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Homeward
Fleeing hectic San Francisco, Meg Lancaster returns to the Oregon coast where she fights to make peace with her family -- and discovers love in the process. Winner of the 1997 Rita Award for best inspirational romance novel!
450 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1997
18 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
Melody Carlson
418 books3,254 followersMelody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.
She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.
Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.
She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.
Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 21, 2024
I found this book in a small bookstore.
A journey of forgiveness. Some twist and turns .I liked the flow of the story and the characters were likeable. I've several books by Carlson and this was a good one
A journey of forgiveness. Some twist and turns .I liked the flow of the story and the characters were likeable. I've several books by Carlson and this was a good one
August 20, 2011
Two Melody Carlson books in a row--this one I read on my kindle, at the beach. Yay for beach reads! I liked this one too.
Meg Lancaster returns home after being gone twenty years. There is quite a bit of tension between her and her mother, so she stays with her sister. Much has changed while Meg was away. Her sister is married with three daughters; her grandmother is sick in bed and her grandfather's beloved cranberry bog has been greatly neglected. Her mother seems different as well. Meg starts to feel "at home" again as she works to save the cranberry bog and develops new relationships with old friends and family.
This is a story of a "prodigal daughter" looking back and forgiving-not only for the offender's sake, but also for her own sake. The novel has great personal growth and wonderful relationships alongside a bit of mystery and romance. The characters, situations, and emotions were real and easy to relate. I liked the strong theme and message.
I recieved an free e-copy of this book from Glass Road Public Relations in exchange for my honest review! Thanks :)
Meg Lancaster returns home after being gone twenty years. There is quite a bit of tension between her and her mother, so she stays with her sister. Much has changed while Meg was away. Her sister is married with three daughters; her grandmother is sick in bed and her grandfather's beloved cranberry bog has been greatly neglected. Her mother seems different as well. Meg starts to feel "at home" again as she works to save the cranberry bog and develops new relationships with old friends and family.
This is a story of a "prodigal daughter" looking back and forgiving-not only for the offender's sake, but also for her own sake. The novel has great personal growth and wonderful relationships alongside a bit of mystery and romance. The characters, situations, and emotions were real and easy to relate. I liked the strong theme and message.
I recieved an free e-copy of this book from Glass Road Public Relations in exchange for my honest review! Thanks :)
January 29, 2024
Meg flees her high profile job in San Francisco for her family home after a failed engagement. A big hindrance to her homecoming is having estranged herself from her family for twenty years.As Meg reconnects with her family she reconnects with her faith, especially during a family crisis.
The main theme is forgiveness, especially when family relationships are complex. A likable storyline with realistic characters. The focus on cranberry bogs was especially interesting.
The main theme is forgiveness, especially when family relationships are complex. A likable storyline with realistic characters. The focus on cranberry bogs was especially interesting.
April 6, 2018
Haven't read a Melody Carlson book I didn't like. Always good!
March 24, 2020
great story
would recommend
would recommend
August 17, 2021
Excellent. Love Christian Fiction. Have liked everything I have read by this author.
November 21, 2023
Libby e book. One of her first books. Was good.
August 6, 2011
http://reviewsbyjane.blogspot.com/201...
I've read two of Melody Carlson's teen books and wasn't very impressed, but this book had quite the different effect on me. In fact, I must say that I actually loved this book! An incredible tale of forgiveness was masterfully weaved into the surrounding story of a woman named Meg who loses it all, only to return home and find it once more. Guilt begins to settle heavily upon her as devastating events take place one after another and hidden secrets come to light. Through the book, the lesson of forgiveness is heavily placed and it is recognized that the hardest person forgive is often not the one who has wronged you, but yourself.
Each character had their own faults and virtues and were excellently laid out and easy to love, hate, or feel sorrow for depending on the character. I especially liked Jason and Clive. They were two great characters with sweet personality and a cute relationship. Ashley was another favorite of mine. She was so cute and reminded me of a little girl who lives down the street from us. :)
Sensuality:
A couple speaks of their past life and how before they moved they lived in a bad neighborhood and the people started sharing "drugs, and spouses". There also was a couple who lived together for a while before marriage before coming to salvation. No details given. A women tells of her past and how her physically abusive husband theatened to do "dreadful things" to their young daughter if she tried to leave.
