Noah Barleywater Runs Away
by John Boyne
Author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
"Noah Barleywater left home in the early morning before the sun rose, before the dogs woke, before the the dew stopped falling on the fields. He climbed out of bed and shuffled into the clothes he'd laid out the night before, holding his breath as he crept quietly downstairs...Am I doing the right thing? he wondered, a great blanket of happy memories trying to break through and smother fresher, sadder ones.
But he had no choice. He couldn't bear to stay any longer. No one could blame him for that, surely. Anyway, it was probably best that he went out to make his own way in the world. After all, he was already eight years old and the truth was, he hadn't really done anything with his life so far."
Thus begins Boyne's latest book about a boy on a journey, a magical toyshop, and the power of parental love. I admit that at first the book seemed slow and discomfortingly strange. I was as confused as Noah, but intrigued at why an eight year old would run away from an apparently happy home. That short-lived, romantic notion to pack one's most prized possessions in a bandana and head off into the world had seized me, like many others, at around age eight as well. So I continued with the story and began discovering myself along with Noah.
A quietly powerful book especially fitting for adults and thoughtful young adult readers, I would recommend reading this book at two or three reading sessions max instead of 10 minutes here and there. And don't read any book reviews on this book (besides this one). The book is too beautiful, surprising, and powerful to have a single experience spoiled. Laced with messages of self-discovery, broken and kept promises, and commitment to family, I cried in the final few chapters...and then called my mom. Perhaps you will, too.
