Comments on: Review: Room

By: 2011 Alex Awards « A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

2011 Alex Awards « A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:06:30 +0000

[...] [...]

By: Band of Thebes queer lit survey - anecdotes

Band of Thebes queer lit survey - anecdotes — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 03:27:05 +0000

[...] speaking of Emma Donoghue, here’s a great review of Room, if you haven’t read it yet. I think it was probably my favorite book of the year, [...]

By: Room « Adult Books 4 Teens

Room « Adult Books 4 Teens — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 12:51:30 +0000

[...] B did a terrific write-up about Room on her SLJ blog next door, A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy . She ended by saying she hoped [...]

By: Liz B

Liz B — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 22:56:34 +0000

Dawn, another reason I think it has teen appeal is that it is a page turner and a quick read. And yes, this passes my own “when I was a teen…” test.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:53:13 +0000

I finished this book over a week ago and I still can’t get it out of my head. Absolutely stunning. I agree it has great teen appeal, I know I would have loved it in my teens.

By: Tweets that mention Review: Room « A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy -- Topsy.com

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:31:33 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Liz Burns and Liz Burns, Jennsbookshelf. Jennsbookshelf said: RT @LizB: my review of ROOM, including discussion of whether it has teen appeal: http://bit.ly/aWIq1l [...]

By: Liz B

Liz B — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 11:13:15 +0000

Stephanie, good point about Jack. There are also books out there that are sold YA and don’t have YA main characters. I think there is a strong argument that Ma, not Jack, is the main protagonist of ROOM and that emotionally her maturity level is at when she was taken, 19, and she undergoes, thru Jack’s eyes, a sort of coming of age. Her life for the first half of the book is driven by protect Jack & escape and once she has done that, what now? A bit like a teen whose life is driven by escape home, escape family and small town school so that “my life gets better” and finds out…it’s not all better. One part that haunts me about ROOM is how Ma had to be looking forward to being Alone: to sleep in her own room, take her own shower, use the toilet alone and Jack wouldn’t let her because Alone was contrary to all he knew and wanted.

By: StephanieHuszar

StephanieHuszar — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 03:41:44 +0000

This was actually one of the select few non-YA books I’ve read recently — such a coincidence that you reviewed! Or maybe not — I was actually wondering if it would appeal to other YA fans, too. I absolutely loved it. Such a compelling read, and telling the story in Jack’s voice was genius. Am wondering if another reason it might appeal to YA fans (and/or teens themselves) is because the author doesn’t underestimate the intelligence/wherewithal of children. Of course Jack is not anywhere near the age of a YA protagonist, but the author paints him with such care and respect, and with a voice that’s utterly realistic.

By: Liz B

Liz B — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:41:54 +0000

Deborah, using Jack to tell the story definately helps makes this easier to read. A great choice.

Beth, the teen appeal as I see it is that people are in the news who, like Ma, were kidnapped as teens and survive/escape: Elizabeth Smart, for example; or, who like Ma, had children by their kidnappers: Elisabeth Fritzl, Jaycee Dugard. And, right now there are some YA kidnapped fiction books out there: LIVING DEAD GIRL & STOLEN. While ROOM is disturbing, it’s less graphic than LIVING DEAD GIRL. So, I can imagine teens reading those other books, or reading about those real life crimes, being interested in this book. It’s not in a format for my teens, so I haven’t had the chance to have teens reading it (or not) yet.

By: Beth Gallaway

Beth Gallaway — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:28:01 +0000

Could someone cite the specific teen appeal elements? Does anyone have any teens who have read it?