this book was a lot different then what i usually read .It held all my attention till the end.The author was good in telling about hoarding.the telling of this story thru a ten year old was great.she presented all the characters as real people that i could relate too.It presented that yes the characters had serious problems but they werent bad people..the way the story was told ,it came out as postive and sad at the same time.Only part i couldnt relate too is i cant see a child going for over a month living by herself with out it being discovered sooner.

“Knowing you is not one thing, it was never one thing. It’s a million things.”
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This book broke my heart into a million little pieces. It’s the story of 55 days in the life of Rae, who’s managing to keep up with all her day-to-day activities in the sudden absence of her less than stable mother. Her dog, Splinter, is her best friend and they do everything together. There is also Lettie, the crass old lady that lives next door. However, one day Lettie experiences a fall, and her and Rae develop a very unlikely friendship. These two help each other out in more ways than one. Rae eventually tells Lettie everything, including where her mom is, after a tragic accident leaves her in the hospital.
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While reading, it’s easy to forget Rae is just a 10 (almost 11) year old girl. The things she goes through and how she carries herself often make you think otherwise. This little girl is fierce, brave, and undoubtedly loyal. She loves her people (and Splinter!) so much and will do anything to protect them; even if that includes punching the annoying neighbor boy in the nose.
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This book was beautiful written. I loved the style and inner monologue of Rae. It is like one giant letter to her mom. Great for fans of Eleanor Oliphant and All The Ugly and Wonderful Things.
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TW: suicide, violence towards animals, mental health

I read a quote recently about how when you finish a book it's so sad because you fall in love with the characters but that's all you will ever know about them once you finish, so it is heartbreaking. We'll, this is one of those books. I'm going to need Emily Spurr to create a blog or something where we get to just check in with Rae and Lettie once every few months. Not too much to ask?

This book got me from the very beginning. Told from the viewpoint of 10 year old Rae, it is difficult to review without giving things away, but she's a resourceful, clever little girl who I fell completely in love with. She and her trusty sidekick Splinter come into contact with the nosy old lady who lives next door, Lettie - and the story unfolds from there. Rae would get on well with Molly Hook (All Our Shimmering Skies) and Super Gumboots Willa (A Lifetime of Impossible Days). She's one of those girls who are a glorious mix of guts and innocence.

It is a lot darker than I was expecting. I sat with my hand over my mouth in some parts, and I cried my eyes out in others. At one point I stopped reading and covered my eyes so that I did not have to read the next part. It is that good!

Emily Spurr's writing is incredible - the book is quite olfactory and the way smells are described made it so that you could almost smell it yourself. Also the anxiety and stress described at times for both characters was so spot on - it made my stomach tighten and you could feel exactly what they were feeling.

I could rave on all day. I love this book and when it is published I will be getting myself a physical copy and it will be going straight on my favourites shelf. Rae and Lettie are going to stay with me for a long long time and I will recommend this book to one and all!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Text Publishing for approving the advanced ebook for me.

I liked how this book was written from 10 year old point of views. This book is beautifully written and I love the author style of writing you get a real feel for the characters. It is heartwarming and sad story and a your girl and her next door neighbour who has her own problems but they find each other and give comfort to one another which is lovely. This book is about being on your own , obsessions grief and love.
I highly recommend this book to other people. I will definitely be reading more books from this author.
Thank you NetGalley and Emily Spurr

Heartbreaking but lovely, without spoilers, is the best way for me to describe this book. I loved Rae and I was so in love with her resilience. Definitely worth a read!

I read this in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down.
I went into this book knowing nothing, and you should do the same. Don’t read too many reviews, just go read the book!

If you are one who can’t do that though...
It started with a gut punch. I didn’t know if I could read this. But the writer’s craft drew me in. The ambiguity of not knowing at the beginning had an almost thriller feel as I tried to figure out who. Who was left behind? Am I being vague right now? Yes, go read the book!

The climax of the book was so emotional, once again, I almost had to stop. Serious gut punch. But I was mentally relieved during the falling action, so see it through to the end. This is an emotional roller coaster! These characters will live in your heart for a long time.

If you liked Where the Crawdad’s Sing, Room and Ove, mix them together and you have A Million Things.

This book is: great for discussion for a book club, memorable, serious, triggering for parental suicide, abandonment.

This book is not: a beach read, light reading, feel good, forgettable.

