Room by Emma Donoghue

For an utterly compelling--and totally different--kind of tale, pick up Room by Emma Donoghue. Five-year-old Jack and his mother (known to us only as Ma)live in a tiny garden shack, held captive by a man called Nick. Since Jack was born in captivity, this is the only life he's known and he's perfectly content. (I was amazed at how creative Ma was in finding ways to entertain and educate Jack in their tiny little home.) Ma, on the other hand, is depressed and anxious and wants to escape.

While it sounds like this would be a grim, depressing story, it's not--for 2 reasons. One is because Jack is the narrator and he is fascinated by the world around him.
The other is because, at heart, it's a touching story of the love between a mother and child. I read the whole book in one day.