The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy

Review (5/5 Stars):

Usually when people read a book written in the first person, they focus on the main character and forget that they're only introduced to all the other characters through the main character. We forget that those people have their own stories or their own versions of the same story that we are currently reading. Wayson Choy provides the "side stories" of All That Matters in The Jade Peony. From Kiam (first brother's) point of view, I really only saw Liang as the useless girl, Jung as the bought son and Sekky as the sickly baby brother. After reading The Jade Peony, I've fallen in love with the entire family and I grew with them, experienced loss with them and am genuinely concerned about where Jung's love story is going to end up. I'm sure every Chinese Canadian can relate to the characters Wayson Choy has brought to life and feel that nostalgic tug reminding them of their own parents and Grandparents. I loved it.

Synopsis (SPOILERS):

This is the second book about a first generation Chinese Canadian family living in Vancouver in the 30s and 40s. The first book "All That Matters" was written in Kiam - "first brother"'s point of view. It was a hit as it depicted life through the eyes of a boy who traveled across the Atlantic ocean with his father and grandmother to grow up in Vancouver. "The Jade Peony" fills in the different sides of the story we didn't see when Kiam told it. It's told from the point of the view the other children in the household.

We first read about Jook Liang (the only sister). Hers was a sweet story of an unlikely friendship formed between a disfigured old man and a five year old girl who thought he was the Monkey King from the old Chinese tales she heard. Even as she grew up, she remained a faithful friend of Wong Suk and their friendship held even after he decided he would leave and return to China after being away for 50+ years.

The next segment belongs to Jung Sum (second brother). Jung Sum was an adopted child brought into the family when he was 4 (Kiam was 8 and Jook Liang was 2). In "All That Matters", he kind of just appeared and was accepted into the family, now the readers get to hear his story. Jung Sum tells his last memories of his drunk abusive father and being curled up beside his mother's corpse, and finally how he first discovered that he was "of the moon" as Poh Poh puts it. His story was one that people will never forget.

Finally we hear from the youngest - Sek Lung or Sekky as they affectionately call him. In every sibling's story, Sekky was the sickly one that got all the attention from Poh Poh and because he spent all his time with Poh Poh, he became weird and anti-social as she became more and more senile. In "The Jade Peony", Sekky tells his and Grandmama's story of friendship, loyalty and loss. The reader see how Poh Poh's death affected him at the tender age of 7 and how hard it was for him to let go of his only friend. About a year after Poh Poh's death, Sekky started to let go by meeting new friend's his age and became a "normal" little kid for a precious amount of time. One day, after accidentally setting a fire to a stack of newspapers, he found himself back under the watch of a babysitter - this time, the beautiful daughter of their neighbour Mrs. Lim. MeiLing took Sekky everywhere with her, even to the "wrong end of town" to meet with her Japanese boyfriend and they became fast friends. As this book was set in time of WWII, befriending the Japanese was considered traitorous and Sekky was confused as to what he should think of MeiLing's relationship with Kazuo. Kaz seems like a nice guy, always playing with Sekky when MeiLing brings him along, but at the end of the day, he's a Jap - the enemy. Eventually, Kazuo has to leave when all the Japanese in Vancouver were rounded up to camp. This causes Sekky to lose not one, but two friends as MeiLing dies while trying to induce a homemade abortion.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Review (4.5/5 Stars):

I can see why this was one of Agatha Christie's best novels. I've only read one other book by this author but this one was by far superior in writing style, character development and plot. The suspense in her novels is what makes them page turners as the reader is trying to piece together the puzzle with each clue the characters in the book unravels. My favorite scene in the book was when the five of them were sitting in the living room and Christie gave the reader an inside look on each of their thoughts. It was interesting to try and pick out which thought belonged to the murderer and through that (the way of speech etc) decipher who the murderer is. Quite entertaining.

Synopsis (SPOILERS):

Ten Little Indians

Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;

One choked his little self and then there were nine. 

Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;

One overslept himself and then there were eight.

Eight little Indian boys traveling in Devon;

One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.

Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks;

One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.

Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;

A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.

Five little Indian boys going in for law,

One got in Chancery and then there were four.

Four little Indian boys going out to sea;

A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo;

A big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two little Indian boys sitting in the sun;

On got frizzled up and then there was one.

One little Indian boy left all alone;

He went and hanged himself and then there were none. 

