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kristid's review
3.0
If your looking for a Cinderella fairy tale with a happy ending this isn’t the book for you. But if you're interested in something real and meaningful, this is right down your alley.
Almost Home tells the story of seven young people living on the streets of Hollywood. They are all there for different reasons, but most of them have fled abusive homes. There are seven parts or chapters to the book. Each chapter is told in one of their perspectives.
Their stories are so real and raw. There is rough language and gritty details of sex and drug use. What disturbed me the most was Eeyore’s story. She was only twelve years old when she fled her home because she was being sexually abused by her step brother and tormented by the kids at school. Her home is so close, yet she would rather live on the streets and go days without food then enable herself to live in the world she left.
It was eye-opening story for me, when I think of someone homeless a teenage runaway doesn’t pop into my head. Yet this is an issue that affects more than 1.5 million teens. Amongst all the books I’ve read of the elite and fortunate it was refreshing and at the same time deeply disturbing to read about the other end of the spectrum.
I truly admire Jessica’s compassion for this subject and even more so for bringing this topic to attention. This is one of those books that will make an impact on the way you think of the world. I hope to see more from Jessica Blank in the future.
Almost Home tells the story of seven young people living on the streets of Hollywood. They are all there for different reasons, but most of them have fled abusive homes. There are seven parts or chapters to the book. Each chapter is told in one of their perspectives.
Their stories are so real and raw. There is rough language and gritty details of sex and drug use. What disturbed me the most was Eeyore’s story. She was only twelve years old when she fled her home because she was being sexually abused by her step brother and tormented by the kids at school. Her home is so close, yet she would rather live on the streets and go days without food then enable herself to live in the world she left.
It was eye-opening story for me, when I think of someone homeless a teenage runaway doesn’t pop into my head. Yet this is an issue that affects more than 1.5 million teens. Amongst all the books I’ve read of the elite and fortunate it was refreshing and at the same time deeply disturbing to read about the other end of the spectrum.
I truly admire Jessica’s compassion for this subject and even more so for bringing this topic to attention. This is one of those books that will make an impact on the way you think of the world. I hope to see more from Jessica Blank in the future.
lailarad18's review
1.5
It was odd and the characters were not very likeable. I read this a couple months ago but i do remember i only like two out of the several characters and they got the least amount of pages for their story. It also made me very uncomfortable at times.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, and Sexual content
arielkirst's review
5.0
This book crawled up under my skin and rooted around inside me, leaving me feeling somehow broken. It followed a group of homeless kids through their interactions and daily lives, and is absolutely brilliant but man. As a suburban-raised middle classer, it was like staring down a rabbit hole I really don't want to fall down.
jessicabeckett's review
5.0
Full review/potential spoilers alert: http://bookgirl.co.vu/post/73380090882/something-happened-then-part-of-me-thats-be
In Jessica Blank’s debut novel, Almost Home, she weaves together seven individual lives and proves that you can sometimes find a family, not based on blood or location, in even the most unexpected places. In this case, seven teenagers find each other as they abandon their life for one tragic tale or another and find themselves living on the streets of L.A.
You will often feel pity for these characters as their lives are explained. There will be heart breaking moments that feel like someone has kicked you in the stomach, and there will be moments in which you find yourself cringing at the tragedy of each individuals stories of the past or present on the street. If one thing, this novel is brutally honest in the way Blank carves each characters story as they try to figure things out for themselves in a way that many teenagers will never have to.
It's got all the makings of a perfect novel targeted at young adults and certainly is on my recommendations.
In Jessica Blank’s debut novel, Almost Home, she weaves together seven individual lives and proves that you can sometimes find a family, not based on blood or location, in even the most unexpected places. In this case, seven teenagers find each other as they abandon their life for one tragic tale or another and find themselves living on the streets of L.A.
You will often feel pity for these characters as their lives are explained. There will be heart breaking moments that feel like someone has kicked you in the stomach, and there will be moments in which you find yourself cringing at the tragedy of each individuals stories of the past or present on the street. If one thing, this novel is brutally honest in the way Blank carves each characters story as they try to figure things out for themselves in a way that many teenagers will never have to.
It's got all the makings of a perfect novel targeted at young adults and certainly is on my recommendations.
satyridae's review
2.0
This tale of homeless teens suffers from the fact that each character's voice blends seamlessly into the next, rendering them indistinguishable to me. I found it weak, overall.
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