The Way Back Home

by Allan Stratton

Zoe Bird is going nowhere fast. She’s angry and lonely, and her only true friend is her granny, whose Alzheimer’s is worsening. When her parents put Granny in a home, Zoe decides now is the time to break free. She smuggles Granny out and together they hit the tracks on a cross-country trip to find Zoe’s long-lost uncle. But there will be some home truths along the way. . .
An emotional story about family, surviving school and being true to yourself for fans of The Art of Being Normal and Unbecoming.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Family, Mental Health, Fiction, School, Novels

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2018

About the author

ALLAN STRATTON is the internationally acclaimed author of CHANDA'S SECRETS, winner of the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Honor Book, the Children's Africana Book Award, and ALA Booklist's Editor's Choice among others. His first YA novel was the ALA Best Book LESLIE'S JOURNAL. His latest, CHANDA'S WARS, a Junior Library Guild selection, won the Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Canadian Book Award, 2009, and is on the CCBC Best Books List.

The German/South African film version of CHANDA'S SECRETS has been named an Official Selection of the 2010 Cannes International Film festival. the film title is LIFE ABOVE ALL. You can read about Allan's experiences on set on the December posts of his blog.

Allan's new novel, BORDERLINE, a coming-of-age mystery/thriller, came out in March 2010 from HarperCollins with starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal and raves in Booklist, Kirkus Reviews and Quill and quire..

He loves travel, cats and dogs, ice cream, working out, doing readings and workshops -- and, oh yes, meeting readers!

Allan is published in the USA, France, Germany, Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and Slovenia. You can read more about his books, and visit him online at www.allanstratton.com

Reviews

[Lia · Rating 1 out of 5]

General Rating: ★
Diversity rating: ★★ (LGBT+: transgender; mental illness: alzheimer’s)

The Way Back Home is a story about a girl whose grandmother with Alzheimer’s is sent to a care home. And since you’re reading this review and I’m assuming after this you won’t read this book, my review will contain some spoilers.

First things first, do not read this book. Unless you hate yourself, then be my guest, read this book.

Second, the main character is a horrible brat with serious issues. If I were her parents, I would definitely put her in some kind of institution because that girl seriously needs to get her act together. She is not only rude to her family, she is mean to everyone (except her grandma), she is self-absorbed, reckless, immature, and if I think she has some type of mental illness (possibly depression?) because what she thinks and does is not normal.

Some quotes of things she says to her parents / thinks about her parents are:

(edit: they’re in the car)
I want to kick the back of her seat so hard she’ll fly through the windshield.

“I can’t wait till you’re old,” I mutter as we go inside. ‘I’ll lock you in Greenview so fast your heads’ll spin. When you cry and scream like Granny, I’ll laugh.”

“I hate you. I wish you were dead.”

Mom’s lip trembles. “What did we do to deserve this?”

“You got pregnant, that’s what. Why didn’t you get rid of me? I wish you had.” I run to my room, smother my face in my pillow. A whirlwind of hollers. “LEAVE ME ALONE LEAVE ME ALONE LEAVE ME ALONE LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” I keep it up till they do.

Third, the whole book is basically built around the fact that you’re supposed to feel sorry for Zoe (the main character), which I didn’t obviously . The side characters are if possible even worse than Zoe. Madi, her cousin, is an absolute bitch. She is literally evil. Madi even got her friend to nearly kill Zoe, simply for the fact that she hates her. There are also several mentions of Zoe wanting to end her life. Suicide and murder are NOT to be taken lightly and having teens nearly kill each other or themselves over a stupid fight is not okay.

So then her grandmother is sent to an elderly home, which is something I think is completely grounded because she could barely function alone. Zoe completely disagrees with her parents. I am on the parents’ side this time. Zoe’s parents are not perfect and I would say they were quite bad parents (they believed Madi over their own daughter!). On this topic, however, I think they were completely in the right to put grandma in the home. When you start to agree with parents in YA books, you’re either just too old for the book, or the kid is just stupid. This time it’s the latter.

