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shelfofunread's review against another edition
4.0
There are some books that you just don’t know quite how to review and, for me, Sarah Stovell’s The Home is definitely one of them.
To say that I ‘enjoyed’ The Home seems…wrong somehow. Don’t get me wrong, the book had me absolutely gripped from page one and I was invested in the characters the whole way through, desperate to reach the final pages and find out the truth about what had happened to Hope, Annie and Lara.
But ‘enjoy’ isn’t quite the right word for a book that deals with such incredibly harrowing topics. Drug abuse, self-harm, child neglect, grooming, prostitution, sexual abuse – Stovell does not shy away from confronting these issues head-on. The result is a devastating portrayal of a teenage emotional drama and a heartbreaking look at the potential consequences for children forced to grow up in the underbelly of society.
The Home opens with the body of a fifteen-year-old being found on a cold Christmas morning. Another girl, still alive but half-mad with grief and despair, sits beside her. Thus we are introduced to Hope and Annie, two teenagers with disturbing shadows in their pasts who, despite everything, find love – and a kind of reconciliation – through and with each other. But now Hope is dead and Annie is in trouble. Who killed Hope? Who was the father of her unborn baby? And what does any of this have to do with Lara, a selective mute who makes up the third in the trio of damaged and difficult girls who live at The Home?
Answering these questions will take the reader on a shocking and emotive journey into the past and present of these three young women. From their childhoods, each fraught with violence in their own way, to their move into care and their relationships with each other, Stovell has crafted a complex and multi-layered narrative that wraps you up in the lives of Hope, Annie, Lara and the staff who have come, in their own ways, to care for the girls.
Told from multiple perspectives, Stovell has done an excellent job of giving each of the girls a voice – from Hope’s angry howl to Annie’s grief-stricken despair and Lara’s quietly devastating resilience, I felt like I knew these girls and could hear them in my head as I read.
Needless to say, given the subject matter, this does not always make for a very comfortable place to be. Indeed, at times The Home made my stomach churn and my skin crawl. Although the narrative is never graphic, Stovell’s writing fully conveys the horror of what these girls have faced and she confronts her emotive subject matter with devastating clarity.
And the emotional turmoil is heartbreaking – I could practically feel the potential stored in Hope, Lara and Annie but could sense how, because of their backgrounds, they were stuck; poised forever between hope and fear, love and despair. The interspersed chapters from Helen, the manager at The Home, provided the perfect counterpoint to this and illustrate the challenges faced by child protective services in a world dominated by ever-increasing challenges and ever-decreasing budgets.
Be under no illusions – The Home is a disturbing and, at times, difficult read so be prepared. But if you can handle the subject matter, you’ll find a gritty, gripping and exquisitely written novel that handles its emotive subject matter with both sensitivity and skill.
As I said at the start of this review, I can’t say I ‘enjoyed’ it – much like Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life, the subject matter makes The Home a book that the word just doesn’t fully encompass. I would say, however, that The Home is a brilliant, complex and emotionally invested read and that I would urge anyone who can handle the triggering subject matter to pick this one up.
NB: This review first appeared on my blog, www.theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com, as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
To say that I ‘enjoyed’ The Home seems…wrong somehow. Don’t get me wrong, the book had me absolutely gripped from page one and I was invested in the characters the whole way through, desperate to reach the final pages and find out the truth about what had happened to Hope, Annie and Lara.
But ‘enjoy’ isn’t quite the right word for a book that deals with such incredibly harrowing topics. Drug abuse, self-harm, child neglect, grooming, prostitution, sexual abuse – Stovell does not shy away from confronting these issues head-on. The result is a devastating portrayal of a teenage emotional drama and a heartbreaking look at the potential consequences for children forced to grow up in the underbelly of society.
The Home opens with the body of a fifteen-year-old being found on a cold Christmas morning. Another girl, still alive but half-mad with grief and despair, sits beside her. Thus we are introduced to Hope and Annie, two teenagers with disturbing shadows in their pasts who, despite everything, find love – and a kind of reconciliation – through and with each other. But now Hope is dead and Annie is in trouble. Who killed Hope? Who was the father of her unborn baby? And what does any of this have to do with Lara, a selective mute who makes up the third in the trio of damaged and difficult girls who live at The Home?
