Just going by the blurbs, you might think "Room" was little more than a "ripped-from-the-headlines" thriller. But oh, it's so much more. "Room" is narrated by 5-year-old Jack, born in captivity to a young mother who was kidnapped as a college student, then confined in a soundproof backyard shed for seven years. Jack's entire world is Room, and as far as he knows, nothing exists but Ma and the various parts of his eleven-foot-square home. Jack's mother does an amazing job of raising her child, but the older he gets, the more desperate she becomes to give him the gift of freedom. Jack's voice is brilliantly written and believable. "Room" has some of the saddest passages I've ever read, yet it's also a moving testament to a mother's persistence and fierce love. Highly recommended.