him are "real". 5 year old Jack is the narrator of the story and he calls everything in the room by its noun as if it were the name. For example..."We move Table over to beside Bath so we can sunbathe on Rug right under Skyligt when it's extra warm." Ma is creative in trying to fill the days with activities with very little actual things...Phys Ed by running around the room or jumping on the bed, Parrot by repeating what was just said on TV, crafts with used toilet paper tubes, spaghetti, and old egg shells. Jack only sees Old Nick from his sleepint place in "Wardrobe" and doesn't undertstand the situation they are in. Finally, after some questioning, Ma tells Jack the truth that what he sees on TV is actually real and there is a whole world out there that they are missing and comes up with an escape plan. I don't want to say much else to avoid spoilers.

There was so much hype around this book, especially with Jaycee Dugard coming into the news. I had very high expectations for this book, but they weren't met. At first it is interesting to have the story told in the voice of Jack but after a few chapters it becomes quite tedious. I got very tired of everything being named and the writing became dull. I started to skim quite a bit in places so I just got the gist of what was happening in the story. Like many other reviewers, I had a hard time believing that a child who could use words such as omnivore and quinoa and could do square roots had such poor grammar and speaking abilities. For example he said he got hurted instead of he got hurt. Ma did correct his grammar sometimes but for someone who worked so hard to educate him, it definitely was a deviation for her not to help him speak correctly. The escape plan was pretty unbelievable as well as the reast of the story. We were unable to learn much of Ma's phsychological state or the details of Ma's abduction and her life before Jack because of the limitations of having Jack as a narrator. There were other parts of the plotline dealing with Ma that were just skimmed and I would like to have read more about Ma's thoughts and experiences. It would have been nice to switch narrator at different times to get more detail.

All and all, I am glad that I got the book from the library and didn't spend money on it. The hype around this book was just hype, the book left a lot to desire. The book was ok but if you want to read about the psychological impact of abduction and captivity, this is not the book. You would be better off reading a true crime story of an actual account these crimes.

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May 12, 2012 Kaitlin rated it it was amazing

I found the narrator compelling and enjoyed discovering the world through the eyes of a five-year-old. The story was suspenseful but never gruesome. I think the narrative voice really helped in that way; there is no explicit violence or even anger, but the events are never confusing and the emotion is stronger because you're hearing everything from a child.

I groaned when my book club chose this book and described the subject to me, but I'm glad to have read it. I read it in about a day because I ...more

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Sep 11, 2014 Athena Macmillan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014-reads, thought-provoking, favourites, gut-wrencher, fantastic-writing, engaging-plot, exceeded-expectations, grab-the-tissues, deeply-unsettling, should-be-made-into-movie

I've seen a lot of terrible reviews about this book and a lot of fantastic ones. Mine falls into the latter category (not that my review is fantastic - the book is). I can see how a few years back I might have found this book cheesy - back when I laughed at gory horrors and delighted in tales of other people's misfortune. But then I had my own child, and... well, hormones. Am I right?!

So I can see that my glowing review of this book might be a combination of it just being a darned good book and ...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Allison Ann rated it really liked it

Shelves: library

Didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. Still didn't care for the style of the storytelling, but the story was enough to make me overlook that and read straight through. ...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Jasmiina F rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, contemporary

This is a book that you will either love or hate and I loved it. The story was so unusual and great because it's from a five year old's point of view. Everytime I opened this it was really hard to stop reading. A great book. ...more

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