You are introduced to Jack by his announcement at the beginning of the book, "Today I'm five. I was four last night going to sleep in Wardrobe, but when I wake up in Bed in the dark I'm changed to five, abracadabra."
With that first sentence you know there is something odd happening. Why did he go to sleep in a wardrobe?
The story line for this amazing book is that Ma was kidnapped seven years ago and she has been living in an 11-foot square room with her child Jack for the last five years.
In the beginning, Jack's mother had tried everything to escape and had been punished for trying by the electricity being turned off for days on end and not having food for several days. After so many tries she'd been beaten (figuratively) into submission so she no longer tried to escape.
However, with Jack now old enough to help with an escape she finally explains to him where they really live and how she came to live there. Despite Jack being scared, they try the plan.
This book tells the story of how Jack and Ma lived in the Room before they escaped and how they lived in the Outside after they escaped. It is an engaging book that makes you want to keep reading to find out what happens to Jack and Ma.
Rating: 9 / 10
ISBN: 9780316125086
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Year Published: 2010