Ma

          Ma is a character who I definitely admire, but sometimes (after they've escaped Room) I don't understand her behavior and wish I had an insight into what she's thinking.
          I'm not sure if this from Ma's brain going on crazy survival mode after being locked up, or if she's just really smart and resourceful (probably a combination of both), but it seems like Ma does an amazing job of finding creative solutions for things and making do with what she has. Like, how she thought to hit Old Nick on the head with the lid from the toilet. Or, how she rations supplies so well and only asks for special things that are, for the most part, reusable-- such as crayons instead of markers. She comes up with so many things to do with Jack, like making Eggsnake. She's also so determined. Aside from when she's "gone," she keeps Jack on such a strict schedule and gives him as much education and structure as she possibly can. She keeps him sharp and makes him work sometimes rather than just doing fun, lazing around things all the time. She makes him do things he doesn't want to do, but she also turns things that might not otherwise be fun into games-- like Scream.
          Another thing I'm amazed at is thinking about what happened after Jack was first born, how did she possibly manage to take care of a baby in Room?? Babies are ton of work, in a lot of ways more work than older kids. There are so many things she wouldn't have had access to that make taking care of a baby a lot easier. She had just come out of severe depression, and then she had to literally put all her time, energy, and focus into baby Jack. And, she probably didn't get a lot of sleep. It would be so difficult to constantly provide enough stimulation for the baby to develop instead of just slacking and only taking care of the baby's basic needs (which is hard enough on it's own). She also was so young and had no experience with parenting other than babysitting which Grandma mentions she did.
          As amazing as all this is, there were times after Jack and Ma had escaped where I got annoyed with her. Like, when she was overly snappy and mean with the people at the Clinic. It's understandable to make snap judgements on her new stepfather who was totally out of the blue for her, or of the interviewer who was asking her ridiculous questions, but there were a lot of times when I thought; really Ma, really? That was unnecessary.

Leo

          I haven't done a post on Room and I'd like to talk about Leo.
          Leo is an interesting character whom I actually really like. When we first see him, it's at the Clinic when Grandma visits Ma and Jack. Ma makes a quick judgement of him and doesn't really like him. This is understandable: her parents were divorced unbeknownst to her and her mother has now married this older man who, Ma notes, smells like weed. I can see why Ma isn't jumping for joy upon meeting Leo, but I never shared her dislike for him. Obviously it's tough to deal with such a huge change for Ma, but she can't blame any of this on Leo and I found it kind of funny that Grandma married a potential pothead.
          Later in the book when we got to know Leo more, it only made me like him more. He seems like a really cool guy to have as a grandpa (and, might I add, Steppa is a very cute thing for Jack to call him). He's a responsible adult, as demonstrated by the scene where he teaches Jack not to play with matches. He's also very patient and keeps his cool. He seems to be able to handle tense situations well, like when Jack has his first big tantrum and Grandma can't deal. Leo firmly carries him upstairs and sets him on the bed, then rewards Jack for calming down by suggesting something fun and chill to do. Leo is able to teach things to Jack in a more fun and relaxed way. It's easy for Jack to feel like Leo is on his side (Leo doesn't tell Grandma that Jack was playing with fire). I particularly enjoy the scene where Leo shows Jack how to play with Legos. Jack had been so used to being really careful with everything he had in Room, since he and Ma didn't have access to many resources. The concept of a toy where you can just break it and put it back together however you want was very foreign to him. When Leo stomps on his creation, I think it was a baby step to teaching Jack an important lesson about Outside-- things aren't always in your control and won't go perfectly all the time, so when they don't you can just try again.