Violence:
A man shoots a dog and drags it to his place. The owners find a pool of blood and know who did it. They find the dog dead but no details are given.
All in all, this was an awesome book that had excellent lessons on forgiveness and moving on in it. I really enjoyed this book and while I will steer clear of her teen books, I will be looking forward to reading more of Carlson's adult fiction.
I received this book in return for an honest review from Glass Road Public Relations. All thoughts and opinions expressed in my review are my own.
I've read two of Melody Carlson's teen books and wasn't very impressed, but this book had quite the different effect on me. In fact, I must say that I actually loved this book! An incredible tale of forgiveness was masterfully weaved into the surrounding story of a woman named Meg who loses it all, only to return home and find it once more. Guilt begins to settle heavily upon her as devastating events take place one after another and hidden secrets come to light. Through the book, the lesson of forgiveness is heavily placed and it is recognized that the hardest person forgive is often not the one who has wronged you, but yourself.
Each character had their own faults and virtues and were excellently laid out and easy to love, hate, or feel sorrow for depending on the character. I especially liked Jason and Clive. They were two great characters with sweet personality and a cute relationship. Ashley was another favorite of mine. She was so cute and reminded me of a little girl who lives down the street from us. :)
Sensuality:
A couple speaks of their past life and how before they moved they lived in a bad neighborhood and the people started sharing "drugs, and spouses". There also was a couple who lived together for a while before marriage before coming to salvation. No details given. A women tells of her past and how her physically abusive husband theatened to do "dreadful things" to their young daughter if she tried to leave.
Violence:
A man shoots a dog and drags it to his place. The owners find a pool of blood and know who did it. They find the dog dead but no details are given.
All in all, this was an awesome book that had excellent lessons on forgiveness and moving on in it. I really enjoyed this book and while I will steer clear of her teen books, I will be looking forward to reading more of Carlson's adult fiction.
I received this book in return for an honest review from Glass Road Public Relations. All thoughts and opinions expressed in my review are my own.
August 22, 2011
Homeward is a a republished earlier novel of Melody Carlson's and I'm glad it was republished or I probably would have missed out on it. Since I read my first Melody Carlson a year or two ago I have grabbed everything new by her whether it was for adults, pre-teens or teens so I jumped when the chance to review Homeward came about.
Homeward is a beautiful novel about families, forgiveness and God's love with a romance thrown in there for good measure. I loved this book from the beginning. You have a woman who has experienced a rough patch in her life so she decided to return home to her family that she left almost 20 years ago and make amends. In some ways it's easy and in some ways it's not. Slowly through family members and opportunities Meg learns what God has in store for her life. There are of course bumps in the road, but they make life interesting. I really liked Meg. She was strong and stubborn, but she was interesting and knew when to bend at times too. I liked her sister Erin, Sunny and her grandmother as well. Matthew, Clive, Addy and so many others round out an interesting cast of secondary characters that bring the small town to life and also bring the story to life. I think the characters were well done, interesting and all of them really added to the story.
The plot moves well and I quickly read the book over the afternoon and evening and kept turning pages on my Kindle to see what would happen next. I especially liked it when the romance started, it was just one more facet that I really felt added to the book. Homeward is just one of those great feel-good books that has a great lesson in it and makes you happy in the end of the book. Ms. Carlson hits a home run with this book for me.
Homeward is a beautiful novel about families, forgiveness and God's love with a romance thrown in there for good measure. I loved this book from the beginning. You have a woman who has experienced a rough patch in her life so she decided to return home to her family that she left almost 20 years ago and make amends. In some ways it's easy and in some ways it's not. Slowly through family members and opportunities Meg learns what God has in store for her life. There are of course bumps in the road, but they make life interesting. I really liked Meg. She was strong and stubborn, but she was interesting and knew when to bend at times too. I liked her sister Erin, Sunny and her grandmother as well. Matthew, Clive, Addy and so many others round out an interesting cast of secondary characters that bring the small town to life and also bring the story to life. I think the characters were well done, interesting and all of them really added to the story.
