Review posted by Linnie Steenvoorden on Goodreads:
It’s been a while since I finished a book in one sitting. But this one I just couldn’t put down.
The story is laid out like breadcrumbs. It begins very small. The way it’s written prevents you from zooming out and seeing the bigger picture. It keeps you hanging on. One more page. One more, one more. Right until the very end.
Without copying the style the story and pacing remind me of one of my childhood favourites. (The Famous Five).
Great ending and a lovely underlying message, which I will not spoil here. Not everything is Spillworthy.
Sssh. Don’t look up…
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Spillworthy releases on May 1, 2014!
Review posted by Mariam Kobras on Goodreads:
"A note rolled up inside a note, left in the fence:
Some truths are kept hidden in the basement of our souls. We should never stop trying to find them."
Spillworthy by Johanna Harness has left me baffled, surprised, speechless, and with the deep wish that all schools all over the world put this middle-grade novel in their libraries, and not only one copy, but fifty. Or maybe one-hundred. Or maybe enough copies so every child can take it home and then "release" it into the world so it becomes a real Spillworthy, a piece of writing set free into the world.
I just know that kids will devour this book, and maybe not only kids. When I began reading I had a text marker in my hand to highlight notable passages, only I gave up a few pages into the book. Every page is noteworthy, full of observations, insight, philosophy.
This: "Maybe we're all supposed to be making music together whether it feels like we belong together or not. Maybe it's not enough to live your own lives with quiet respect for others. Maybe we're supposed to be reaching and connecting – even when it seems like there's no way that's possible."
This novel reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird; the kids are of about the same age, and sometimes the tone is similar. Then again, it's something completely different, something not attempted before, both in style and form.
Buy this book. Read it. Share it. It's a wonderful book!
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Mariam is an amazing writer, so her praise means a lot to me. You can see all her books on Goodreads as well. :)
