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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
The Girl Who Changed The World by Machiel Hoek revolves around a girl named Lisa, who is on a path of self-discovery, guided by her grandfather. After a fall, Lisa expresses feelings of loneliness and frustration with the changes around her. Her grandfather introduces "The Lisa Project: The Secret of Life" as a means of helping Lisa understand the world at large. Through various exercises, such as sensory awareness activities and discussions about perception, Lisa learns how people experience the world differently and how thoughts and emotions shape reality. Grandpa opens up about past regrets, including his strained relationship with Lisa’s father and the guilt he carries elsewhere, including a betrayal and a tragic accident. Lisa learns lessons about responsibility, empathy, and accepting both herself and others. She also embraces her own fears and desires, using the project to better understand how to fuel growth with them... but there's still more to do.
The Girl Who Changed The World by Machiel Hoek is a deeply insightful and intentionally based novel that takes its shape through the generational wisdom that passes between grandfather and granddaughter. It is a universal question regardless of age, wanting to know some of life's meaning, and Lisa and Grandpa are effective conduits for it. Hoek’s writing is both thoughtful and, sometimes, intensely philosophical. The story does not have a traditional plot and instead leans into exposition and explanation through dialogue. Lisa and Grandpa are well-developed as characters, especially Grandpa, who I actually thought showed even greater growth than Lisa as a man with many more decades of emotional trauma and life experience that needed to be reconciled. Overall, the book’s thoughtful messages about love, forgiveness, and the importance of self-acceptance make it a perfect read for those looking for a novel with a little more depth and a lot of heart. Recommended.