Answering these questions will take the reader on a shocking and emotive journey into the past and present of these three young women. From their childhoods, each fraught with violence in their own way, to their move into care and their relationships with each other, Stovell has crafted a complex and multi-layered narrative that wraps you up in the lives of Hope, Annie, Lara and the staff who have come, in their own ways, to care for the girls.
Told from multiple perspectives, Stovell has done an excellent job of giving each of the girls a voice – from Hope’s angry howl to Annie’s grief-stricken despair and Lara’s quietly devastating resilience, I felt like I knew these girls and could hear them in my head as I read.
Needless to say, given the subject matter, this does not always make for a very comfortable place to be. Indeed, at times The Home made my stomach churn and my skin crawl. Although the narrative is never graphic, Stovell’s writing fully conveys the horror of what these girls have faced and she confronts her emotive subject matter with devastating clarity.
And the emotional turmoil is heartbreaking – I could practically feel the potential stored in Hope, Lara and Annie but could sense how, because of their backgrounds, they were stuck; poised forever between hope and fear, love and despair. The interspersed chapters from Helen, the manager at The Home, provided the perfect counterpoint to this and illustrate the challenges faced by child protective services in a world dominated by ever-increasing challenges and ever-decreasing budgets.
Be under no illusions – The Home is a disturbing and, at times, difficult read so be prepared. But if you can handle the subject matter, you’ll find a gritty, gripping and exquisitely written novel that handles its emotive subject matter with both sensitivity and skill.
As I said at the start of this review, I can’t say I ‘enjoyed’ it – much like Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life, the subject matter makes The Home a book that the word just doesn’t fully encompass. I would say, however, that The Home is a brilliant, complex and emotionally invested read and that I would urge anyone who can handle the triggering subject matter to pick this one up.
NB: This review first appeared on my blog, www.theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com, as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
tisareads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
kime's review against another edition
5.0
This book has one of the best and one of the most engaging first pages that I’ve ever read. I read it, and then I went back and read it again because I loved it so much. It painted a picture of two people that were so very unique. As a small taster, how about this for intriguing:
“I can picture her now, sweeping up the aisle
towards me…only her, white faced and spectral, her black dress whispering across the floor… There might be flowers too, black tulips in her hand, black roses at the altar.
…We were young, it was true. We were fragile, too. But we weren’t fragile like flowers. We were fragile like bombs.”
Okay, seriously, how can anyone not be intrigued by that? A black wedding dress, black tulips and black roses. Bombs. Oooh, this book had me, right there, right on the first page.
I know I’m starting to sound like a stuck record when I describe the thrillers that I read this way, but this psychological thriller is dark! But really, there is no better way to describe this devastatingly emotional, raw, real and shocking tale of three damaged young girls who live in a home for abused and neglected children.
This story is narrated primarily by Hope and Annie, two 15-year-old girls with backgrounds that will bring tears to your eyes. It’s one of those stories that will make you feel very uncomfortable, that will shock you, but which will keep you turning each page at a rapid rate. As the respective lives and backgrounds of Hope and Annie are disclosed, their stories are, quite simply, depressing as hell. We’re talking psychological abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, manipulation, drug abuse, prostitution, murder, suicide and so the list goes on. At this stage, you’re probably thinking that this sounds like an atrocious read. But wait, don’t go!
This is one of my favourite reads of the year. The writing is so beautiful, and often in contrast to the difficult subject matter. There were paragraphs in this book that I read two, sometimes three times. The observations made by some of the characters were so deep, even though they were themselves young, and I loved so many of the sentences that I read in this book. And although this is a psychological thriller, there is a lot of mystery and suspense throughout this book. Ultimately, this is a murder mystery but it’s told in such a different way, with such real and genuine characters. They are characters that you’ll get to know inside and out. Your heart will pump extra fast while reading about the lives of these girls, that I promise you.
While I was reading this book, it took over my world. I was so immersed in this story that I couldn’t tear myself away, even sitting in front of the TV with my husband, me wearing my noise reducing headphones so that I could read because I couldn’t put the book down for our evening routine. It’s a story that will punch you in the gut, and that will hang around thereafter, tickling your synapses when you least expect it. You’ll finish this book and it will stay with you, you’ll continue to think about it and it will be difficult to let go of the characters. If you’re looking for an easy-going, fun, fuzzy read, then I don’t advise that you pick this one up. But, if like me, you love gorgeous writing, stories that reflected the grubby world that we live in, dark events that open your eyes to the evil in the world, and dramatic characters then this is for you. Loved it!
