Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

You Belong Here

Rate this book
Jen and Steven meet at sixteen and marry at eighteen. Soon they're the parents of three young children.

Initially, the kids keep them together until love turns to lies and the family implodes. As they become adults, each child faces love and loss in the shadow of their family legacy.

You Belong Here is a book about trust and connection. About what keeps us going in spite of ourselves.

About a place where we belong.

250 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2018

6 people are currently reading
244 people want to read

About the author

Laurie Steed

24 books51 followers
Laurie Steed is the author of You Belong Here, published 2018, and the editor of Shibboleth and other stories, published 2016. His short fiction has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in Best Australian Stories, Award Winning Australian Writing, The Age, Meanjin, Westerly, Island, and elsewhere. He lives in Perth, Western Australia.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
53 (32%)
4 stars
32 (19%)
3 stars
45 (27%)
2 stars
27 (16%)
1 star
4 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
Profile Image for Louise.
Author 2 books100 followers
May 2, 2018
The story begins with a young couple, Jen and Steven, in love and starting a family. But things go awry, little things lead to bigger things, and before long, the family is torn apart.

By giving us the quotidian lives of ordinary people, Laurie Steed illuminates the exploding impact of divorce. Laurie has described the book as a love letter to the suburb in which he grew up, Mt Lawley. But not only Mt Lawley residents will relate—it's a love letter to the suburbs of all our childhoods, as well as to families, flawed as they might be.

This book will also appeal to lovers of '80s music!
Profile Image for Jodie How.
Author 2 books24 followers
March 4, 2018
You Belong Here is a nuanced story centred on the role of family connection within domestic dysfunction.

Laurie is a self assured writer of both the profound and funny. His prose is pithy, powerful and quirky.

The cast of characters have been well drawn. I was invested in the lives of every one of them.

An absolute smashing read.
Profile Image for Monique Mulligan.
Author 15 books112 followers
April 23, 2018
Books that make me think are among my favourite, and this one made me think about family - what it is, how circumstances can affect family, and so on. It took me to my own past, my own broken family - which meant tears - but also into a place of hope.

Laurie achieved this beautifully. You Belong Here made me ache for my own sons, for the dysfunction they have experienced also, and hope that their experience of family is not all bad.

An emotional response - that's what a writer wants, right?
Profile Image for Marie.
65 reviews8 followers
July 24, 2018
Painful in its familiarity, You Belong Here is a novel that cuts close to the bone.

But first… there are so many things I enjoyed about this book - the setting being number one. I never thought I’d see the Perth suburb of ‘Joondanna’ mentioned in a novel - the same suburb of my teenage years following my parent’s divorce. I now live near Mt Lawley (a main setting of the novel), and loved the references to the parks, the streets, the shops I know so well. It may be a stroke of luck that this novel was written in my figurative backyard, but had I lived elsewhere, I think I would have enjoyed the setting nonetheless. It is quintessentially Australian suburbia, with a good dose of 80’s pop culture other readers from this era would relate to.

Another aspect of the novel I found interesting was Steven’s occupation (Steven is the husband/father). I’ve never come across an air traffic controller in a novel before, but have often wondered about what that job might entail. The technical details were a little hard to follow at times, but still interesting. An error in Steve’s judgement leads to secrets being kept, and ultimately, becomes a major factor in the downfall of the marriage.

It was the overriding theme of a family falling apart that really hooked me. All too familiar to the divorce and dysfunction of my own childhood, in a way it was cathartic to watch the unravelling from a safe distance - from between the book’s fictional pages. The author was able to so realistically and honestly depict what this is like on a day-to-day basis, and at the end of the novel, there is hope.

The characters were so well drawn, they felt real to me. I read this book back in May 2018 (two months ago), and whenever I see the book cover (appropriately, a cassette tape from the 80’s - with its ribbon unwound into the shape of a butterfly), the characters and their lives are still with me.

This is a great debut novel, and I imagine it would appeal to both men and women equally.
Profile Image for Josephine Clarke.
99 reviews3 followers
March 24, 2018
It's difficult to review this book because I know Laurie and have known many of the 'chapters' as short stories in another life. This novel welds itself on the pushes and pulls of marriage and family, and identities that fight for survival within that web. I found I could hardly breathe in some of the chapters because the chaos and busyness of parenting young children is captured so energetically. It's understated, but beneath the surface there is on king wave after another. I can't wait for the next novel by this wonderful human being.
Profile Image for Lydia Evans.
17 reviews
November 29, 2021
I read this book over a year ago and I still think about it.