Quite a few people are familiar with this children's rhyme.  In "And Then There Were None", Agatha Christie's villain tricks 9 people to a remote island and kills them off one by one the way the ten little Indians die in the poem. After supper on the first night they arrived, a gramophone mysteriously started announcing the allegations against each of the guests, implying that this is the reason they were all called forth to the house. In Agatha Christie's style, she allows each of the guests to explain their story. The plot then begins to thicken as people begin to die.

The first to die is Anthony Marston, a young man with the good looks and physique of a God. When he zoomed up in his fancy car, everyone had thought that he looked immortal, but they were wrong. Marston was accused with the murder of John and Lucy Combes, who he claimed he accidentally ran over while speeding one day. At first the reader is led to believe that he choked on his drink but it was later confirmed that the murdered had slipped him some poison while no one was looking.

Next up was Mrs. Rogers, who along with her husband was hired cook and butler to the party. They had no idea that this was a job that paid too little for what they were going to lose. They were accused of murdering their previous boss, an elderly lady who left a nice sum of money to them. She died in her sleep but again, was confirmed that someone slipped her a second dose of sleeping drugs providing her eternal rest. 

Third to go was General MacArthur. He was the only one that adamantly believed that he wouldn't leave the island alive right from the get-go. His crime was that as a General, he deliberately sent one of his men on a doomed mission. The young lad happened to be his young wife's lover. The day after Marston and Mrs. Rogers's death, General MacArthur went to sit out by the rocks and told anybody that would listen that he knew the end was coming and it did, for him.

The fourth little Indian that "chopped himself in halves" is Mr. Rogers. He was a wonderful butler according to the guests but as he was accused of the same crime that killed his wife, he too had to die. 

The only murder that didn't go exactly to the rhyme is Mrs. Brent's. Instead of being stung by a bee, as the rhyme indicates, the killer injected poison into her neck and then left a bee beside her. (I guess it would be a bit much if one of the guests was coincidentally allergic to bees). A deeply religious old lady, she was often considered a religion maniac by the other guests. She had a girl stay with her to help her with her housework years ago but when the girl turned up tarnished (to my understanding, she was pregnant), Mrs. Brent declared her a sin and sent her off. The girl later killed herself and thus, became reason enough for the killer to make Mrs. Brent pay.

The suspense mounts as there are only half the number of guests left after 3 days. The 5 remaining guests make a pack to not leave each other's sight. Only one guest could leave a time, ensuring that if they're the killer, they'll have no victim to work with. Despite their precaution, Instead of Judge Wargrave was found dead after everybody ran off to check on Miss Claythorne. It turned out the killer planted a seaweed on a hook in Miss Claythorne's room so that she would scream and get everyone's attention when it hit her. During the confusion, the killer shot the Judge and left him in his robes and wig making the 6th section of the rhyme come true. 

After Judge Wargrave's death, the last 4 guests locked themselves into the room at night. It was later discovered that Dr. Armstrong had disappeared. Mr. Blore was already suspecting Dr. Armstrong as he had in his possession a large assortment of drugs and many of the earlier victims died of poisoning. They all believed that he was feigning his disappearance to pull a fast one over them, hence - "red herring swallowed one". For the sake of order Dr. Armstrong was accused of killing one of his victims and the truth was he had operated while drunk so in a sense, the accusation was true and he died for it. (We later found that the real killer was the red herring and tricked Dr. Armstrong into helping him and ended up throwing him off the cliffs and into the water).

Now there were only 3 guests left and they all begin suspecting one another or having theories that Dr. Armstrong is still alive and looking for ways to kill them. When Mr. Blore is squished by a slab of marble pushed out of a second floor window while the other two guests were away from the house, it confirms their fear that there is someone else on the island. Mr. Blore was an ex-cop that planted evidence on someone he knew was guilty of a charge but didn't have evidence to arrest. (For the record, the slab of marble was from a clock that had a bear on it - completing the "A big bear hugged one"). 


That leaves us with two guests remaining: Miss Claythorne who, through neglect, purposely drowned a little boy that she was governess to; and Philip Lombard who left 21 East African men to die in order to preserve his own life. The two of them discovered Dr. Armstrong's dead body after Mr. Blore died and with that scapegoat out of the way, they turned on one another. Miss Claythorne managed to outsmart Lombard and ended up shooting him with his own gun, making her that last "little Indian boy" remaining. Perhaps she was tired of all the events, or perhaps she was not in her right mind after witnessing so many murders and deaths but when Miss Claythorne got back to her room and saw a noose and chair set up for a hanging, she followed the instructions of the rhyme and rightly hung herself.


