Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

I love the way this book is written.  It's told from the perspective of a five year old who has never ventured outside the one place he calls home: Room.

From Goodreads.com, because I can't say it better myself.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, "Room" is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

Jack is held captive in this room with his mother.  He interacts with no one else.  He has a few possessions and he does get to watch TV, but he doesn't know there is a world beyond his Room.  He was born in this room.

There's so much I could talk about, but I don't want to spoil the book for anyone who hasn't read it.  If you haven't read it I do say you should pick up a copy as soon as possible. I don't think you'll be disappointed.  The story was thoroughly engaging.  I was very interested in everything Jack went through and I love the way he talked.

One thing I really enjoyed was the word sandwiches Jack made like calling his step grandfather Steppa and when someone's brave, but still scared they're scave. He was scave a lot.

I give this book 5/5 stars and I read it for pure pleasure.

Book Review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I won't describe what I look like.  Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

Wonder is a fascinating tale about a boy born with facial deformities starting school in the fifth grade for the first time.  His story chronicles being to the outcast to becoming the hero.  Auggie Pullman is the kind of character you can and want to root for.

I won't describe what I look like.  Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

The book was written in first person and separated into eight sections.  Each section focused on one character with the first, last, and 6th section focusing on Auggie.  I liked the sections on the other characters, but I really liked going to back to August as the narrator.  The other sections allowed the reader to see things from other characters points of view and how they related to Auggie.  It helped form a bigger picture than just what was seen through Auggie's eyes.  That worked best for this story.

Overall, it was a captivating story.  I felt Auggie's pain as well as his joy and triumphs.  He has to deal with situations in ways other kids don't.  Due to his facial deformities he's an outcast.  People stare at him.  People treat like he's got cooties.  They don't want to touch or be near him.  But, he inadvertently shows them they're wrong.  Some learn.  Unfortunately, some don't.

The copy I am reviewed is an uncorrected advanced reader's copy provided by netgalley.com.  It was a true pleasure to read and that's why I gave it 4/5 stars.

Leap Into Books Giveaway Hop

This is my first time participating in a giveaway hop.  One lucky reader gets to choose one book from the following: The Man in the Ceiling by Jules Feiffer (used/good condition), Eyes Wide Open by Andrew Gross, Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante, Selected Short Stories by D.H. Lawrence (used), Married to Bhutan by Linda Leaming, A Young Wife by Pam Lewis (ARC), Max on Life by Max Lucado, Hester: A Novel by Paula Reed, You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl by Celia Rivenbark (ARC), and The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli.

100 Greatest Books For Kids

http://www.scholastic.com/100books/

I found this link in another blog.  It is incredibly interesting to see what Scholastic has listed as the 100 greatest books for kids.  Check it out.

Which ones have I read?
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Corduroy by Don Freeman
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett
Matilda by Roald Dahl
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks by Joanna Cole
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

That's 23 out of 100 for a total of 23%.  How many have you read?

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  Anyone can playing along!  Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away!  You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

     I hide in Under Bed beside Eggsnake not breathing even, flat like a page in a book, and it takes hundreds of hours to find me.  Next I choose Rappelling, Ma holds my hands and I walk up her legs till my feet are higher than my head, then I dangle upside down, my braids go in my face and make me laugh.
P. 81 Room by Emma Donoghue

Book Review: Hospice Tails: The Animal Companions Who Journey With Hospice Patients and Their Families by Debra L. Stang

This book made me want to cry.  It's so touching.  Animals are...everything.  I love pets.  I understand how much they mean to their owners.  My own two dogs are my best friends.  That's not saying I can't or don't have human best friends, but they comfort me in ways humans can't.  Pet owners know.

Debra Stang is a social worker with a hospice.  She visits the dying in their homes, mostly.  The tales in this book are about how the dying and their family members cope with the aid of their animals.  For many the only way to touch them, bring them out of their world, is their pets.  Others, the pets help with grieving.  They help in ways no one else can.

I give the book 3/5 stars.  It was a good read, but not the best ever.  I won it in a giveaway.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  Anyone can playing along!  Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away!  You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

     "So what dorky thing do you want to dress up as?" I asked, smiling.
     "Promise not to laugh?"  She raised her eyebrows and her shoulders, embarrassed.  "A unicorn."
P. 69 Wonder by R.J. Palacio