The settings, characters, voice all came together to create this realistic portrait of a suburban family where each person is trying to keep on going the way they know best.

A fantastic literary work.

Profile Image for Robert Lukins.
Author 4 books84 followers
March 7, 2018
Sincere, honest, and refreshing; a family (with all that contains) rendered beautifully.
109 reviews5 followers
August 13, 2020
A beautiful novel, full of touching insights about family life. Definitely one I want to re-read!
Profile Image for Sean Kennedy.
Author 43 books1,014 followers
May 22, 2018
There are some beautiful pieces of writing here but doesn't quite gel together as a whole.
Profile Image for Stefe.
558 reviews4 followers
September 24, 2018
2.5 stars There was really nothing wrong with this book but was not my cup of tea. The writing was fine but I didn’t enjoy it and only finished it because it was so short..
Profile Image for Briony Hymers.
47 reviews4 followers
December 25, 2018
Well written but the story was lacking and didn't seem to flow or be held together. I flicked through the remaining few pages as the book didn't seem to be going anywhere.
Profile Image for Lyndal Phillips.
56 reviews3 followers
November 20, 2018
Brilliant Australian debut on the delights and devastation of family dysfunction.
Painfully familiar, honest, heartbreaking and humorous story set between 1972 and 2015 and accompanied by the book soundtrack of the year, Just Hits ‘85.
You Belong Here tells the story of Jen and Steven who meet at 16, marry at 18 and soon become parents to 3 children.
I absolutely loved this book, hope you do too.

Profile Image for Lynette Washington.
Author 11 books8 followers
March 9, 2018
You Belong Here is the story of a family imploding, told through the eyes of various family members. The thread that runs through the novel is music - from Dad's mix tape, to Just Hits 85, to PJ Harvey, you can hear the chronology of popular and alternative music playing as the background to the family's demise. There are many popular culture touchstones throughout, including settings that will be familiar to Perth readers. Often these references made me smile - I remember Street Fighter battles, Sunblest sandwiches and Spam from my childhood, too. In this way, You Belong Here is a deeply and satisfyingly story about a certain time and place in Australia.

Laurie Steed has a steely gaze over his characters. He never lets them off the hook, never gives them excuses. He allows them to lack insight into their role in the breakdown of the family and he holds off on hope until the very end. The relentlessness of the dysfunction is there, but there is a lightness to his touch so that the reader doesn't feel bogged down. And then we see, with little brother Jay and finally with Valerie, that there is hope for even the Slaters.

Steed is a deft writer. The chapters are tantalisingly titled and quirky, with shadows of former lives as short stories. But there is an overall story arc that is compact and clever and ultimately complete.
Profile Image for Holden Sheppard.
Author 12 books411 followers
July 14, 2019
You Belong Here was one of my favourite debut novels of 2018. Laurie Steed writes with surgical precision and breathtaking honesty: in fact, when I am editing now I occasionally think, "What would Laurie do?" to help me omit words, because this novel's greatest strength is how tightly and cleverly it is written. A story of a Perth family breaking and remaking itself, You Belong Here is a beautiful tale because of its emotional vulnerability but also due to the aura of nostalgia that permeates the narrative. This story remembers a younger Perth, and a simpler Perth, with plenty of observational humour and pop culture references from the 1980s and 90s that feel genuine and close to the heart of both the author and the characters - never forced or shoehorned. One of my favourite aspects of this novel is that it really explored and reflected on the urban environment and places within Perth, whereas I find a lot of Aussie fiction would tend to dwell on natural landscapes. Steed explores the complexities of the urban places within Perth in a wonderful way here. Powerful, memorable and wonderfully vulnerable.
Profile Image for Mariko.
12 reviews6 followers
January 22, 2020
Thoroughly enjoyed this book which was shortlisted in the 2019 WA Premier Awards, it was mildly reminiscent of the shark net by Robert drewe minus the whole murder thing. With a skilful compression and expansion of time Laurie Steed explores the pivotal moments in an average middle class Australian family over two generations through the good times and the bad. It also explores the subtleties and fluidity of relationships and how sometimes even though the love is still there, people can still drift apart, and be reunited when a family crisis calls for it.