The plot moves well and I quickly read the book over the afternoon and evening and kept turning pages on my Kindle to see what would happen next. I especially liked it when the romance started, it was just one more facet that I really felt added to the book. Homeward is just one of those great feel-good books that has a great lesson in it and makes you happy in the end of the book. Ms. Carlson hits a home run with this book for me.
December 5, 2011
Homeward takes us on a journey of forgiveness, family and friendships. Twenty years ago, Meg Lancaster left her hometown of Crandal after a huge fight occured at her Grandpa's funeral . The fight caused Meg to pack up everything and leave Crandal with the pretense of severing all family ties. Now Twenty years later , Meg is returning home after a broken engagement to her boss's son Jerred. Meg decides to kill two birds or in this case three birds with one stone as her Grandmother is dying , a reunion with her mother whom she has seen nor spoken to in twenty years and of course her sister Erin and her family. When Meg returns home, it seems that she has the stamp of Progidal daughter on her forehead and as the novel goes along , we read as past hurts and regrets are brought up through the novel and it seems that the only way Meg can find true happiness is to forgive past trangressions. When Meg visits her Grandmother's home , memories of the Cranberry fields her Grandad used to own and the fun times start to flow back - Is Meg's calling to re-ignite the Cranberry fields of Crandal ? Of course, it wouldn't be a story without a bit of romance as a blast from the past Matthew may turn out to be Meg's Mr Right.
Find out all this and more in Homeward by Melody Carlson.
Find out all this and more in Homeward by Melody Carlson.
April 30, 2014
Homeward
Homeward
I've read a lot of books by Melody Carlson and have enjoyed everyone of them. I was disappointed with the ending of this book and that's why I gave it only 4 stars. The wrap up was rather abrupt and not believable. I liked everything about this book except the ending.
The story is about how unforgiveness will ruin your spirit, your relationships and your life. Meg left home feeling angry and unloved by her mother. She never knew her father. Her grandmother was critical to the point of meanness. She worked hard putting herself through school and took a job she excelled at. She was engaged to the boss's son but felt an emotional disconnect to her fiance. When Meg found out he was cheating on her, she took a leave of absence and after 20 years she decided she should return home.
Ms Carlson knows how to engage her readers and make them care about what happens to the characters. I was hooked by the third page. There wasn't a single false emotion or reaction in the story until the last 20 pages. It pains me to have anything negative to say in a review of a book by this author. If you can overlook the unsatisfying ending, you'll like this book.
Homeward
I've read a lot of books by Melody Carlson and have enjoyed everyone of them. I was disappointed with the ending of this book and that's why I gave it only 4 stars. The wrap up was rather abrupt and not believable. I liked everything about this book except the ending.
The story is about how unforgiveness will ruin your spirit, your relationships and your life. Meg left home feeling angry and unloved by her mother. She never knew her father. Her grandmother was critical to the point of meanness. She worked hard putting herself through school and took a job she excelled at. She was engaged to the boss's son but felt an emotional disconnect to her fiance. When Meg found out he was cheating on her, she took a leave of absence and after 20 years she decided she should return home.
Ms Carlson knows how to engage her readers and make them care about what happens to the characters. I was hooked by the third page. There wasn't a single false emotion or reaction in the story until the last 20 pages. It pains me to have anything negative to say in a review of a book by this author. If you can overlook the unsatisfying ending, you'll like this book.
August 5, 2011
This book was a little slow starting, but quickly became intriguing. Meg is a unique character who has to decide between her past with her family, and her present with her career. Painful memories resurface for her while she goes down memory lane, but just as many pleasant ones return as well.
