Room

[sami1985]

I just read this book and loved it so much. It is written from the perspective of a 5 year old boy who lives in a shed with his mum who was kidnapped when she was 19 and impregnated by kidnapper.

Its the sort of book that really stays with you, and the author has captured the essence of the child so well.

Does anyone know of any other books that are written from a child's perspective?

[cookielove]

I believe that 'the curious incident of the dog in the night time' is but I read it years ago.

Also you have kinda revealed a major spoiler in your op

[sami1985]

Have I? I thought that was all in the blurb on the back of the book? really sorry if I have, I'm new to this! is there a way to edit or delete posts?

[cookielove]

I didn't think you found out about there circumstances until later in the book, I apologise if I am wrong its been a while since I read it!

[MsFiremanSam]

I loved it too. I read it just after I had my son and I found the mother-son relationship so touching - how he loved her so much, and the comfort he got from her feeding him. A couple of years later and I still haven't forgotten it.

[Chloerose75]

Cookie I dont think its a major spoiler, as far as I remember it was clear from the outset of the book that that was the scenario.

I go against the grain with this book and didn't like it;it made me feel a bit uncomfortable :(

[Elsiequadrille]

I didn't like it. I remember major criticism was that the child's 'voice' wasn't convincing, E.g. (and casting mind back) the comment the boy made about Princess Diana.

[DuchessofMalfi]

I'm with Chloe on this. Read it last year, and really didn't like it. Made me feel very uncomfortable, didn't think the child's voice authentic, and I thought the way the mother used him in a major part of the plot (trying not to plot spoil here ) was downright reckless. He was 5 not 15.

Too many holes in the plot for it to work for me. Left me cold. Not a great mother son relationship later on in the book either. They were too damaged.

[AgentProvocateur]

I didn't like it either. I thought the child's voice was hugely irritating, and the ending was ridiculous. I was in a minority in my book group, though. Everyone else loved it.

[antimatter]

I read and can recommend:
Book Thief
Mister Pip

both written from child's perspective, both v. good

I haven't read Life of Pi and God of small things - both supposed to be v.good.

I also enjoyed Room and The curious incident of the dog in the night time.

[DuchessofMalfi]

I meant to suggest To Kill A Mockingbird. It's narrated by Scout. She's 5 or 6 at the time of the events, but she does look back from an adult perspective.

Maybe not quite what you're looking for but an excellent novel all the same.

[TheGirlOnTheLanding]

Another recent novel written from a child's viewpoint that you might enjoy is When God was a Rabbit.

I love To Kill A Mockingbird. One of those I go back to again and again.

[littlebluedog12]

I loved the book and found the mother/child relatiinship quite authentic- of course it's not going to be perfect. Definitely the kind of book that stays with you.

Not from a child's perspective but try The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell for a beautifully written book about motherhood.

[SooticaTheWitchesCat]

I read the first few pages of Room and thought it was awful but then I read on and really got into it and I loved it so much I finished it in 2 days.

[DuchessofMalfi]

Going back to the OP's request for more books narrated by children, I've just finished listening to an audiobook - The Story of Before by Susan Stairs.

It's narrated by Ruth, who is 11 at the start of the story, and 13 by the time it finishes. Its a story leading up to the death of a child (not a spoiler, she says so at the beginning), and it's pretty clear who it will be.

It's very good, well written, and keeps up the tension throughout. Lots of twists and turns, and you're never really sure until towards the end who's going to do what. Even though you know there will be a death, it's still shocking when it comes and how it happens.

[secretscwirrels]

Hated it. Badly written and tedious.
On a similar vein The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Equally bad, same childish style.

[Wishfulmakeupping]

Me and Emma is fab. I loved room too

[ZacharyQuack]

The Bear by Claire Cameron is written from the point of view of a 5 year old girl.

[PomBearWithAnOFRS]

The "Kellie's Diary" series is about the zombie apocalypse through the eyes of a small girl, and how she manages to survive.
I got it on kindle, for coppers and I'm not even sure if it's available as a "real" book so to speak. It is good though, it's the "knowing" and reading between the lines where the little girl doesn't understand quite what's happening to and around her, that makes it so creepy/shudder making iykwim. It's not that it's dead gory or anything, if anything it's the remaining humans who are worse than the zombies, and it is a good read from an overcrowded genre.