Wow, I’m seriously on such a good reading streak at the moment. Long may it last!
“I can picture her now, sweeping up the aisle
towards me…only her, white faced and spectral, her black dress whispering across the floor… There might be flowers too, black tulips in her hand, black roses at the altar.
…We were young, it was true. We were fragile, too. But we weren’t fragile like flowers. We were fragile like bombs.”
Okay, seriously, how can anyone not be intrigued by that? A black wedding dress, black tulips and black roses. Bombs. Oooh, this book had me, right there, right on the first page.
I know I’m starting to sound like a stuck record when I describe the thrillers that I read this way, but this psychological thriller is dark! But really, there is no better way to describe this devastatingly emotional, raw, real and shocking tale of three damaged young girls who live in a home for abused and neglected children.
This story is narrated primarily by Hope and Annie, two 15-year-old girls with backgrounds that will bring tears to your eyes. It’s one of those stories that will make you feel very uncomfortable, that will shock you, but which will keep you turning each page at a rapid rate. As the respective lives and backgrounds of Hope and Annie are disclosed, their stories are, quite simply, depressing as hell. We’re talking psychological abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, manipulation, drug abuse, prostitution, murder, suicide and so the list goes on. At this stage, you’re probably thinking that this sounds like an atrocious read. But wait, don’t go!
This is one of my favourite reads of the year. The writing is so beautiful, and often in contrast to the difficult subject matter. There were paragraphs in this book that I read two, sometimes three times. The observations made by some of the characters were so deep, even though they were themselves young, and I loved so many of the sentences that I read in this book. And although this is a psychological thriller, there is a lot of mystery and suspense throughout this book. Ultimately, this is a murder mystery but it’s told in such a different way, with such real and genuine characters. They are characters that you’ll get to know inside and out. Your heart will pump extra fast while reading about the lives of these girls, that I promise you.
While I was reading this book, it took over my world. I was so immersed in this story that I couldn’t tear myself away, even sitting in front of the TV with my husband, me wearing my noise reducing headphones so that I could read because I couldn’t put the book down for our evening routine. It’s a story that will punch you in the gut, and that will hang around thereafter, tickling your synapses when you least expect it. You’ll finish this book and it will stay with you, you’ll continue to think about it and it will be difficult to let go of the characters. If you’re looking for an easy-going, fun, fuzzy read, then I don’t advise that you pick this one up. But, if like me, you love gorgeous writing, stories that reflected the grubby world that we live in, dark events that open your eyes to the evil in the world, and dramatic characters then this is for you. Loved it!
Wow, I’m seriously on such a good reading streak at the moment. Long may it last!
karlou's review against another edition
5.0
The Home opens with the death of a teenage girl but Sarah Stovell ensures her voice is not only heard but her story - which is sadly representative of the experiences of too many children - will linger long after the devastating conclusion has been reached. It is a murder mystery but far more than that, this harrowing novel explores what happens to those whose childhoods are ripped apart by neglect and abuse.
When young people have their trust in adults destroyed, it's not surprising that they should be drawn to one another and so it is for Hope and Annie when they are both placed in the care of Hillfoot House. Its remote location in the Lake District means the girls have little to do other than explore the surrounding area and soon form a passionate but destructive bond. When they are discovered missing on Christmas morning, the police deliver the tragic news that one of the girls has been found dead. As the novel progresses, both Hope and Annie's terrible stories are slowly revealed and it makes for necessarily difficult reading. There is a third girl in Hillfoot House, twelve-year-old Lara whose background has left her so traumatised, she is unable to speak. All three are clearly desperately vulnerable but while Hope and Annie's histories are more fully explored, the largely unexplained nature of what actually led to the tragedy which brought Lara to the home means she often cuts a particularly heartbreaking figure.
This may be fiction but there is a painful truth to The Home because what happens to these girls is the lived experience of real children and young people. Born into chaotic homes where mental illness, poverty and addiction leads to physical, psychological and sexual abuse, Hope and Annie's experiences are never anything less than distressing but there is nothing gratuitous here; the shame and guilt they feel is agonising and highlights why it's so important for people to understand that right now there are children being failed by their parents and by society as a whole. They are not easy young people; they are frequently belligerent, mistrustful and secretive but when they are barely able to cling on to life, they need these protective barriers against a world which has let them down time and again. That one of them ends up dead is perhaps horribly inevitable,
"We were fragile, too. But we weren't fragile like flowers. We were fragile like bombs."
Home to most of us conjures up feelings of warmth and safety but Hope, Annie and Lara have been denied that for most of their short lives. With staff who are demoralised by cuts and low wages, it's not surprising that mistakes are made at Hillfoot House but this is not so much a book about the failings within the care system as a heartending look at the circumstances which mean so many children are reliant on a system which cannot cope. It's hard to feel much sympathy for the adults who have failed these children but with the exception of one particularly loathsome individual, I was able to recognise that they too have been let down time and again and are also victims of a society which is unable or unwilling to help those living in its underbelly.
This dark, deeply affecting book never balks at discussing subjects as raw as youth suicide and the exploitation and prostitution of children, meaning that I can't describe The Home as enjoyable; it made me angry and desperately sad but Sarah Stovell's empathetic, perceptive writing ensured I couldn't tear my eyes from the page. This isn't an uplifting read and it never patronises its readers with false promises of hope but it is an important and realistic portrayal of young lives marked by abuse and violence. Highly recommended.
When young people have their trust in adults destroyed, it's not surprising that they should be drawn to one another and so it is for Hope and Annie when they are both placed in the care of Hillfoot House. Its remote location in the Lake District means the girls have little to do other than explore the surrounding area and soon form a passionate but destructive bond. When they are discovered missing on Christmas morning, the police deliver the tragic news that one of the girls has been found dead. As the novel progresses, both Hope and Annie's terrible stories are slowly revealed and it makes for necessarily difficult reading. There is a third girl in Hillfoot House, twelve-year-old Lara whose background has left her so traumatised, she is unable to speak. All three are clearly desperately vulnerable but while Hope and Annie's histories are more fully explored, the largely unexplained nature of what actually led to the tragedy which brought Lara to the home means she often cuts a particularly heartbreaking figure.
This may be fiction but there is a painful truth to The Home because what happens to these girls is the lived experience of real children and young people. Born into chaotic homes where mental illness, poverty and addiction leads to physical, psychological and sexual abuse, Hope and Annie's experiences are never anything less than distressing but there is nothing gratuitous here; the shame and guilt they feel is agonising and highlights why it's so important for people to understand that right now there are children being failed by their parents and by society as a whole. They are not easy young people; they are frequently belligerent, mistrustful and secretive but when they are barely able to cling on to life, they need these protective barriers against a world which has let them down time and again. That one of them ends up dead is perhaps horribly inevitable,
"We were fragile, too. But we weren't fragile like flowers. We were fragile like bombs."
Home to most of us conjures up feelings of warmth and safety but Hope, Annie and Lara have been denied that for most of their short lives. With staff who are demoralised by cuts and low wages, it's not surprising that mistakes are made at Hillfoot House but this is not so much a book about the failings within the care system as a heartending look at the circumstances which mean so many children are reliant on a system which cannot cope. It's hard to feel much sympathy for the adults who have failed these children but with the exception of one particularly loathsome individual, I was able to recognise that they too have been let down time and again and are also victims of a society which is unable or unwilling to help those living in its underbelly.
This dark, deeply affecting book never balks at discussing subjects as raw as youth suicide and the exploitation and prostitution of children, meaning that I can't describe The Home as enjoyable; it made me angry and desperately sad but Sarah Stovell's empathetic, perceptive writing ensured I couldn't tear my eyes from the page. This isn't an uplifting read and it never patronises its readers with false promises of hope but it is an important and realistic portrayal of young lives marked by abuse and violence. Highly recommended.
hedwigsworldofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
What did I just read?! Review up on my day of this blog tour!
jess_reads_books's review against another edition
5.0
The body of a fifteen-year-old girl has been found in a churchyard on Christmas morning. Hope Lacey didn’t lead an easy life. Growing up in a home where her mother battled drugs, alcohol, and prostitution, Hope’s needs were rarely looked after. Hope ended up living in The Home, an institute for young girls who come from violent and disturbing pasts. The Home is supposed to be a place for these girls to feel safe again, but Hope’s life didn’t follow that path. Someone was seeking revenge, but for what?
THE HOME is my second book by Sarah Stovell and she has yet again blown me away with her ability to write character relationships that captivate and draw me into them. In this story we meet Hope Lacey, a troubled girl who has had nothing positive remaining in her life. She lives in a place called The Home with two other girls around her age, Annie and Lara. Looking for a sense of happiness and purpose in her life, she quickly builds a relationship with Annie and it is Annie who is with Hope the morning her body is discovered. This relationship and discovery set the stage for the story within these pages, as the reader learns about each of the girls, their friendship, their pasts, and their present realities. I was captivated by every single aspect of these main characters and immediately was pulled into their world.
The subject matter within the pages of THE HOME is disturbing, but Stovell writes in a way that also shows the beauty within the darkness. Despite all that the young girls living in The Home have been through, the reader is able to see the light within them. It’s something that for me makes me want to learn every facet of the characters. To know what makes them tick and how they have survived what they have been through. Stovell allows the reader to learn the bulk of this information firsthand, as she alternates the narration between Annie and Hope. There are also portions of the story told by Helen, who runs The Home, which provides the outside opinion the reader needs to see the girls from an alternative perspective.
Stovell has mastered the art of driving a story forward in a thrilling and suspense-filled story. Utilizing short chapters and cliffhanger revelations, Stovell lures the reader into consuming chapter after chapter to find out more information. I never wanted to put this book down. There was constantly something new I needed to know more details about. The joy in this need was that the details I wanted weren’t always about the present day situation, but they were about events from the past or instances at The Home. There was never a part of this story that didn’t matter to me or that I wasn’t fully invested in.
I cannot say enough how brilliant this book was! If you enjoy suspense, thrillers, crime fiction, drama, or just reading in general, you must give this book a try! I promise you that you’re going to love it from the moment you open it until the late hours of the night when you finally finish!
A huge thank you to Orenda books for providing me with a free copy of this book!
THE HOME is my second book by Sarah Stovell and she has yet again blown me away with her ability to write character relationships that captivate and draw me into them. In this story we meet Hope Lacey, a troubled girl who has had nothing positive remaining in her life. She lives in a place called The Home with two other girls around her age, Annie and Lara. Looking for a sense of happiness and purpose in her life, she quickly builds a relationship with Annie and it is Annie who is with Hope the morning her body is discovered. This relationship and discovery set the stage for the story within these pages, as the reader learns about each of the girls, their friendship, their pasts, and their present realities. I was captivated by every single aspect of these main characters and immediately was pulled into their world.
The subject matter within the pages of THE HOME is disturbing, but Stovell writes in a way that also shows the beauty within the darkness. Despite all that the young girls living in The Home have been through, the reader is able to see the light within them. It’s something that for me makes me want to learn every facet of the characters. To know what makes them tick and how they have survived what they have been through. Stovell allows the reader to learn the bulk of this information firsthand, as she alternates the narration between Annie and Hope. There are also portions of the story told by Helen, who runs The Home, which provides the outside opinion the reader needs to see the girls from an alternative perspective.
Stovell has mastered the art of driving a story forward in a thrilling and suspense-filled story. Utilizing short chapters and cliffhanger revelations, Stovell lures the reader into consuming chapter after chapter to find out more information. I never wanted to put this book down. There was constantly something new I needed to know more details about. The joy in this need was that the details I wanted weren’t always about the present day situation, but they were about events from the past or instances at The Home. There was never a part of this story that didn’t matter to me or that I wasn’t fully invested in.
I cannot say enough how brilliant this book was! If you enjoy suspense, thrillers, crime fiction, drama, or just reading in general, you must give this book a try! I promise you that you’re going to love it from the moment you open it until the late hours of the night when you finally finish!
A huge thank you to Orenda books for providing me with a free copy of this book!
daniellelouis_'s review against another edition
5.0
I plunged in to the story of three girls who live in The Home, and the mystery around the murder of a pregnant 15 year old girl. The first chapter reeled me in, it was then that I knew that I would be feeding the kids toast for tea.
The way that the novel is written is from multiple point of views, if you've read Sarah's previous book Exquisite you'll know how Sarah develops characters with such a depth that they make you feel a kaleidoscope of emotions, mainly to do with them as a person, but also about what these girls have experienced in such a short life. Hope, Lara and Annie are three fictional characters, but they're built upon thousands of non - fictional children, the ones that experience constant change in foster parents, with a majority having a terrible start in life. This enhances the emotive essence of The Home, you can't help but feel sympathy and a peak of anger at the heart-breaking lives of these girls, the faces of those vulnerable children clawing to survive. If you're expecting a thriller that has a lulling beginning of happiness, you'll be disappointed, The Home is an immediate dark tale of three individual's living a life that they are desperate to escape, no matter what the path or consequences.
Sarah knits a sinister plot that is not only breath-holdingly suspenseful, but she also create an air of an untrustworthy atmosphere. Her attention to detail while unravelling the traumatic individual stories of the girls while keeping them all connected is an utter talent, especially while giving each character their own individual voices. I absolutely adore the psychologically twisted way that Sarah writes, her words will transport you into the novel until you finish the last page and left gasping for breath. The Home is a psychological thriller that will elicit a multitude of feelings, it'll make you shout out loud and it'll draw you in with its mystery and your curiosity of where the storyline is going to go. Yet again, Sarah Stovell has penned a mind warping psychological thriller that is literary magnificence. I highly, to the highest, recommend it!
The way that the novel is written is from multiple point of views, if you've read Sarah's previous book Exquisite you'll know how Sarah develops characters with such a depth that they make you feel a kaleidoscope of emotions, mainly to do with them as a person, but also about what these girls have experienced in such a short life. Hope, Lara and Annie are three fictional characters, but they're built upon thousands of non - fictional children, the ones that experience constant change in foster parents, with a majority having a terrible start in life. This enhances the emotive essence of The Home, you can't help but feel sympathy and a peak of anger at the heart-breaking lives of these girls, the faces of those vulnerable children clawing to survive. If you're expecting a thriller that has a lulling beginning of happiness, you'll be disappointed, The Home is an immediate dark tale of three individual's living a life that they are desperate to escape, no matter what the path or consequences.
Sarah knits a sinister plot that is not only breath-holdingly suspenseful, but she also create an air of an untrustworthy atmosphere. Her attention to detail while unravelling the traumatic individual stories of the girls while keeping them all connected is an utter talent, especially while giving each character their own individual voices. I absolutely adore the psychologically twisted way that Sarah writes, her words will transport you into the novel until you finish the last page and left gasping for breath. The Home is a psychological thriller that will elicit a multitude of feelings, it'll make you shout out loud and it'll draw you in with its mystery and your curiosity of where the storyline is going to go. Yet again, Sarah Stovell has penned a mind warping psychological thriller that is literary magnificence. I highly, to the highest, recommend it!
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review against another edition
5.0
A poignant and a slash to the chest kind of read. In order to love a book, you need to find something that speaks to you. It needs to draw out connections. It simply knows how you tick. The Home had this in spades. The talent coming to life in these pages are like liquid gold – valuable and rare. It has the addictive pull that ties you down and stops you doing your chores. The only thing The Home does is take you hostage and holds you to ransom until you have read the final word of the final page.
This book has everything you need to hold your attention in a futile struggle. The stable Children’s Home. A forbidden love. Terrible parenting. Terrible decisions. Toxic relationships. A death. The death of a potential future. Layered betrayals. Deceit. And all the heartbreak you can take.
Sarah Stovell is an author that obviously lives and breathes her writing. The book has taken on an entity all its own. It’s like she has the secret formula that can break a heart. Mine blew straight out of my chest. Her narrative then leaves you searching for the missing pieces for the entirety of the novel. The tears pricked my eyes, my heart physically hurt but left me with an overwhelmingly urge to hug my babies tightly. I needed to show them the love I felt.
This definitely a hard book to read. The content is overwhelming. It’s a story that is meant to unseat you and make you uncomfortable. It’s hard and harrowing and makes you take a long hard look at your comfy existence. You might have experienced hard ship yourself but just how bad have you had it? It pulls and extracts such an intense level of empathy from your body…I had an all-encompassing feeling of just wanting to mother these girls. If I had the space, I would have taken them in in an instant.
This is the first book I have read by Sarah Stovell but by all means and purposes she is hitting legendary status. I will rectify that as soon as I possibly can. The characters she creates are broken, with a story to tell, dark and deep histories, but they have such a capacity for love. It’s amazing that after everything they have been through they can show love towards one another. Hope and Annie have such dogged determination. Neither of them want to be in this situation. It was never a conscious choice. They were dealt the worst betrayal from parents that should have given their lives for their kids.
