Room

I tore through this book in less than 24 hours, snatching a few pages whenever I could.  It is the story of 5-year old Jack, who has spent his entire life in an 11x11 foot room with his mother.  "Room" is the whole world to him.  We quickly become aware of what he does not yet comprehend--that his mother was kidnapped a few years before he was born and has been emprisoned in Room ever since.  The horror of their hopeless situation is lost on Jack because his mother shelters him.   I was fascinated by the ingenious ways Ma engages Jack endlessly with her limited resources.  Though it is still a harrowing story, when told through the innocent voice of a child, it also becomes unexpectedly beautiful.