Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Room by Emma Donoghue

23 reviews

rosinawrites7's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Jack's voice is so well written

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foxgallagher's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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harraisin's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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grainjordan's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

4.75


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brookey8888's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

At first I wasn’t really enjoying this that much because it is from the point of you have a five-year-old child so it was kind of annoying to hear his thoughts. But as it went on I got used to it and I kind of enjoyed it does also has a full cast narrated(I listened to the audiobook) which I really enjoyed. Also this might be a slight spoiler but they are in the room the whole time they get out like 50% through which I thought was interesting because you got to see how the child and everyone reacted. I do wish there was like some more I don’t know if closure is the right word or something but it makes sense because it’s the point of you have a five-year-old so everything that’s happening to the Mom we don’t really know like therapy and stuff like that.

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beesbookss's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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katsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”

“Stories are a different kind of true.”

“I've seen the world and I'm tired now.”

I think it will come as no surprise that the most interesting part of this book is the point-of-view. I find it very compelling when authors use the perspectives of "innocents" like children to tell stories. It takes away some of the bias and assumptions that we have as the reader. And this novel goes even further by making the narrator incredibly young. Jack, the narrator, is just 5 years old and he's never known anything other than Room. Getting to experience the world for the first time through his eyes was so interesting and  provocative . My only major negative is also about the narrator, though. I've seen other people who've reviewed this book say that they found him annoying but for me, I just doubted that a 5 year old would be as articulate as he was sometimes portrayed. Granted, very few people can confirm or deny if it's actually possible but there were just instances when I felt like Jack was more articulate than any 5 year old would be even given the heinous and unique situation he was in. 

Given all that, this book was incredibly well written. The audiobook was incredibly well done. I really liked how the author didn't turn this into a run-of-the-mill true crime novel. The focus was 100% on Ma and Jack and how their characters grow and develop through the trauma of their ordeal. Old Nick, the perpetrator, is a part of the story, obviously, but he spends very little time on page. His backstory is never explained or rationalized and I love that. I am now very interested in seeing the film adaptation!

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shoerliii's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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quejk25's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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jenny_wren's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is the story of Jack and Ma and their survival in Room. Ma was kidnapped and has been held in Room ever since. Jack has no comprehension of there being an Outside. This book looks at their survival and their relationship. 
This book packs a real emotional punch - especially because we hear more and more real stories like this now. This book is told from 5 year old Jack's perspective so its an usual book to read and the style won't be for everyone. I tried to start this once before and couldn't get into it. This time around I stuck with it and found I couldn't put it down. Its sad but hopeful with a unique child's point of view on an unimaginable situation. 

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