Books 8&9/50
ROOM by Emma Donoghue
Wrapping up Depressing February was the novel ROOM, a story that's both haunting and hopeful. It tells the story of Jack, a little boy who has spent every moment of his five year old life in one room with his mother. He was born there, they play there, she teaches him there. Sometimes at night they get visits from Old Nick, and when he does come to visit Ma hides Jack in the wardrobe so Old Nick won't get a good look at him. It's both Jack's home and Ma's cell. As Jack turns five, he starts getting more curious about things, about life Outside Room, even if he doesn't believe that such a place could possibly exist. So Ma realizes that they both need to get out and get away from Old Nick, no matter what the cost. But it's when the DO get out that things start to take a toll on both of them.
I was incredibly surprised that not even halfway through Jack and Ma escaped from their home. I was a bit skeptical at first, thinking that it would have been more interesting if it was a book about multiple failed attempts, but soon I realized how wrong I was. It was when Jack and Ma got out that the story really began, as how can a five year old who spent his entire life in one room adjust to the outside world? And since it's told from Jack's perspective, you get to feel just as confused as he does. You see through his eyes the struggle that Ma has going back to a life she was taken from, a life that just kept on going. And you see how hard it can be for someone to understand a world they've never known when it comes so easy to us. I really, really liked this book, even if it was hard to read at times. But Jack was always endearing, and to tell it from his perspective was perfect. If you have the nerve to read something a bit dark and at times really sad, the pay off will be wonderful.
MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES by Jesse Petersen
So if February was depressing, March is going to be Easy Reads, in multiple ways. I started with this fun and hilarious book, MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES. Dave and Sarah are a couple on the verge of divorce. They've been seeing a marriage counselor, but it feels like no matter what they do, they're on the road to a break up. That is, until they go to their session one day only to find their shrink is eating a couple of her patients. Thus sets off a zombie apocalypse through the eyes of a warring couple. Dave and Sarah know that they will need to put their differences aside if they're going to survive this. But what's more stress on a marriage than surviving the zombie hordes?
This was in the romance section but it doesn't belong there. Yes, they're married, and yes they're finding their way back to each other while slaughtering zombies, but over all it's a very funny and at times very well done zombie book. Jesse Petersen did her zombie research. As an avid zombie fan I was hoping that this wouldn't be rife with sap and schlock, and it isn't. The gross factor is where it should be, and you are at times filled with suspense and then moments later laughing again. I hope that the library has the other two in the series, and I hope that she plans on writing more beyond the three. If you want a fun and easy read and like zombies, MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES is for you.