Review from John Ross Barnes

A 60-second sketch,
in reaction to Spillworthy,
by John Ross Barnes

Review from John Ross Barnes:

"Ulysses, a ten year old homeless boy from Portland Oregon is transplanted to small town/rural Idaho. He leaves his journal in a tree with a twelve year old girl's journal. 

The conversations the middle-graders have through their written journals begins to reflect not only their own sad, colorful, and sometimes profound circumstances, but also those of others around them. 

Some of those others are in serious straits, and those in positions of authority seem unwilling or unable to help.

As sometimes happens in real life they are on their own, forced by the actions of others, and their own consciences to deal with what is beyond the pale.

Johanna Harness entertains us so well with an adventurous, yet totally believable story, that sometimes we might not realize just how deeply she is delving into the human condition, and some of the myriad ways we react both as individuals, and as a society to the all-too-human creatures of those depths. 

This book will teach your children and it will teach you, and the groove it will carve in your brain will be deep and wide, and you will have enjoyed the carving.

I tell you three times, this is one to pay attention to."