The Home is a children’s Home that is a safe Haven to Hope (15) and Annie (15) and Lara (12). There have the good fortune of being surrounded by the Lake District. Despite the circumstances it could, indeed, be a lot worse. The setting, the opening chapter, the creeping shadow of desolation and despair had me hook, line and sinker. I was done for – I ended up racing to the finish.
Why you ask?
Well, Sarah Stovell has created a perfect cadence of a highly addictive plot that seeps in its intensity but try as you might to slow the reading, to savour each delicious page…it is impossible. The characters, although they have been broken down by life, they display the most amazing strength and dare I even say it a hunger to still continue living. Hope toys with the idea of ending it all but I genuinely put that down to not having any direction. These girls are the epitome of the word survival.
The story kicks off on Christmas day. Two girls are missing – Hope and Annie and Lara is in The Home, silent and unyielding. Choices come full circle and that message is being shouted loud and clear. It’s audible, deafening and terrifyingly deep. A girl is found beside the water, dead and the other is hysterical with her grief. It is bone deep. After the story starts to unfold you wonder just how much one person can take?
Annie’s metamorphosis from victim to survivor is poignantly beautiful – she’s scarred and with flaws, but she stands tall. The author has wrote about a superhero in my eyes and her characterisation spoke to me so clearly. It was impossible not to love her.
The Home is a chillingly, deeply disturbing take on the unreliable narrator. It unseats you. The narrative is razor sharp and unlike anything you have ever read before.
This book has everything you need to hold your attention in a futile struggle. The stable Children’s Home. A forbidden love. Terrible parenting. Terrible decisions. Toxic relationships. A death. The death of a potential future. Layered betrayals. Deceit. And all the heartbreak you can take.
Sarah Stovell is an author that obviously lives and breathes her writing. The book has taken on an entity all its own. It’s like she has the secret formula that can break a heart. Mine blew straight out of my chest. Her narrative then leaves you searching for the missing pieces for the entirety of the novel. The tears pricked my eyes, my heart physically hurt but left me with an overwhelmingly urge to hug my babies tightly. I needed to show them the love I felt.
This definitely a hard book to read. The content is overwhelming. It’s a story that is meant to unseat you and make you uncomfortable. It’s hard and harrowing and makes you take a long hard look at your comfy existence. You might have experienced hard ship yourself but just how bad have you had it? It pulls and extracts such an intense level of empathy from your body…I had an all-encompassing feeling of just wanting to mother these girls. If I had the space, I would have taken them in in an instant.
This is the first book I have read by Sarah Stovell but by all means and purposes she is hitting legendary status. I will rectify that as soon as I possibly can. The characters she creates are broken, with a story to tell, dark and deep histories, but they have such a capacity for love. It’s amazing that after everything they have been through they can show love towards one another. Hope and Annie have such dogged determination. Neither of them want to be in this situation. It was never a conscious choice. They were dealt the worst betrayal from parents that should have given their lives for their kids.
The Home is a children’s Home that is a safe Haven to Hope (15) and Annie (15) and Lara (12). There have the good fortune of being surrounded by the Lake District. Despite the circumstances it could, indeed, be a lot worse. The setting, the opening chapter, the creeping shadow of desolation and despair had me hook, line and sinker. I was done for – I ended up racing to the finish.
Why you ask?
Well, Sarah Stovell has created a perfect cadence of a highly addictive plot that seeps in its intensity but try as you might to slow the reading, to savour each delicious page…it is impossible. The characters, although they have been broken down by life, they display the most amazing strength and dare I even say it a hunger to still continue living. Hope toys with the idea of ending it all but I genuinely put that down to not having any direction. These girls are the epitome of the word survival.
The story kicks off on Christmas day. Two girls are missing – Hope and Annie and Lara is in The Home, silent and unyielding. Choices come full circle and that message is being shouted loud and clear. It’s audible, deafening and terrifyingly deep. A girl is found beside the water, dead and the other is hysterical with her grief. It is bone deep. After the story starts to unfold you wonder just how much one person can take?
Annie’s metamorphosis from victim to survivor is poignantly beautiful – she’s scarred and with flaws, but she stands tall. The author has wrote about a superhero in my eyes and her characterisation spoke to me so clearly. It was impossible not to love her.
The Home is a chillingly, deeply disturbing take on the unreliable narrator. It unseats you. The narrative is razor sharp and unlike anything you have ever read before.
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