Going Home

by Jamie Lynn Yeager

Jared Anderson can’t seem to escape the death of his little brother. Every mistake Jared makes is one his brother, Bryce, never had the chance to. And in a family plagued with resentments and unspoken words ... the pain is getting too much to bear.

Sometimes it was just easier to feel nothing.

Trying to dull his feelings, Jared turns to alcohol and so-called friends, but learns that popularity comes with a price. Caught in a personal war, Jared knows that something must change before he loses himself forever. However, reinventing what was left of him seems like an impossible task.

With the sudden appearance of an unwelcome stranger, Jared begins to wonder if the very person he is running from is the only one who can save him.

A story of change, hope, and the healing powers of a family’s forgiveness and love.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 2013

Reviews

[Melanie Pietrowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going Home is an amazing story of a families struggle over the years to function as a family after the death of a baby. They became compulsive in their lives, spitting venom, not wanting to be with each other, everyone doing their own thing, and going about their own lives and not seeming to care about one another.

One day a new kid shows up at Jared & Lynn's school and starts pushing his way into their everyday life, family, home, friends... The twists and turns this story goes through is amazing, and who the new kid turns out to be, will bring tears to your eyes.

Going Home was very well written in my opinion. It deals with real life situations and hits home in a way that reminds you that life is short and not to take it or those around you for granted.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good read. So often in or culture these days we read about giving into any and all desires and compulsions. It is refreshing to read about finding who we truly are and the power of change and forgiveness. The characters have depth and seem to deal with real world issues. This book made me grateful for the people I have in my life and remember those who have passed on. I'm excited to see what else this author will write.

[Shimmywith4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very refreshing and touching read. Was easy to read and held my interest. I would recommend it to any of my friends, and have already passed it on to my 14 yr old daughter, as I feel it has some great lessons, deals with real teenage issues and I don't have to worry about exposing her to smut. A really good read.

[Mary Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going Home

The best book EVER!!!!! I am a believer of life after death and this story really touched my heart!!! I cried like a baby as the book felt so real! I hope the author will write many more stories such as this one!

[Sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this was a hard one to put down. I love the way that Jamie took on this to bring a family together through their different ways of dealing with loss. It was a really good read and I would recommend it.

[Jenny Whetzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good teen/young adult story! This is also a good Christian/faith book. It had me emotional at the end.

[cheryl doerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

This was such a good book. I was so shocked at the ending. But it was so beautiful to. This is an awesome book.

[Emilee Kersey]

The book was amazing. It shows how the loss of a family member really can impact someone.

[I'd So Rather Be Reading {Nat} · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jamie Lynn Yeager's Going Home is such a tender and emotional story. I loved it! Since I've become a mother, stories about losing a child really hit close to home for me. You'd think that I would shy away from books about loss, but I have read more on this subject in the past two years than ever before. I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose your child, and find myself really empathizing with the families in these stories.

Going Home is told from Jared's perspective and while I usually don't love a male narrator, it really worked for this story. I loved how there was more to Jared than meets the eye. His flippant attitude towards everything begins to slowly change, and he desires a better connection with his family and those around him. The person driving this change is a girl at school whom he perceives to be "above him." Jared wants to be a better person and wants to prove his worth to Payton and for her to reciprocate his feelings.

Jared's psychology class is studying the stages of change, and he takes that model of growth to heart and uses it, along with the class project about changing one area of your life, to turn his life around. I loved that Jared grows so much throughout the story.

Going Home has a subtle faith message and is a very clean story. It's one I would recommend for anyone, because there are no questionable sex scenes. It's nice to have a change of pace from the usual contemporary YA story, and Going Home was unique in that regard.

I really liked Yeager's writing style. It was full of emotion and depth. She did a great job with the characterization, and I found myself very invested in the story. There were a couple of times during the book where I started to tear up (I love it when a book is powerful enough to make me cry!).

Going Home is a sweet story, well-written, and a different take on contemporary YA. I really enjoyed it and would definitely read Jamie Lynn Yeager again.

[Graham Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't often delve into contemporary YA lit, though I haven't often been disappointed with the genre either. GOING HOME is a decently moving tale about a guy in a dysfunctional family who isn't really looking to change, though he needs to. I think the strength of the story is its pacing and its cause-and-effect sequence of events, helped along by scenes in a psychology classroom, that show how to move from a destructive mindset to a helpful one.

I did have issues with the writing at times, minor as they were, but I think that's more my own tastes than any fault of the book. It's very well put-together, more so than other indie productions I have tried to read.

If I were to compare GOING HOME to anything else, I might choose A WALK TO REMEMBER, the film. (Not the atrocious thing Nick Sparks calls a book). Not so comparable in plot, but more in tone and theme.

So yeah, a good book.

[DeAnn Burnett]

A great story about changes within to heal the soul.

This book was an easy read. knowing that it is in our control to make simple changes in order to better our quality of life is only the beginning. I commend Jared for recognizing his flaws and neglect and being able to take initiative to follow through with his life changing challenge. If only there were more teenagers who could see where they need to step up and make changes before they let their issues ruin them. Great story I was really anxious to see it unfold.

[Lexie Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like books about teenagers maturing and families growing back together after a tragedy than you will enjoy this book. For me, it was ok. I wanted more than just the typical bratty teenager and feelings of not living up to a dead sibling, but there is a nice little twist at the end that anyone religious will appreciate.

Again, ok book for me but moms would most likely enjoy.

[Steve Yeager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Kept me wanting more each chapter. I really felt uplifted and inspired by the book and would recommend giving this book a read.

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good read. I didn't want to stop reading. It had me crying in the end, it was a sweet story.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book via the Goodreads First Reads program.

This was an intriguing book. I liked the twists and turns throughout the book. I also liked the closure that came at the end.

[Marsha Lloyd]

Touching....

Great words to live by written in this book. Good read for people of all ages. Contains words of wisdom for us all.

[Nicole Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this book in one day. Really good heart warming book that brought me to tears a couple times. Would definatetly read another book by this author

[Heidi McPherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