Siri Palreddy ’20 reviews two novels that, though with very different subject matter, will both keep you interested and reading until the end.
Room by Emma Donogue
Room by Emma Donoghue Room is told through the eyes of Jack, a five year-old boy who has been confined to an 11 foot by 11 foot room him and his mother have lived in for all his life.
Since Jack has never been out into the real world, his closest friends besides his mom are the things that surround him, like Rug, Bed, and Wall. The unique way we see Jack’s world is one of the best parts of this book. When Jack learns something, the reader does as well. There is no all-knowing view in this story but instead a carefully crafted plot that strings us along more information as we go.
This aspect of the novel was what makes this book really stand out. Sometimes, I would read a few pages thinking Jack was observing something that was just an ordinary thing, then I would re-read it and see that Donoghue was actually describing something much more horrifying - such as when we realize that Jack’s mom had been kept in Room because she was abducted by a sexual predator at 19, a man whom Jack calls Old Nick, another name for the devil, after relating this man to what he has heard about Satan on TV.
There are many more instances like these that will make you think about what was written, trying to understand it again and analyze it.
Another part of this novel I really enjoyed was getting to experience Jack’s mom, or as he calls her, Ma. Ma is not someone we feel pity for, nor is she a perfect heroine. We admire her because she stays so strong even when she is continuously raped, making sure that whatever she does is for the best of Jack, even if it negatively affects her. However, when Jack and Ma are rescued from Old Nick, we also see how hard it is for her to adapt back to this world she was stolen from.
Verdict: All in all, Room is a great book with dynamic character relationships. It can be a little scary and disturbing at times, so if you’d rather stray away from those things, this book may not be a good choice. But read this book when you can; it’s a really inspiring story by the end.
Wonder by R.J Palacio
Recently, I was re-reading Wonder and I realized again how good of a book it is - since a new movie adaptation of it came out, a synopsis of the book might help those trying to understand Wonder. Wonder is about a ten-year old boy named Auggie Pullman who was born with severe facial deformities. He had to get several surgeries after birth, and now he doesn’t have that many friends because of his appearance.
The book starts with Auggie entering middle-school at Beecher Prep. At first, he is bullied because of his looks, but, by the end of the novel, he makes many new friends and learns that what’s on the outside doesn’t matter.
Although there’s a stereotypical moral to this story, the plot is anything but that. Almost each character in the book gets their own section where we see the story from their view. We see how Auggie feels at this new school, and how his sister, who loves Auggie but is also overshadowed by his needs, reacts to Auggie being away and her own social life being altered.
Each part gives us a 3D shape to each character instead of a flat, boring perception that would have been expected from most books with a single narrator.
Palacio does not make any character perfect - each has flaws and pros, but readers learn to appreciate these all the same. When, in the end, Auggie is supported by those who had previously turned against them, it shows that Auggie is just like any other kid in Beecher Prep.
Verdict: The message of equality really resonates in this novel, and it’s great for both older and younger people. It’s just such a heart-warming novel that is also really fun to read with others.
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