Zoe decides to break out her grandma and go to her uncle who she never met and don’t even know where he lives or let alone lives at all, which is just about the stupidest decision I’ve heard so far. She freaking let her grandmother who can barely function at all drive on the freaking highway. GIRL GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER. Zoe never learns, and even in the end, she is still rude and hateful.

I am giving this book 1 star, because I can’t come up with any reasons why I would give it any more stars. I hated this book, it made me angry and pissed and I just wanted to punch these characters in their face. The writing was okay and I kind of liked Zoe’s relation with her grandmother but that was all of the good things I could come up with. I would honestly not recommend this book to anyone, but if after all of my ranting you still decide to pick it up, I wish you good luck.

This might be the most negative review I have ever written, but every time I think about this book I get angry so...

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a searingly authentic story about the bond between a bullied teen and her beloved grandmother who is rapidly declining into the later stages of dementia. No sugar-coating here. Allan Stratton deftly draws the reader in to the heart and mind of Zoe as her world falls apart at home and at school and we're wounded as she is, living through the bullying she receives from her popular cousin. She sees her parents' treatment of Grandma Bird as a parallel to what's happening to her, but Stratton's nuanced writing shows the reader it isn't as cut and dried as all that. Everyone should read this book. It will make you weep and it will stick to your heart.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely YA novel that straddles the perspectives of youth and old age beautifully. It is complex but easy to read and engage with at the same time.

[Kirsty Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grab your tissues, because you're seriously going to be taken on an emotional rollercoaster ride with this book. I found this particularly difficult to read because it hit very very close to home with the character of the Granny. I got half way and I just didn't think I could read anymore because it was getting too personal, but I ploughed through it and I'm really glad that I did.

Zoe Bird is going nowhere fast. She’s angry and lonely, and her only true friend is her granny, whose Alzheimer’s is worsening. When her parents put Granny in a home, Zoe decides now is the time to break free. She smuggles Granny out and together they hit the tracks on a cross-country trip to find Zoe’s long-lost uncle. But there will be some home truths along the way... Zoe Bird is going nowhere fast. She’s angry and lonely, and her only true friend is her granny, whose Alzheimer’s is worsening. When her parents put Granny in a home, Zoe decides now is the time to break free. She smuggles Granny out and together they hit the tracks on a cross-country trip to find Zoe’s long-lost uncle. But there will be some home truths along the way. . .

Just because this book is emotional, that doesn't mean that it's a brilliant book. It was good yes, but not one that I would consider reading again. I HATED Zoe's parents. I hated them. I have never ever disliked a pair of fictional parents this much in my life; they made me so angry. They didn't care about Zoe, at all. What kind of parents believes a sadistic, disgusting and horrible girl like Madi over their own daughter? Them, that's who. Because they only saw what they wanted to see and I truly believe that they were projecting; that they wanted Zoe to be like the version of Madi that they saw. When Zoe told them that Madi was bullying her, they didn't believe her for even a second, they told her that she was lying. When Zoe came home when Madi had tried to kill her, they didn't let her explain where she had been, they just went off on one. Uggggggghhhhhhh. I FEEL SO BAD FOR ZOE. All she wants to do is be with her Granny and look after her and the parents have to sabotage that as well, by putting her in the care home because no one can be bothered to look after her themselves. 1) Granny said that she wanted to die at home, so they ignored her wishes. 2) She wouldn't let anyone but Zoe bathe her and feed her, but they still sent her to the care home. I just kept seeing a lack of love from the parents because they were so hung up on trying to be like the Dad's brother and his wife.

"If you can't live like you want when you're old, when can you?"

- Allan Stratton, The Way Back Home

So yeah, as you can see, I have a lot of anger about the parents on this book. I'm going to try and not get into another massive rant about the character of Madi because that would last forever. She's just a hateful, self-absorbed brat.

On the pleasant side of things, I really did love how the relationship between Zoe and her Granny was portrayed. The love between the two of them was just amazing. Ok so Zoe was very stupid taking her Granny cross country to Toronto but at the end of the day, Zoe just wanted to help and get her Granny away from a place where she knew that she was miserable. I also thought that Granny's Alzheimer's was written perfectly, I genuinely couldn't fault it and I also loved how Zoe didn't lose her patience with her, she just kept calm and tried her best to make sure Granny was getting what she needed.

It was also amazing to be introduced to a transgender charcater and even though this was the only element of diversity that existed within the book. However, I have no experience with transgender indivduals so I cannot say whether this representation was all good or not. But, she was an amazing woman who deserves a medal for what she had to put up with in her family when she was younger. No one should ever have to go through the transition without the support of their loved ones.

Overall, this was a quick, emotional read. And even though it seemed a bit rushed in places (especially when they were in Toronto), it was still an enjoyable read that I wholeheartedly recommend everyone to read. I stated earlier that I would not be reading this book again. This isn't because it's terrible - because it isn't - it's just because it was too emotional for me as I also said earlier, it hit very close to home. I would love to hear what you guys thought about this book!

Warning: includes triggers for depression, suicidal thoughts, death.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Michelle]

DNF @ p. 50 (ish)

I really wanted to like this. I picked it up because it was nominated for the Governor General Award for Young People's Literature this year and I enjoyed Stratton's mystery/horror novel THE DOGS a few years ago.

The first 50 pages was comprised almost entirely of dialogue. This isn't a bad thing in of and itself, but the way the characters spoke was very forced, stilted and unnatural. I wish I could provide some examples, but I've already returned my library copy. I had no issues with the other elements (plot, characters, etc.), and I might have been able to get past the dialogue as well if it didn't take up so much of the prose.

I have too many books I'd like to get to, so I'm not going to force myself to read something I likely wouldn't like.

[Lani · Rating 5 out of 5]

After getting several recommendations from friends, I decided to give this book a try and I absolutely loved it.

This book is about a girl named Zoe Bird who's mad or upset at everyone except her granny. Her parents don't try to understand her and her cousin has turned everyone against her. When her parents end up putting her granny in a retirement home, she decides to run away with her granny to Toronto to try to find Zoe's long-lost uncle.

The author, Allan Stratton, wrote about serious issues such as mental illness, family troubles, and severe bullying in a beautiful light. For example, Zoe's grandma has Alzheimer's disease and instead of pushing her away and agreeing to send her to a retirement home, Zoe fights for her family to listen to her granny and try to help her.

I would recommend this book to anyone 10+ who likes quick reads with amazing plots.

[Mathieu Mazza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ma note : 4,25/5
J'ai adoré ce récit qui m'a fait passer du rire aux larmes !
De beaux messages et des thèmes forts qui m'ont beaucoup touché :)

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a really fast read, which can be a good or bad thing depending on the story being told. In this case, I think it resulted in watering down the story a bit, as things seemed to develop too quickly and it wasn't quite the story I was expecting. That's not to say I didn't still enjoy it, because I did, but I think it could have been better. It needed some things to be expanded on to feel a little more natural and organic in the story, as opposed to feeling kind of rushed and "what can I put in here to make the readers understand why Zoe runs away."

The first half of the book spends time on showing readers why Zoe feels alienated by her parents and so close to her granny. She's in denial of her grandmother's dementia and believes that her parents see her as a problem they want to get rid of. And after one too many times of trying to tell them the truth about her cousin Madi bullying her only to have them think she's lying and talk about sending her away, too, she decides to solve the problem for them and take her granny to see her kind-of long lost son. You can understand what the writer was trying to achieve with this - that Zoe feels a strong connection to her granny, not only because of their relationship, but specifically because of the relationship they share with Zoe's parents. It just felt like it was missing something, and I'm not sure what, but that's kind of what I mean about this story as a fast read kind of working against it a little. The second half of the story focuses more on Zoe's denial of her grandmother's dementia, and her slow realization of just how serious it is. She comes to understand, in taking care of her grandmother, why her parents felt that she was a danger to herself and in need of professional care, but still strives to find a different solution that can work for everybody.

One of the things about this book that I thought was written extremely well was the dementia aspect, and you can tell that the author has personal experience with it. It's the little things, like Granny being asked simple questions and deflecting instead of answering in the hopes that no one will notice she doesn't know what the answer actually is. It's her taking her granddaughter out for ice cream and forgetting where they're going, why they're going there, how long they've been there. It's how the dementia gets progressively worse as the story goes on, to the point where Zoe can no longer deny that something is seriously wrong with her grandmother and that it's not just a quirk in her personality, or a defensive response because she feels threatened. That's where the real heart of the story lies, and I kind of wish there had been a bit more of that shown as well.

I also think that Zoe as an alienated teenager was fairly realistic. Kids say really hateful, spiteful things when they aren't getting along with their parents or when they feel like their parents for whatever reason don't care about them, and that's the position she was in. Part of the problem is they have no filter - so those angry things we sometimes think in the heat of the moment as adults but keep locked up, they unleash. But I do think by the end of the story she learns a bit from her behaviour and begins to improve it after everything she went through. Again, it feels a little off and rushed, but I think a lot of that is just down to this being a shorter story.

[Sophie lit ça · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je n’ai pas adoré tous les livres d’Allan Stratton, mais il fait partie des auteurs dont j’admire la capacité à créer des personnages authentiques, crédibles, qui donnent le ton à des récits poignants. Ici, sa Zoé m’a tout de suite plu, avec son ton dur, ses répliques assassines (notamment envers sa mère), la colère que l’on sent en elle. Et si elle peut paraitre égoïste et immature, on comprend aussi qu’elle est en réaction à quelque chose. À Madi, plus précisément, la fille de la sœur de sa mère, considérée comme parfaite alors que c’est elle qui fait tous les mauvais coups avant d’en faire porter le chapeau à Zoé. On comprend donc la source de la colère, et on se rend aussi rapidement compte que l’adolescente est une tout autre personne avec sa grand-mère, femme à laquelle elle semble tant tenir. Et c’est là le cœur du roman. Parce que cette relation entre les deux vient donner un sens au reste, parce que c’est ce qui fait que Zoé, après avoir été poussée bien au-delà de ses limites par Madi (celle-là, on la déteste tout de suite), et constatant à quel point sa grand-mère est perdue dans son centre de personnes âgées, décide de partir avec cette dernière pour retrouver son oncle Teddy, celui dont sa grand-mère parle tout le temps, mais dont elle ne sait rien.

C’est à la fois doux et violent, beau et triste. C’est l’histoire d’une famille et de ses secrets, de l’importance de se raconter les choses, de se faire confiance, de s’entraider, et ça ne finit pas si bien parce que c’est la vie. Et que la vie, parfois, glisse…

Lien: http://sophielit.ca/critique.php?id=2130

[Dove · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a short and sweet read. You get through it super fast, but the storyline is perfect. There is nothing more the author could have added. I loved the character development, the plot development, etc. Everything was perfect about the book. I liked how it talked about family disputes, LGBTQ+ community, mental illness, etc. There's a girl whose very close with her grandma. Her grandma is going to be sent to a senior home because she has Alzhemiers, so she forgets everything. Her memory is getting worse, so it's hard to deal with her, but she really doesn't want to go to a senior home. Zoe, the girl, gets bullied by her cousin, and doesn't fit in at school. So, she takes her grandma and runs away to Toronto, where her uncle stays. They're looking for her uncle because he broke contact with the family for years, but through reading letters between him and her grandma, it seems they used to have a loving relationship. They have difficulty finding him because he's no longer a male but is now a female. The reasoning for the family disputes becomes apparent. I liked how it took place in Toronto, and I liked how Zoe had reasoning for acting out, she wasn't just an emotional teenager. I liked how karma played a role in this book, and everyone got what they deserved. The ending was very emotional, and it made me tear up, but I understood the reasoning behind the family's actions at the end. A beautiful book about family!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review may contain some spoilers.

The Way Back Home tells the story of Zoe Bird, an angry, rude and sarcastic teenager, who I ironically fell in love with from the very first page. Usually I find annoying and self-absorbed teenagers... well, annoying and self-absorbed, and I have limited patience for their view of the world. However, something about Zoe captivated me. At one point in the novel, she asks her Granny: 'why do you love me? Why would anyone love me?' If you're finding Zoe to be an unlikeable heroine, I would suggest attempting to see her through her grandmother's eyes: someone who is 'good, and kind, and loyal' with the 'biggest heart in the world.' Behind all her poor behaviour and reckless decisions, I believe that is exactly who she is.

This relationship between Zoe and her Granny is at the heart of the book. It's the reason why I loved it so much. The love they had for each other really resonated with me, and I believe it will resonate with anyone who has loved and lost a grandmother.

(Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

[Kulturalnie z Anią · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miała wzloty i upadki..bardzo szybko się ją czytało,jednak wątki LGBT,choroby czy problemów rodzinnych były nieco na siłę wciśnięte i dosyć płaskie.Sama poprawiając tę opowieść na pewno dodałabym od siebie nieco bardziej wyszukany język,bohaterowie byliby bardziej wyraziści,a sama historia jeszcze mocniej złapałaby za serce.
Dla mniej wymagających czytelników nie będzie to jednak zła lektura.Będzie szybka,przyjemna i przy tym poruszająca.

[Janay Brazier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it but I didn't love it. I had my Kindle of text-to-speech reading it too me most of the time. I liked the idea of it and the writing was pretty good but I didn't gel with the characters like I wanted to. I felt for her when she was being bullied but overall I didn't feel much. Maybe I'll reread it at some point to try again because reading a new book after ACOWAR was never going to feel amazing.

[Ronni · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I finished this I felt like I'd just finished a love story. Very sweet, emotional and quite touching.

[natali_enka · Rating 5 out of 5]

8,5/10

[emilka · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings)]

Won in the Goodreads Giveaways - not read, passed on.

[Audrey | Adapter au secondaire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quel roman! Voici un récit qui aborde l’Alzheimer chez les personnes âgées, le tout vécu du point de vue de la petite fille (Zoé) de la grand-mère atteinte. Je suis personnellement très sensible aux aînés à la base. Ils occupent une place très importante dans mon coeur et, lorsqu’ils sont au centre d’une histoire, je suis encore plus touchée.

Il s’agit d’un récit rempli de péripéties, souvent bien fâchantes. Par exemple, j’ai détesté les parents de Zoé. Ils démontrent un grand manque d’empathie et de confiance envers leur fille et sa grand-mère (mère du père). C’est très frustrant à lire tout le début du livre. D’ailleurs, on assiste au placement forcé de la grand-mère qui n’y comprend rien. Ça me faisait mal à l’intérieur et je ne pouvais m’empêcher de me projeter avec mes propres grands-parents.

Bref, c’est définitivement un livre qui m’a fait vivre toutes sortes d’émotions aussi fortes les unes que les autres. Heureusement, l’histoire devient plus lumineuse au cours de chapitres et la fin amène de la douceur à cette étape obligée de la vie. Je vous recommande donc à 100% ce roman que j’ai adoré! Il s’agira sans doute d’un livre qui ne laissera pas vos élèves (et vous!) indifférents.

[Bruce Gargoyle]

I received a copy of this title for review from the publisher via Netgalley.

DNF at 36%

Ten Second Synopsis:
Zoe's loves her grandmother dearly and is devastated and rage-filled when her granny is put in an old folks' home after her dementia becomes apparent.

This could have been a good read, but I could not get past the immature, repellent protagonist or her immature, repellent relatives. In fact, everyone in this book seemed aggravatingly immature except for the granny and in the first third of the book she wasn't in it nearly enough. I'd recommend How Not To Disappear if you're looking for a similar, but much better, book about girls and their grannies on a road trip with dementia as the third passenger.

[Raynah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the relationship between Zoe and her Granny; they really cared for each other. I also liked how the story dealt with Alzheimers and how hard it can be for a family.

I did not really like Zoe. I thought she was very bratty throughout the story and it was hard to relate to her.

[lily · Rating 1 out of 5]

i remember practically nothing about this book, but i know i hated it

[Dunkaccino · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate this book. It's disguising as a sort of feel-good wholesome emotional book. In reality it is emotionally manipulative in every way. I am required to write an essay on it. That means I have to praise it and analyze this idiotic novel and it's painfully obvious "underlying" themes.

The main character Zoe is the worst teenager to ever exist. And she is the "relatable" protagonist. Her and cousin Madi hate each other. One point Madi and her gang tries to kill her by pushing her off a cliff. I've never heard of girls bullying each other to the point of death. What's her plan? To be a murderer? How can a normal high school bully risk jail time? It's very clear that author Allan Stratton doesn't have a single clue how teenage mindset works. This isn't Gone Girl, Allan. No teens kill other teens like that.

Not only that. Our main character is also an idiotic, hateful, rebellious teen. At one point she tells her parents that she wishes they were dead, and also wishes her mother got rid of her when she was pregnant. No one ever should relate to this, especially teenagers. I understand some teens think like that at her age, but why encourage them to be hateful? Why portray the parents as this villainous figure? It would make sense if Zoe gradually changes along the way, but no. She still thinks she did nothing wrong all the way. I have no idea what people read this and thought this is good-hearted and suitable for ages 11-13 (according to a book website).

Anyways, her granny is put to an elderly house, a decision (a reasonable one) made by Zoe's parents. This makes sense since she has dementia, and barely has the ability to take care fo herself. Zoe doesn't like that. She plans to take care of granny alone, and giving up school. If anything is important school is. Being able to afford elderly house is great enough. Why do it yourself if you can put granny in somewhere safe and nice? Zoe is one selfish moron.

Ok. Granny and Zoe love each other, so they go on a road trip to visit her long lost uncle Teddy. Granny is not stable, but the very smart Zoe lets her drive them to the train station. Geez. If you're being adventurous at least have a plan. Granny has cash. Call a cab or something. They get to the train station with no injuries, and go to Toronto. What's her plan then? She acts like she has one. She is one impulsive, selfish moron.

They sure are lucky to have a happy ending. The book tries to be realistic. No it's not. They wouldn't survive a day in Toronto with that amount of money, let alone seeing uncle Teddy. And meanwhile Zoe still hates her parents, which she left behind. Grow up, Zoe. Maybe your hateful personality is what got you into this mess.

The story is absolutely horrible, the writing doesn't help either. Zoe tells us this story, as if the author wants us to know what a dumb, impulsive, selfish moron she is. The book is more like a screenplay than a novel. Every chapter is only for about 4 pages, feeding the audience with low attention span. The chapters are filled with loads and loads of dialogue, more than actual storytelling. I recall lengthy conversations where Zoe and her granny had about uncle Teddy. They say the same things over 4 times throughout. Again, it's obvious this book is targeted towards people who are used to social media, and cannot read over ten pages without losing focus.

The Way Back Home is a repetitive, boring, pretentious book about mostly family dysfunction, except that the one causing the dysfunction is the protagonist that we are supposed to relate to. This book will be better through the perspective of the parents of Zoe. They are the actual ones with character development, reasonable decisions, and the ones who think.

Now I need to go back to my essay. I wish I could just submit this review.

[Eve L-A Witherington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zoe is misunderstood by her parents and bullied by her vile cousin whom films an extreme case of threat against Zoe as they find it hilarious making Zoe beg for her life, literally.



Her gran suffers with Alzheimer's and is getting slowly worse and more forgetful as well as being prone to going want ring alone with her confusion getting herself into dangerous situations.



Her gran though, wishes to not be stuck in a home and so Zoe takes on the task of tracking down Teddy her grand absent son and set to repairing their relationship so her gran can eventually die as she wishes eventually in her own beloved home, The Bird House.



As a shocking twist with finding Teddy happens they rely on kind strangers to help them by crashing in their spare room. Not wanting to go home and risk Gran going back to the care home she detests, Zoe needs to make a choice about whether to go home or run further...



A story which shows family loyalty at it's finest as Zoe refuses to let her gran be unhappy where she doesn't want to be. The bullying aspect is horrific but not unbelievable as situations have probably happened were things have been that severe in events. Meanwhile, the family relationship is so broken when they begin to make amends for not listening to their daughter they finally bond a little like a realistic normal family. I immensely enjoyed this book especially highlighting Alzheimer's as an illness in YA as any young carers will relate to Zoe in how she has to aid her gran so much.



A test of family ties and the bond between generations.

[Crimelpoint · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fabuła mnie naprawdę zaciekawiła, bo musicie wiedzieć, że lubię sięgać po historie drogi, a taką tutaj otrzymujemy, więc sięgając po tę pozycje od razu nastawiłam się właśnie na taką opowieść. Pewnie dlatego też przez początek nie mogłam przebrnąć. Nie mogłam się jakoś w nią wciągnąć, może to wina język, który z początku wydawał mi się dość specyficzny.

Jednak, kiedy już doszło to tej historii drogi, to naprawdę się wciągnęłam i przeczytałam ją jednym tchem, bo musicie wiedzieć, że czyta się ją naprawdę szybko.

Książka ta w bardzo przyjemny sposób porusza poważne tematy. Mam tutaj na myśli to, że nie są one wciskane na siłę i to widać. Wszystko tutaj pasuje, a dodatkowo takie motywy bardzo urozmaicają nam lekturę. Zoe zmaga się z prześladowaniem w szkole i to ze strony swojej kuzynki. Dodatkowo rodzice nigdy jej nie wierzą i uważają, że bohaterka wiecznie sprawia problemy. Co więcej autor wprowadził tutaj też motyw chorób u starszych.

Większość mówiła, że jest wzruszająca, że wywołuje łzy. Przyznaję, że wcale na niej nie ryczałam, ale pewnie już zauważyliście, że naprawdę rzadko ryczę na książkach. Według mnie nie ma tutaj takich wydarzeń, które mogłyby mnie wzruszyć.

Pozycja ta naprawdę mi się spodobała. Nie jest ona bez wad, czasem naprawdę irytowały mnie niektóre wydarzenia. Jednak mogę ją polecić, bo jeśli chodzi o młodzieżówki, to jest to jedna z lepszych pozycji.

[Mya Carriere · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book interesting. I see reviews with five stars, and reviews with one star, and I can understand both sides of the spectrum. There is a lot to think about, and it doesn’t help that each one of the characters are flawed and quirky. They all have unique and complex personalities, and most of them I admire for a some reason or another. All of their personalities together overload the book with an array of emotions. Zoe, the main character, is a brat. At the start of the book, she hates her parents, and says cruel things to them, including how she wishes them to die. I thought that was extreme, and no kid should ever say that to their parents, but she felt invisible, because her parents always trusted her cousin Madi, who lies and manipulates people, instead of trusting their own daughter - who tells the truth. I didn’t see this book trying to make me feel bad for Zoe, but rather force me to relate to her struggles. I never liked Zoe’s personality, and I don’t think I ever will. She is naive and makes stupid decisions, but don’t we all? I didn’t like ANY of the characters in this book, but I enjoyed reading and watching the story unfold, because in the end, it is just a book. A book where you experience the relationship of an old granny and a young girl navigate a world where a seniors home lurks in the shadows.

[Kathie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This YA novel by the author of The Dogs didn't give me the best first impression, but it certainly grew on me.

Zoe has a very close relationship with Granny, but that's about the only good relationship she has in her life. Her parents wish she was more like her cousin, Madi, who has secretly bullied her and blamed her for things for several years without getting into trouble. She is only allowed to hang around with people of whom Madi approves, and isn't very happy with her life. (I have a hard time connecting with characters that I don't like, so Zoe's parents and Madi, who were central characters in the first part of the story, really put me off the book as a whole).

As the book progresses, Zoe and Granny's relationship takes center stage after Granny is put in a retirement home for her worsening Alzheimer's, and Zoe decides break her out and run away to Toronto to find Granny's estranged son. I love the person that Zoe is when she's with Granny, and the treatment of Alzheimer's in this book is excellent. There are more secrets to be uncovered after the pair arrive in Toronto, which also brought a wonderful and unexpected twist.

I'd definitely recommend this one for the YA crowd.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall pretty good, and better than I bargained. I was looking for an easy read (it is) since I had stopped reading for awhile (life and death and crises intervened), and it worked for that, but there were gems, there was hope, there was insight, there was growth.

And so it ENDS, with wisdom and hope.
"I miss Granny. I always will. But not in a sad way. More in wonder, I guess, that Granny and I are together whenever I think of her, even when I'm alone."

An ENDING (but not the ENDING).
"Life is a storybook. Our stories depend on what happens and what doesn't; what we know and what we don't; what we forget and why. That's what makes telling the truth tricky. Because the past never stays still: it keeps changing into the future."

Thus it BEGINS.
"Mom's running around like a maniac, trying to make our living room look normal. You can hang Walmart landscapes where the hairdo pictures go, drape nylon sheets over the dryers and cover the sinks with trays of pretzels, but a hairdressing salon is still a hairdressing salon."

[Sylvaine Yvenou · Rating 4 out of 5]

La maison des oiseaux d'Allan Stratton est un livre classé young-adult mais les moins jeunes peuvent le lire sans à priori! Zoe est une adolescente en révolte. Révolte vis à vis de ses parents qui ne la voient pas, ne la croient pas, craignant le qu'en dira t'on plus que leur ombre . Révolte vis à vis de sa cousine Mady la peste qui se cache derrière son masque d'ange, Mady qui la harcèle, l'humilie, la pourchasse de sa malveillance , Mady qui a toujours raison!! Révolte devant le sort que ses parents réservent à sa grand-mère adorée le placement en maison de retraite... Zoe est prête à tout y compris à fuguer en embarquant sa Mamie, direction Toronto où doit vivre Teddy le mystérieux oncle disparu depuis des lustres. ...
Allan Stratton nous offre un roman d'amour, l'amour indéfectible de Zoe pour sa mamie. Et Zoe se bat pour que sa mamie puisse rester dans sa maison aux oiseaux même si sa mémoire flanche, même si la maladie s'aggrave Zoe est là toujours et encore.
Un roman qui fait mouche, à découvrir.

[Maureen Marovitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zoe Bird is lonely and angry. And who wouldn't be when your seemingly perfect cousin Madi is actually a sadistic bully and no one, including your own parents, believe it? But Zoe has one champion on her side, her delightfully eccentric Granny. Zoe adores her grandma and the feeling is mutual although encroaching dementia is making Granny's health and living situation more precarious. When Zoe's parents move Granny to a care home, Zoe makes the impulsive choice to break Granny free. Together they escape to the big city of Toronto in search of Granny's estranged son, an uncle Zoe has never met and believed dead. Navigating a big city with limited cash and a grandmother needing more care than Zoe realized, Zoe is soon in way over her head. This book is a great read for the unravelling of family secrets, the witty dialogue, delightful array of characters and the rollercoaster adventure of trying to make sense of one's imperfect messy family.

[Mitchelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way back home by Allan Stratton.
This book is about a girl named Zoe and she loves her grandmother very much, but her grandmother has Alzheimer and it's getting worse. Her parents decide that it's best that her grandmother be sent away to a home where she will be taken care of but Zoe isn't too happy about it. She breaks her granny out and heads out on an adventure to Toronto to find her long lost uncle.A long the way she discovers family secrets she never knew.
Like all books the way back home has it's strengths and weaknesses.What I loved about it is that it's a book that a lot of people can relate to it's a family based novel.But i wish the author could describe things a bit more so i would be able to visualize what is happening in the book.
But over all I really enjoyed reading this book because i could relate on what is happening in the book.