ROOM – Review

Room is a book unlike anything else that I ever read. It is told from the point of view from a 5 year old boy whose world has thus far been limited to one room. The story is pretty good, but the premise of the book and the questions that it raises are the real strengths of this book. Many others have gone over the plot, so I will just give a brief run down of strengths and weaknesses. 

Strengths
* First half of the book is great. Suspenseful, believable, and redemptive.
* Great execution of a difficult subject matter. For 150 pages, the world is contained within one small room, and its still a very interesting place.
* The world as seen from a 5 year olds eyes will help you see things in new, fresh ways. This is true of both the small room and the enormous world Outside.

Weaknesses
* First half is much better than second half. The climax of the book comes too early.
* The point of view from the boy is great, but the cadence and word choices get annoying at times.
* Despite being pretty realistic, some coincidences expose the fiction a little too much. Some things wrap up a little too fast, a little too easily.

All in all, this is a book worth reading. I suspect that some people will steer clear of this because of the dark subject matter of a mom and boy being locked in a single room. Don’t let that hold you back though, its very easy to read and one I would recommend to most people without hesitation. The subject matter is very real and very dark, but the view from the eyes of an innocent child lowers the suspense and elevates the joy. Recommended.


For authors, this book offers a lot of insight into how to write a book in an unconventional manner. Pay attention to the level of detail and imagination that the author is able to incorporate with such a small space in the first half of the book. Also, the boy’s perspective is unique and adds a lot to the book as well. In what ways could you change the environment of your story? Are you telling the story from the right point of view? How can you make the smaller spaces in your story come to life?