4 out of 4 stars
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Life Works When by Sarah Godfrey is an inspirational read that takes us on a journey of life and the attainment of happiness.
In the beginning, Mo stares up the unnerving flight of stairs he has to climb. He has tried before and keeps failing. Nothing seems to work. He tries going backward or even skipping some stairs, but every time he ends up tumbling to the start. The process becomes much more frustrating with every effort and worse still, he has not figured out how to use the happiness jigsaw puzzle that he has to carry along to the top. One day, a stranger arrives. Mo is curious and excited to see how the new person will fair. At first, everything that Happ does seems to make no sense to Mo. He is sure that this new friend will fail as he has done before. Later Mo realizes how Happ’s style is different and could be the key to unlock his own jigsaw puzzle of happiness.
The use of a story to convey the themes and core messages is a brilliant idea that allowed me to remain engaged to the end. Mo’s perspective to life and how happiness is achieved is relatable. Happ’s viewpoint and actions, on the other hand, opened my mind to new ways to view unexpected occurrences and what happiness actually is as well as life in general.
Carol Gray’s illustrations are whimsical and fun which makes the reading experience much more enjoyable. The illustrations are not too colorful or striking that they take away the reader’s attention from the main story, rather, they complement the content of the book as they entertain and point to Godfrey’s work.
Sarah Godfrey keeps the book’s length short making it a quick read. The story is straight-forward and can be easily understood by adults and children alike. The language used is easily understandable and delivers the book’s message perfectly. The quotes marked in the book provide great learning points. They also helped me put what I had learned into perspective and provided great take away points. I liked the authenticity in Godfrey’s message. What is written in the book is not necessarily new but the way everything is organized and how the message is put together is what makes the difference.
Overall, Life Works When by Sarah Godfrey is enlightening as it encourages the reader to seek after their own happiness and it also provides guiding steps to achieving it. It is suitable for any reader, regardless of their age, who wants to lead a meaningful and happy life. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars.
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Life Works When
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