Noah Barleywater Runs Away

This delightful, bittersweet 'fairytale' is a flight of fantasy with playful use of language . . . a joy from start to finish. Noah's heartbreaking emotional journey is lightened by a rich vein of absurd humour and eccentric characters (Sally Morris Daily Mail 2010-12-17)

With goodly dollops of magic and wonderful surrealism, [the book] has a fable-like quality. If they like magical stories, and if they like to deal with serious issues in a metaphorical way, they will love this sweet, funny and kindly book. I certainly did (Jill Murphy Bookbag 2010-09-14)

Noah Barleywater Runs Away is a carefully crafted whimsical gem, a story to share with others and to discuss at book clubs, a true publishing event. I would recommend this unusual, life-affirming tale to adult readers, and as a read-aloud for thoughtful children of age eight or nine-plus (Irish Independent (Eire) 2010-10-02)

The style and language is accessible to children but Boyne is still able to create a story of great subtlety, imagination and compassion. The ending, while extremely moving, is neither trite nor contrived . . . Boyne succeeds because he set out to write a great book which could be enjoyed by children, and naturally, as with all great books, by adults also (Alec McAllister Sunday Business Post (Eire) 2010-11-07)

Noah Barleywater Runs Away is a lovely story wrapped in magic and fairytale, and has reminded me how much I love John Boyne's writing. Readers of all ages will find something charming about this story, and it'll make you think about your own actions and how time moves a lot quicker than we think. I highly recommend it to everyone, whether you're old, young or just an 8-year-old boy looking for an adventure (Wondrous Reads 2010-10-05)