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helen_t_reads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Sisters Amy and Zoe grow up in Oklahoma where they are homeschooled because Zoe has frequent seizures. Whilst Zoe’s childhood is dominated by medication, surgery and frequent hospital visits, Amy flourishes intellectually, and becomes an autodidact. Her flair for languages, a thirst for knowledge, and an inquisitiveness about the world offer her respite from her sister’s illness, and further distraction is provided when she develops unrequited feelings for Sasha, her Russian tutor. However, when Amy takes up a university place at only 15 her life changes drastically.
Amy’s passion is photography, and this novel is constructed like a series of snapshots or vignettes from her life: very short chapters with detailed headings reading like captions in a photo album. It is semi-autobiographical and interestingly the American edition contained a number of accompanying photos, which the English edition does not include (at the author’s request I believe?).
The length of this novel (219 pages) and its short chapters make this a very quick read.
It is a coming of age novel portraying both an intense sibling relationship, and Croft’s love of languages (she went on to forge a highly successful career as a translator). Given its title, there is also an interesting exploration of the nature and meaning of ‘homesick’ness: Zoe remains sick at home, whilst Amy goes off to University at a young age and clearly misses her home, and her sister, especially, descending into depression and self-harm.
There is an air of detachment about the narrative which dampens the possibility of a deep emotional connection, and its tone is quite childlike, but, as Amy ages, this fades. It has far more depth than its tone would initially suggest.
For me, part two, which comes quite late in the novel, was too rushed, but, overall it is a thought-provoking read - the kind that could well keep popping into your head once it is finished.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Mental illness and Self harm
amy_park's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
3.5
I read this book due to it being longlisted for the women's prize for fiction 2023, the premise intrigued me as I love books focusing on siblings. This book didn't dissapoint, it was heartbreaking and moving. I related to the relationship between Amy and Zoe, although I did find the third-person child perspective grating at times and was dissapointed the narrative voice didn't develop as Amy got older, overall I did enjoy. Topics covered were heartbreaking and not for the fainthearted, I would suggest reading content warnings prior to reading.
Shout out to Charco Press as I loved the quality of the bounding and paper used to create the novel, will definitely read more from the publisher in the future and also intend to read some of Jennifer's translated blacklist as well.
Shout out to Charco Press as I loved the quality of the bounding and paper used to create the novel, will definitely read more from the publisher in the future and also intend to read some of Jennifer's translated blacklist as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm and Suicide
Minor: Vomit
eliodelio's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
3.75
i think i went into this book expecting it to be a hopeful, inspiring memoir about someone with a difficult childhood finding her way to language and translation and travelling (three things i care about a lot) but its more of a semi-fictional account mostly only focused on her childhood up to the age of 15. it was well written and a touching story but in the end i felt like i would have wanted to read more about what happened afterwards. i was left feeling more melancholy than hopeful.
also, throughout the book she disperses photographs along with a letter to her sister, spread out a couple sentences at a time, and it kind of bothered me because i was so focused on the main narrative that every time one of those fragments came up i couldnt remember what the previous one had been and it was just annoying to get pulled out of the story to try to figure out what she was talking about in the letter.
also, throughout the book she disperses photographs along with a letter to her sister, spread out a couple sentences at a time, and it kind of bothered me because i was so focused on the main narrative that every time one of those fragments came up i couldnt remember what the previous one had been and it was just annoying to get pulled out of the story to try to figure out what she was talking about in the letter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Rape
rochelles_reading_journal's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Self harm, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt
shantastic_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
bookish_worm's review against another edition
After flicking through I saw there would be graphic self harm and suicide descriptions so I DNF for trigger reasons
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
katewhite77's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
5.0
A Medative book on what it is to be a sister.
A story of language, translation, home, sickness and what it takes to be human sometimes.
This book takes place in 90s Oklahoma for the most part but by a quirk of fate. One sister ends up supporting Russia, and one Ukraine during the Lillehammer of 1994 which is especially poignant to read about at the moment
I would recommend this book especially to those who enjoyed Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au.
A story of language, translation, home, sickness and what it takes to be human sometimes.
This book takes place in 90s Oklahoma for the most part but by a quirk of fate. One sister ends up supporting Russia, and one Ukraine during the Lillehammer of 1994 which is especially poignant to read about at the moment
I would recommend this book especially to those who enjoyed Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, and Medical content
geraldinerowe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
3.5
Homesick starts off with the narrator as a small child, and the language very much reflects the way a child understands the world and orders their thoughts. This gradually changes as the character gets older. The book is very moving in parts as the narrator has a younger sister with severe health problems and goes through troubles of her own. However the book leaves odd gaps in the narrative, especially towards the end, which left me feeling somewhat dissatisfied.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
mappy's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.75
An unconventional but exquisitely crafted exploration of love, language and mortality. This is a work about connection and the self, and the 'mathematics of sacrifice' that often balance their equation. Each vignette seemed to mirror Amy's mental constraints, as a precocious girl battling to comprehend events that can never be understood.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, and Suicide
readersreadingnook's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug use, Mental illness, and Self harm
Minor: Medical content