About the Book:
Rae is ten years old, and she's tough. She's had to be: life with her mother has taught her the world is not her friend. Now suddenly her mum is gone and Rae is alone, except for her dog Splinter.
Rae can do a lot of things pretty well for a kid. She can take care of herself and Splints, stay under the radar at school and keep the front yard neat enough that the neighbours won't get curious. But she is gnawed at by fear and sadness; haunted by the shadow of a terrible secret.
Lettie, who lives next door, might know more about Rae than she lets on. But she has her own reasons for keeping the world at arm's length. When Rae finds out what they are, it seems like she and Lettie could help each other.
But how long can a friendship last when it's based on secrets?
Tender, funny, heartbreaking—A Million Things is a story of grief and resilience, told with eloquent simplicity. In brave, spiky Rae, Emily Spurr has created a character you will never forget.
Published by Text Publishing Australia
Released March 2021
My Thoughts:
After recently reading - and adoring - Beatrix and Fred, I immediately wanted to read more from Emily Spurr. Many people mentioned how much they loved A Million Things when I reviewed Beatrix and Fred, so that was my next stop. I listened to it on audio, and it was brilliant. An absolute masterpiece of a novel with excellent narration.
From the beginning of the novel, Rae is counting forward from something. Something she doesn't want to admit, much less lay voice to. Readers can rapidly read between the lines and quickly deduce what it is. The tragedy of witnessing this child navigate her way past - not through, she doesn't allow for that - her grief so that she can focus on survival and keeping things ticking over as normal as possible is probably one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever read.
Her dog Splints is her best friend and constant companion. This scruffy loyal dog becomes a character in his own right. A near tragedy towards the end had me struggling for composure and weeping constantly. An unexpected bonus of listening to your book rather than reading turns out to be that you don't need to stop for tears!
And Lettie, who has her own struggles and who Rae accidentally befriends. This was such a gorgeous and life affirming relationship. Lettie's struggles also gave me quite a bit of insight into hoarding and the emotional aspects of it.
A Million Things is as close to a perfect novel as you will ever get. It's heavy though, thematically, so if you're looking for something light and fluffy, not this. Deep and meaningful, most definitely. An absolutely brilliant novel and Emily Spurr has catapulted herself into my list of top authors.
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