I won’t give any spoilers here, assuming you will read the book jacket, but I must say this was a great read. The narrator is a 5yo boy (Jack) who lives in a room with his mom. They are being held there by a man who locks the door on them at all times. You are reading Jack’s thoughts, but through them you see what his mom is doing for him, the love she has, what she is going through. It is the kind of book that you close at the end, and want to re-read to see if you notice more of the subtle notes the author weaves into her tale. At times I couldn’t put it down because I, too, have a 5yo boy and I wanted so desperately to keep Jack safe and close to me. Other times my heart was racing, or I was getting frustrated with him or his mom.

I haven’t looked up the discussion questions yet, but my guess is this is going to be a very interesting book club meeting. We are all parents, and I’m sure there will be divided opinions on Jack’s Mom’s decisions throughout the book.

I understand now why this book is getting talked about a lot, including it’s being #1 on the NY Times book list last week and the very detailed review of it on their website (it does give some stuff away, so skip this if you want the book to be more surprising).

This book is making me look at myself, my son, and think of Jack and his mom. I kind of want to hear what everyone thinks about this book, so I’ll be recommending it to anyone who will listen to me.