When the island with all its dead bodies, no one could figure out how everyone died until someone found a letter from Judge Wargrave confessing to how he set up all the murders. It turns out he killed himself after Miss Claythorne and his death earlier in the book was staged!!

They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie

 

Review (3/5 Stars):

This is my first Agatha Christie book and I had really high hopes for it. I don't know if it was just this particular book but I was a bit disappointed as everyone painted Agatha Christie to be the best mystery author of all times. They Did It With Mirrors is your typical who-dun-it mystery novel and I actually figured out quite early on (before the real detectives were called in) who the murderer was. I did like how Miss Marple sorts out her thoughts to the readers so that we can either follow along or see if our own conclusions match the detective's. Perhaps she was hyped up so much that I was expecting too much, I dunno but I will give Agatha Christie another try.

Synopsis (SPOILERS):

Miss Marple is persuaded by her friend Mrs. Van Rydock to go and stay at her sister's Youth Centre because she has a premonition that there's something wrong about the place and the people in it. According to Mrs. Van Rydock, her sister Carrie Louise's life had been pretty eventful. At a young age, she married Gulbrandsen, who had 3 grown boys and a huge sum of money. Together, they adopted a beautiful daughter (who later died in childbirth, leaving Carrie Louise with a granddaughter who lives with her) and had one of their own (a more homely girl, who also lives with Carrie Louise after being happily married and widowed). After Gilbrandsen died, Carrie Louise married husband #2, who left her with his 2 grown boys, one still visits during the holidays and the other is a permanent resident visit. It was husband #3, Lewis, that persuaded her to do something with Stonygates to help educate the less fortunate and that was how they ended up with a juvenile delinquent centre in their giant home.

Upon arrival, Miss Marple was greeted by two people, Edgar Lawson (an delinquent turn help for Lewis), and Carrie Louise's granddaughter, Gina. Gina is portrayed as a spoiled and self confident new age girl and Miss Marple's early discussions with Carrie Louise, we can already see that she gets quite a bit of attention from the men. We meet a whole slew of characters once Miss Marple arrived Stonygates, including Carrie Louise's housekeeper Mrs. Bellever (who seems to adore Carrie Louise to an unexplainable degree), Wally (Gina's American GI husband), Stephan Restarick (her step-son by husband #2 who now lives with her), Mildred (her daughter who grew up in the shadows of her beautiful adopted sister) and a bunch of doctors and hired help.  Of all the people, Miss Marple is convinced that there's something off about Edgar Lawson but she doesn't know what - other than finding out that he has some sort of mental disorder where he believes that his father is famous and everyone's out to get him because of it. Then when you think that you've met everyone, Christian Gilbrandsen, Carrie Louis step son from her first marriage shows up unexpectedly asking after her health and has an urgent conversation with Lewis.

That night after everyone's had dinner, Christian leaves to write a few letters and Edgar blows up and accuses Lewis of being his father and conspiring against him. Lewis calmly takes him into his office, located off of the dining room to talk. The electricity goes out and in the mess, everyone just sits and listens to the argument going on inside of Lewis's office. All of a sudden, they heard a shot fired and a couple of minutes later, 2 more shots. Finally, Mrs. Bellever goes and finds the spare key, they open the room to find Edgar cowarding in the corner but lucid now and feeling remorse for trying to shoot Lewis. Later on, they find Christian had been shot and the detectives are called in to find out who did.  Lewis tells everyone at this time that Christian came to talk to him because he felt someone was trying to poison Carrie Louis. The detectives question everyone, some multiple times and everyone is puzzled who would want to kill Carrie Louis. Miss Marple eventually figures out that the poisoning story was just to throw everyone off the right track and Lewis had killed Christian because of financial reason.

The Guinea Pig Diary by A.J. Jacobs

Review (3/5 Stars):

It was a quick and easy read and I couldn't help but laugh of some of things he does. I admire A.J.'s willingness to try new things, even if they may be embarrassing, uncomfortable or completely crazy. My favorite chapters were "I Think Your Fat" (the one where he tries to be radically honest) and "Whipped" (the one where he does everything his wife wants for a month). Brad Blanton, the founder of Radical Honesty is HILARIOUS! I would love the chance to meet him and see Radical Honesty in action. I found some of the experiments to be too far fetched or impractical but every once in a while, I would put down the book and picture myself try to do what he's done... I don't think I can.

SYNOPSIS:

Chapter 1 (My Life as a Beautiful Woman)

• "To understand the world of dating from a woman’s point of view, I appropriated the identity of Michelle, my children’s gorgeous nanny, and venture into the land of online dating. Interacting with men as a beautiful woman gave me a unique look at the male species from the other side. I saw the expected sleaziness, but also the unexpected vulnerability."
  

Chapter 2 (My Outsourced Life)

• "Why should Fortune 500 companies have all the fun? I hired a team in Bangalore, India, to take care of everything in my life. And I mean everything. My e-mails, phone calls, shopping, arguments with my wife and reading bedtime stories to my son."

Chapter 3 (I Think You're Fat)

• "I became a temporary convert to the Radical Honesty movement, which teaches that you should never, ever lie. But more than that, you should say whatever’s on your mind. You should remove the filter between your brain and your mouth. This was the worst month of my life. I had to spend the following weeks apologizing to everyone I offended. But it was also one of the most illuminating."

Chapter 4 (240 Minutes of Fame)

• "Venturing into the world of celebrity worship, I assumed the identity of actor Noah Taylor (to whom I bear an eerie resemblance) and crashed the Academy Awards. I gave autographs, took interviews and rubbed elbows with other celebrities. I watched my ego be warped by fame."

Chapter 5 (The Rationality Project)

• "I tried to retrain my brain to be something more than an ad hoc collection of half-assed solutions that have built up over millions of years of evolution. I attempted to eliminate every irrational bias using the insights of behavioral economics. And in doing so, I permanently changed the way I make every decision, from the simplest (what toothpaste to buy) to the biggest (how to raise the kids)."

Chapter 6 (The Truth About Nakedness)

• "Esquire asked Mary-Louise Parker to pose nude, and she said she would do it only if the editor of the piece also posed nude. I was the editor. My boss told me to take off my pants and get in front of the camera. I learn priceless lessons in objectification and the value of good lighting."

Chapter 7 (What Would George Washington Do?)

• "Living in an increasingly uncivil world, I decide to take radical measures: I follow in the footsteps of George Washington. I adhere to the Founding Father’s “110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” I learn about dignity, compassion, and the timeless social benefits of a properly executed bow. I also refrain from adjusting my private parts in public. That is Rule Number 11 in George Washington’s list."

Chapter 8 (The Unitasker)

• "I was so distracted – by the internet, by my cell phone, by snacks beckoning from the kitchen – that I was four months behind deadline in writing this book. So I became the Unitasker. I pledged to quit multitasking. I decided to rewire my brain to I will be the most focused person alive. I unplugged my laptop, I meditated, I talked on the phone – just talked, no surfing the internet at the same time – crazy, no? (it helps that I blindfolded myself). I literally tied myself to my desk chair. It did end up changing my life. I’ve come to believe multitasking isn’t just a minor problem, it’s the Eleventh plague."

Chapter 9 (Whipped)

• "At the suggestion of readers who point out that my wife is a saint, I vowed to spend a month agreeing to her every command. Sure, it was a month of Kate Hudson movies and foot massages —but also of stereotype-shattering insights into the politics of the modern American marriage. Plus, at one point, I had wear a male chastity belt. (It comes in three varieties—clear plastic, wood-paneled and camouflage!) And Julie gets to write the final section."

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Review (5/5 Stars):
Tragedy at it's best. This is a beautifully crafted novel that demonstrates the powerful bond between twins. Conjoined twins may be physically separated at birth and then emotionally separated through the events of their separate lives but the mental connection, the connection that goes deeper than anything words can describe, is too powerful between twins to ever be severed. Although Cutting for Stone was as much about Africa (namely Ethiopia and Eritrea), it was the story of ShivaMarion that captured my heart. The events of their birth was written with so much detail, it was as if everyone was going in slow motion and as the reader, I was inside Operating Theatre 3 myself, watching everything happen. I sympathized with Stone, who in his shocked state helped to kill the one woman he loved. I applauded the strength and intelligence of Hema, who helped to deliver her own sons from another woman's body. Eventually, I fell in love with the two brothers, so different, but together in every way. My heart broke as I understood the subtle hints of their drifting apart. Shiva's dancing, the puppies, Shiva using his own voice instead of relying on his brother Marion to speak for them all foreshadowed the physical and emotional separation of ShivaMarion. I felt angry with the betrayal Marion faced and finally, I cried when the end came and all was forgiven and the brothers were joined again. Absolutely beautiful Abraham Verghese!


Synopsis (SPOILERS):

The day Marion and Shiva were born, their mother died and the man who may very well be their father left disgusted with them.

Their mother was Sister Mary Joseph Praise, an Indian nun who was trained as a nurse and sent to Africa to spread God's and India's love to the Africans. During her journey over by sea, the other nurse / nun she was with became ill. The only doctor on board was so seasick, he could barely survive the trip himself much less help anyone. Sister Mary Joseph Praise nursed him back to health, with that, he took care of everyone else on the ship. Unfortunately, the other nun ended up dying and Sister Mary Joseph Praise was left to complete their mission in Africa alone. After getting off the ship and turning down Dr. Stone's offer of going with him to be a nurse at his hospital, she was devastated to find that the nun she was supposed to go learn from just died of old age. Eventually, Sister Mary Joseph Praise showed up at the exact hospital that Dr. Stone worked at (of course, she didn't know this at the time) weak and about to collapse. The Matron took her in and she became a nurse at Missing Hospital. Verghese then deliberately told the readers that everything that nobody knows what happened to Sister Mary Joseph Praise in between the untimely death of her mentor and her showing up at missing hospital.

Anyway, her arrival at the hospital began a 7 year partnership between herself and Dr. Thomas Stone. She was his most trusted and compatible assistant, from almost reading his mind in the operating theatre to helping him write and illustrate his book. She was there beside him for everything. In fact, the reader can already tell pretty early on in the book that Sister Mary Joseph Praise has developed feelings for Thomas Stone that went beyond their professional relationship. One day, Sister Mary Joseph Praise was not at Stone's side during his operation, furious he went to her room to find her in labour. With their head obstetrician on vacation and the only surgeon too stunned seeing the woman he loves in pain, there was no one there to help. After hours of nothing, Hema (the obstetrician) returns to find Stone ready to crush the skull of the baby to get it out of Sister's system. To Stone, this thing inside of Sister is killing her and all he can think of is getting it out at any cost. Under Hema's instructions, they were able to do a c-section and brought two baby boys into the world. The boys arrived conjoined by an imbelical cord like tube connecting their heads and not breathing. Eventually they were able to revive the boys but Sister was lost. Stone, upset that these two "things" killed his beloved Sister, didn't even take one look at his sons before running off and disappearing.

Thus beginning Hema's sudden journey into motherhood. At the point in the novel, we meet another key character, Ghosh. Ghosh is somewhat of a player as he frequents the bars and the bedrooms of the barmaids as his one true love (Hema) would not give him the time of day. The truth is, Hema is also in love with Ghosh but neither of them realized that their flirting and rejection was taken in the wrong way by the other person. Through an incident where they discovered that Shiva sometimes forgets to breath because of the trauma his biological father subjected him through during delivery, the two of them discover their love for one another and end up raising the boys together.

In the middle of the boys teenage years, a series of events started that would further divide the twins to the point where they were familiar strangers to one another. Basically, Shiva deflowered the girl of Marion's dreams, the girl that he's been saving himself for, the girl he wanted to marry. Genet's mother killed herself as a result of this first act and Genet withdrew into a world of her own. Years later when Ghosh dies (of a blood disease), he makes Marion promise him two things: go to America and find his father, Thomas Stone and help heal him; and forgive Shiva for whatever it is he did. Marion had no intentions of doing such and continued to finish his medical degree until one day Hema called him back home. It turns out that Genet joined a rebel group and Marion's name has been associated with her so he has to flee the country or else he'd most likely end up dead or in jail. His final moments with his family was bitter sweet as Shiva, who's usually emotionally awkward, shows his love to his brother by giving him his beloved possession and Marion, who finally understands the impact of the events that led them to this rift. But even as Marion leaves, he finds that although he loves his brother and will never stop, he still has not been able for forgive him for what he's done to him and indirectly, to the family.

Off Marion goes to America, where he basically has to start all over in order to become a surgeon in a second class hospital. He studies under a Dr. Deepak Jesudass and one day, while Deepak was completing a rather complicated surgery involving a blood vessel behind the liver, a doctor from another hospital walks in and compliments the team (namely Deepak) on their work. This was none other than Dr. Thomas Stone himself. Throughout the span of years, father and son would only deal with one another professionally (other than one outrageous outbreak on Marion's part which lead to a very awkward dinner). Out of the blue one day Genet walked back into Marion's life and walked out 2 days later leaving him dying with Hepatitis B. Thomas then contacts Hema and along with Shiva, she comes to the States to see her baby boy. The most heartbreaking moments of the novel are within these few chapters when you see the bond between the two. When Shiva first sees his twin, in a comatose state at the hospital, he gets into bed beside him and touches Marion's head with his own as if that were the most natural thing ever (in a sense it is as that's how they came into this world). Then Shiva decides that he will give up half his liver to save his brother. This never been done before operation will be performed by none other than their father, Thomas Stone. The operation is successful and the moment that both brothers are conscious and Marion realizes Shiva just saved his life was beautiful. So the book ends happily ever after right? WRONG. Irony and tragedy strikes when Shiva takes some blood thinners as a result of the operation and a clump in his brain that's no one clarifies but I believe is an extension of the cord connecting Shiva and Marion's heads at birth bleeds into his brain and he dies. Marion was about to give up in life lying next to the corpse of his dead twin but eventually realizes that ShivaMarion are finally back as one and so he returns to Ethiopia to take the place of his brother and both his fathers (Ghosh and Stone) at Missing Hospital.

ROOM by Emma Donoghue

Review (4.5/5 Stars):
ROOM is told in the point of view of Jack, who was born and raised inside a 11x11 shed. Everything about their life inside of ROOM was fascinating, all the activities Ma thought up for them to do, the way things were explained and Jack's sheltered view of the world. My godson is 5 years old and every time I compare him to Jack, I have this heavy feeling just imagining how hard it is for a 5 year old to understand what's going on in our world. To someone who's never seen the world, never interacted with anyone besides their mother before... it must be completely terrifying. With Jack as the narrator, the reader is able to see ROOM and the world from the eyes of this isolated but highly intelligent child. Donoghue does a fabulous job highlighting Jack's way of thinking and the grammatical errors heighten the sense that it's Jack telling his story. All in all, an emotional, fascinating read that leaves the reader grateful for all the things in life that we take for granted... especially our freedom.

Synopsis (SPOILERS):
ROOM is where Jack was born and where he spends every day of his 5 year old life. Jack's Ma was kidnapped when she was 19 and brought into this ROOM where the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom fit into a 11 by 11 shed. Old Nick, the kidnapper, had designed the room so that it's fully functional as a place to live with central air, electricity, plumbing and a skylight for natural light. The catch, one could only leave this room if they know the numeric code that is punched into the password sensor by the door. As such, Jack's Ma spent 7 years cooped up in this ROOM. Throughout the first parts of the novel, the reader will see all the creative ideas Ma comes up with to keep Jack entertained and learning for example word sandwich and rhyme games. In order to explain to Jack why they're in the ROOM, Ma makes up a story about how everything outside the room is outer space and all the things he sees on TV aren't real. Eventually, the two of them make Old Nick angry and he cuts off their electricity for 3 days. This triggers the climax of the book... the Great Escape.

After their scare, Ma decides that she can't rely on Old Nick for their survival and decides that she has to help Jack escape even if she gets caught and won't be able to run away herself. She comes up with Plan A, where she tells Old Nick that Jack is really sick and is running a fever (by stinking up the room with vomit and poo smells and heating his face with a really hot water bag). Old Nick insists on buying Jack medication instead of letting him out to see a doctor so Ma resorts to Plan B. She convinces Jack that he has to pretend to be dead, in order to not let Old Nick see Jack, Ma rolls Jack up in a rug that Old Nick is to drive off somewhere to bury. During the drive, Jack has to unwrap himself from the rug, jump off the truck, run away and tell the nearest stranger to help him and his ma. This whole bit takes half a chapter but I spent the whole time on my seat with my heart pounding as I felt sorry that poor little Jack who has never been outside that 11 by 11 room in his entire life had to complete this impossible task. A task that would be difficult for me to do myself. Eventually, it all works out and the stranger that Jack sees calls the police because he was suspicious of Old Nick's behaviour. Thank goodness for patient Officer Oh who spends an exorbitant amount of time trying to decipher what Jack was saying since he was so shy and not used to communicating with anyone but his Ma. Eventually Jack gave them enough details on ROOM that they were able to isolate Old Nick's house and saved Ma.

This lead to a whole different chapter in Jack's life... as Donoghue brilliantly described, it was like he was reborn. Ma and Jack were brought into a clinic and thus beginning their introduction (re introduction in Ma's case) to society and the 21st century world. The reader watches Jack grow from not wanting to interact with anyone besides Ma, being afraid to go outside of the clinic and being confused about everything to a bright little boy eager to see the world. The best and worst thing that helped his along was when Ma tried to commit suicide (after an news interview gone wrong). Jack is then moved to his maternal grandmother's house and there, he learns to, in a sense, live without Ma. My favorite part of the book was Jack's one day adventure out with Grandma. His endearing description of crocs - "soft squish shoes with holes in it", his first trip to the library and his new friend Walker that he announces he "loves" after 3 minutes is so adorable. It's heartwarming to see Jack interact with others and integrate into society. Eventually, Ma recovers and gets an apartment of their own and the novel ends when convinces her to go back to ROOM to say good bye to everything... closure for all.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Review (5/5 Stars):

Set in the little town of Maycomb, Alabama, "To Kill a Mockingbird" brings with it all the delightful mannerisms and speech patterns of the southern states. It was a most entertaining read.

I personally fell in love with the characters and to me Atticus's patient personality and parenting skills, Scout's brash by outgoing temper, Jem's loyalty and even Boo's shy demeanor is what I will remember this book for.

The storyline itself follows the popular theme where the minority are blamed for something that the didn't do. Other books where this team had been used was Snow Falling on Cedars and Mercy Among the Children. In this particular case, Alabama's intolerance for the "coloured people" and those who want to help them is brought to light. I applaud Atticus's closing speech during the trial where he implores that the courts be equal and not discriminate people for reasons other than whether or not they've been lawful. Lee wrote a very well written speech.

Synopsis (SPOILERS):

"To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story of Scout Finch and her brother, Jem, in 1930's Alabama. Through their neighborhood meanderings and the example of their father, they grow to understand that the world isn't always fair and that prejudice is a very real aspect of their world no matter how subtle it seems.

The summer when Scout was six and Jem was ten, they met Dill, a little boy who spent the summer with his aunt who lived next door to the Finches. Dill and Jem become obsessed with the idea of making Boo Radley, the neighborhood recluse, come out of his home. They go through plan after plan, but nothing draws him out. However, these brushes with the neighborhood ghost result in a tentative friendship over time and soon the Finch children realize that Boo Radley deserves to live in peace, so they leave him alone.

Scout and Jem's God-like father, Atticus, is a respected and upstanding lawyer in small Maycomb County. When he takes on a case that pits innocent, black Tom Robinson against two dishonest white people, Atticus knows that he will lose, but he has to defend the man or he can't live with himself. The case is the biggest thing to hit Maycomb County in years and it turns the whole town against Atticus, or so it seems. Scout and Jem are forced to bear the slurs against their father and watch with shock and disillusionment as their fellow townspeople convict an obviously innocent man because of his race. The only real enemy that Atticus made during the case was Bob Ewell, the trashy white man who accused Tom Robinson of raping his daughter. Despite Ewell's vow to avenge himself against Atticus, Atticus doesn't view Ewell as any real threat.

Tom Robinson is sent to a work prison to await another trial, but before Atticus can get him to court again, Tom is shot for trying to escape the prison. It seems that the case is finally over and life returns to normal until Halloween night. On the way home from a pageant, Bob Ewell attacks Jem and Scout in the darkness. After Jem's arm is badly broken, their ghostly neighbor, Boo Radley, rescues Scout and her brother. In order to protect Boo's privacy, the sheriff decides that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife while he was struggling with Jem. Boo Radley returns home never to be seen again.

Through the events of those two years, Scout learns that no matter their differences or peculiarities, the people of the world and of Maycomb County are all people. No one is lesser or better than anyone else because they're all people. She realizes that once you get to know them, most people are good and kind no matter what they seem like on the outside." (source of synopsis: http://www.bookrags.com/notes/tkm/SUM.html)