#AMillionThings # EmilySpurr #NetGalley

4.5. What an incredible read.

In this book, we follow Rae, a 9-going-10-year-old girl whose mother has disappeared. She is struggling to make sense of things. Her dog, Splinter, is the only one who knows the truth and keeps her company in a house full of memories.

As others have pointed out, it is hard to get sold on the girl´s POV right away. But then, as the story evolves, you see how the circumstances in life shape her, and you get invested in Rae´s story. She is resilient and intelligent and way too mature for her age, and yet she is just a kid that misses her mother.

Being alone takes a toll on her, and people are starting to notice her mother is not there. You see the cracks getting bigger and the panic attacks settling hard. However, the unlikely friendship between Rae and her elderly neighbor Lettie helps in many ways. Lettie is a very complex character and a somewhat bitter lady that also suffers in silence. Their relationship was portrayed beautifully, adding another layer of issues and themes to the story, which I really enjoyed.

The climax of the book was well crafted and heartwrenching, and by the end of the book, I was crying. It is a book about grief and loneliness, as well as it is about hope and finding friendship in unexpected places.
Loved it.

Thank you #Netgalley and #AMillionThings for the ARC

Rae a remarkably mature 11 year old girl has to figure out what to do after her only parent, her mother is gone. Lettie lives next door in a "hoarder house" and hasn't moved past the tragic death of her young daughter years ago. Rae continues to clean and cook for herself, attend school and take care of her dog Splinter all while keeping the secret that she has no mother to herself.
I almost stopped reading this at the beginning because it seemed so unlikely and bizarre but I liked Rae's true grit and determination and the blooming relationships between Lettie and Rae.. Two lost souls who can help each other live their life all while hiding their secrets.
The book got better and better though and I wanted to keep reading and root for Lettie and Rae to have good lives. The ending was satisfactory also.

Oh my gosh, I was not expecting to get so invested in Rae's life, but I did. I wasn't sure about the book from the beginning, since it's written a little stuttery, but this is going down as one of my favorite books. This book brought out so many emotions in me- I was nervous for Rae the whole time, I felt for Lottie and everything she was going through, and Splinter... Let's just say I cried a few times towards the end. What a journey. Highly recommend this book.

Wow, what a rollercoaster ride of emotions. After the first page, I was not sure this was going to be the book for me. The 10-year old narrator is precisely that. Ten years old. Hopping from one thing to the next, and looping back again. I persisted and then it took me exactly six pages to fall in love with little Rae and her dog Splinter. Exploring the world, its wonders, its dangers and all its inhabitants through Rae's eyes and internal conversation was refreshing. The connection forged between Rae and her grumpy old neighbor Lennie over hot-chocolates is so unassuming and supportive without question, it could be an inspiration for everyone when it comes to understanding grief and loneliness, as well as building resilience and lasting friendship..

This book had me laughing out loud, crying real ugly tears and ultimately gave me back some faith in humanity.

Thank you to #Net Galley and #A Million Things.

What an emotional roller coaster. I usually do not enjoy books with children as narrators but this book was an exception. What a brave, capable, empathetic, resilient character we have in 10 year old Rae. You will be rooting for her and her dog Splinter throughout the story. I so not want to give anything away since I would like you read this book and have it unfold for you naturally. I'll just say that it is a book of unconscionable grief, empathy ,friendship, love, and resilience. The on-going dialog in Rae's head is so heart-wrenching yet natural. Her developing friendship with the curmudgeonly older next door neighbor works beautifully and believably only because of the character of Rae. I hope to see more for Emily Spurr and will gladly read whatever she writes.

This book ticked all the boxes for me and I didn't expect it to be so great considering it was from a 9 year old's point of view but that made it all the better. This unique perspective provides this story with a fresh curiosity right from the start. Spurr introduces the reader to a lot of inner dialogue, then slowly branches out, peeling away the layers of the background. This style mirrors the book's setting, another amazing literary device, and once the stakes are introduced, any reader will have a hard time putting the book down.

A new empathy sprouted inside of me from reading this piece, and I will never look at mental health issues, and they way it effects our loved ones, the same way again. I thought the story played out realistically, and while the plot line ended up being more about the emotional and psychological ramifications, I still clung to every sensory detail.

I recommend this book for anybody who is looking to read a heartwarming story about a young girl, and her older friend, who are determined to make everything as normal as possible in a not-so-normal world. An incredible story of the triumph of the human spirit in the worst of circumstances. All. The. Stars.

I couldn't get interested in some of the descriptions. I wasn't hooked by character or dialogue. I loved cover and summary.