Meg meets many new friends, including a lawyer named Matthew who she knew from her camp days as a child. She also reunites with family, including her mother and grandmother who she left many years ago after a heated fight during her grandfather's funeral.
The book doesn't really seem to have much rising action for most up the book, up until the end when it suddenly hits the climax and has you rushing to find out what happens. While I appreciate the tension that keeps you on the edge of your seat, it would have been nice to have more a gradual increase.
This book is a good read for those who like Christian fiction or simply want to try something new!
Meg meets many new friends, including a lawyer named Matthew who she knew from her camp days as a child. She also reunites with family, including her mother and grandmother who she left many years ago after a heated fight during her grandfather's funeral.
The book doesn't really seem to have much rising action for most up the book, up until the end when it suddenly hits the climax and has you rushing to find out what happens. While I appreciate the tension that keeps you on the edge of your seat, it would have been nice to have more a gradual increase.
This book is a good read for those who like Christian fiction or simply want to try something new!
March 21, 2014
Interesting journey
This book starts out as a failed romance and then becomes so much more. Not all of the characters are likeable even the main character at times. I think that the author gives a lot of rich details to her story and while showing the complicated nature of family doesn't pound it into the reader. I enjoyed this book and felt like I had been on a journey of self discovery
This book starts out as a failed romance and then becomes so much more. Not all of the characters are likeable even the main character at times. I think that the author gives a lot of rich details to her story and while showing the complicated nature of family doesn't pound it into the reader. I enjoyed this book and felt like I had been on a journey of self discovery
July 24, 2015
I enjoyed this book as I have enjoyed many of Melody Carlson's books over the past 15 years. The neglected family business, a cranberry bog, was interesting and different as the location and basis of the story. Though some readers might consider the outcome to be predictable, I was relieved when I read of Meg's decisions. Valuable lessons about family relationships and restoration. Several hard issues are addressed in the thread of the story.
February 28, 2011
I am glad I read this book. I've enjoyed other books by this author, but for whatever reason, either the cover or the description on the back, the book didn't look too appealing. But, since I had it checked out from the library I gave it a try. I am glad I did. It was interesting to read about cranberries and good to read about a family who found healing through forgiveness.
August 19, 2013
This was a great story about someone who thought they were happy but found out they really weren't happy. She goes back home to see her grandmother who is ill and finds out that she's not happy and ends up moving back home. She finds she needs to forgive a bunch of different people for various things including herself. What a great message and a great story.
April 19, 2011
Interesting read - loved the history of harvesting cranberries and just the love of the land you have to have to be a cranberry farmer. The overall plot was interesting with some fun twists and turns in it.
August 28, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. It was one of those books that I couldn't quite put down. I was a bit disappointed, however, in the ending. I thought that it ended rather abruptly and could've lasted a bit longer. Besides the quick ending, I truly enjoyed it!
February 29, 2016
A very moving book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story and the multitude of characters keeps your interest up throughout the book. It's hard to put it down. I only wish it was part of series so I could move on to the next book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story and the multitude of characters keeps your interest up throughout the book. It's hard to put it down. I only wish it was part of series so I could move on to the next book.
January 24, 2008
This is an awesome contemporary story about family, based in the northwest.
August 16, 2011
Follow my link for my review:
http://shereads-sheblogs.blogspot.com...
~Melissa
May 7, 2013
A woman goes back home and finally realizes this is where she should have been.
A good Christian story, but some parts where hard to read also. Never go wrong
reading a Melody Carlson.
A good Christian story, but some parts where hard to read also. Never go wrong
reading a Melody Carlson.
July 22, 2014
Such a good book. A story about forgiving others.
November 23, 2014
Great story with a lesson on forgiveness intertwine. Characters are all well developed and great detail on cranberry farming. I did think the ending was a little rushed.
April 2, 2017
Th theme was about forgiveness, which was good, but I didn't enjoy the way it was written. Very simplistic, boring, and predictable.
July 9, 2012
Nice beach reading. Interesting story and loved Meg and her spunk.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews