Feature & Follow Friday

I'm participating in my very first bloghop. Here's how it works:

Hosted  by Parajunkee's View & 

Alison Can Read

To participate, follow Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Grab the button, Post and answer this week's question, which appears below. With this hop, the main objective is to follow! You can find great new blogs, visit some of your favorite blogs and see how they all answer the question. 


I prefer you follow me through Network Blogs, via my author Facebook Page or through Linky Followers. Thank you.


Q: This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother’s Day, in celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships?

A: Room by Emma Donoghue

This book/story disturbed me far more than it entertained me, but considering the subject matter, I'm sure my opinion is not unique. It is narrated by a five-year old child, conceived by a woman held in captivity, who raises him a tiny "room," the size of a tool shed. Narration by a five-year-old is a tough perspective from which to write, I'm sure, but kudos to Emma Donoghue for pulling it off. This child's precocious nature and vocabulary is ultimately explained and is credited to his VERY close relationship with his mother.

Months after reading this book, I will say the story has stayed with me. Each time I read or hear about an abduction case in the news, I can't help but envision this tiny room, so clearly defined in the story, and contemplate what this type of captivity does to the victims--in this case both the mother and the child.

Considering this week's TIME MAGAZINE cover story on "Attachment Parenting," this novel is a very power illustration of this concept. The big difference, of course, is that this mother (the mother in the story, "Ma") had no choice but to continue breast feeding her child until he was five.