It is one of those books that grips the readers from beginning to end. As a mother of daughters, I have been teaching them from very young not to trust strangers, especially those that ask for directions, help with cat or dog, help with an arm in a sling ...
This nineteen year old girl who was captured did nothing wrong except wanting to be kind to a stranger to help a dog. For that desire to be of help, she was confined for seven long years in a 11x11 feet room. There she was raped repeatedly and carried two babies to full term. The first one was suffocated at birth. She managed to raise the second one, a son, to be five years old. Mother and son worked to escape and they succeeded.
It was a tale of utter horror. Yet, the readers saw it from the angle of an innocent five year old. To the captured mum, it was a prison. But to the kid, the 11x11 room was his entire world.
To quote the New Yorker, "It's a testament to Donohhue's imagination and empathy that she is able to fashion radiance from such horror."
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