It recently occurred to me that my reading pattern was developing certain tendencies that I wasn't entirely happy with. Foremost, I was allowing myself to get caught up in particular styles of stories rather than expanding my reading horizons. I felt that I needed more diversity, needed to step out of that little reading comfort zone more often, and that's how I ended up reading Room. 
 I had, of course, heard a lot about this novel over the past few years. The book has been waiting patiently on my shelves for a couple of years; I just never felt that it was the right time to crack it open before now. 
 I was a bit apprehensive going into the novel, not because of the subject matter but because the whole thing is narrated by a five-year-old. It wasn't long before I realised that my fears were founded, and yet also unfounded. Founded because Jack is five years old, so he tells the reader about his world as a five year old would - including a lot of details that are of utmost importance to him but of little interest to others. Unfounded because this is a completely unique experience: Jack repeats everything he hears for the readers' benefit, even if he doesn't fully understand it, so the reader still gets a second-hand adult experience of the events taking place. 
 Apparently I needed to be in the right mood for it as well, as I put the book to one side for a couple of days when I was about 70 pages in and found myself much more open to Jack's random chatter when I picked up the book again. 
 The plot revolves around the difficulties faced by Ma and Jack, both inside their prison and when confronted with the unfamiliar Outside. Jack especially is not prepared for Outside. Until Ma "unlies" he didn't even know it existed! Room is the whole world to him and he believes everything else (like what he sees on the TV) exists on another planet (medical planet, fitness planet). Ma is utterly devoted to him and has devised a number of games and activities to keep Jack healthy, to give him the basics of an education, to keep him distracted all day every day. Ma is a fabulous woman with endless amounts of patience. 
 I used to think of myself as a patient person but this story has made me realise that if I was confronted with a child like Jack I'd probably snap in next to no time (his grandmother's reactions were very close to how I'd imagine my own being). 
 Room is a unique story that deals with uncomfortable subject matter from the point of view of someone not yet old enough to understand it. The book both tore at my heart strings and inspired hope in me.