As a West Australian who has spent most of her life in Perth, I found it really captured the sense of place and sentiment of the city I call home and had a sense of nostalgia, but that it’s description of life in suburbia that also could and does occur elsewhere. With bit of an ambiguous ending told through the first member of generation 3, I don’t doubt that I will be thinking about what might have happened to the Slater family for quite some time..
1 review1 follower
June 12, 2018
You Belong Here helps us all to get in touch with our childhoods, the triumphs and the tragedies - the dysfunctional and the delightful. YBH is written with heart and has a light and original touch which never shouts but opens up your heart to a family that is disintegrating and at the same time coming back to life through reinvention and reconciliation. It is honest and real and held my attention to the last full stop. Living in Perth for 16 years it was sprinkled with history and geography of the area which made it all the more charming. Great read.
2 reviews1 follower
December 19, 2017
I have only read drafts of this evocative and emotionally-charged novel. Laurie is a master of capturing the human condition and giving faces to the people - chosen and assigned - we have in our lives. Through this dysfunctional family, we laugh, cry, scream, and rejoice just as if we were all sitting around the dining table before the fighting starts. I can't wait to re-read this novel in it's final form and relive the story that is all of ours.
5 reviews
February 25, 2018
A brilliant debut novel by Laurie Steed. His writing style is fresh and honest with quirky imagery and descriptions. The novel deals with inter generational trauma, romance and mental health in a raw yet vulnerable way. A throw back to the 80’s and 90’s in Australian suburbia. Looking forward to Laurie’s next novel already.
Profile Image for Toby.
861 reviews375 followers
April 9, 2024
Unexpectedly amazing. A beautiful and tender and thoroughly un-Australian novel of family in all its complexities. Choosing kindness and empathy over wallowing in the darkness this is a composite novel I can see myself reading again and again and giving as gifts whenever possible.
66 reviews
October 26, 2019
Slightly better after discussing at book club, maybe some of the 'faults' were deliberate... Bonus point for Perth references.
336 reviews96 followers
March 13, 2023
This book is beautifully and sensitively written. It’s a wonderful read.

Steven and Jen meet when they’re very young. They marry and have three children. They move from Melbourne to Perth for Steven’s new job as an air traffic controller. Steven keeps a secret from Jen. He hasn’t told her he had issues in his old job that will impact adversely on the new one.

He gets sacked after a serious safety incident at work, and the marriage starts to fall apart. The story is set in Mount Lawley. There is a big focus on the suburb : its parks, its streets, its shops.

There are some funny one liners. One about Action food barn that will resonate with Perth people. I migrated here in 1991 and avoided Action supermarkets, as there seemed to be an air of desperation about them! There’s another good quip about the Make A Wish Foundation.

Jen has an affair with slimy Peter. He senses her vulnerability and moves in, shark like. It all comes to a head and the truth is revealed at a piano recital that Emily is playing at. She’s so excited . Her brother Alex plays up and Steven removes him from the recital room. Emily plays beautifully, only at the end to see Peter slobbering all over her mum, Jen. She runs from the room, traumatised.

The family is falling apart. The youngest, Jay doesn’t really understand what’s going on. Steven and Jen divorce. The children are devastated; each in their own way.

The characters are incredibly well drawn. The child voice that is used as the three children are young is very effective. It brought out shades of Roddy Doyle to me. Roddy, who captures the child voice so well. The story made me think of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.

The children are affected in different ways by the implosion of their parents’ marriage. Jay, the most sensitive child, suffers mental health issues in his teenage years. Alex tries to rescue him. He’s dealing with his own issues and grief though. Emily tries to be the most responsible and looks out for her brothers. She writes to her dad, who has moved back over East. There are secrets about the letters. Jen, whilst maintaining a job, is frail and flails about the place a lot, never really recovering from the divorce. She tries for her kids, encouraging Alex at cricket, but there always seems to be something missing.

The story spans 1972 to 2015. Steven reappears a few times. Despite all the anguish the three children and Steven and Jen go through, there is such a feeling of hope at the end. I loved the ending. This is an amazing first novel. I highly recommend it to others.

I look forward to reading Laurie Steed’s new book.
Profile Image for Jo McClelland-Phillips.
80 reviews3 followers
August 10, 2021
"An opportunity, thought Jen. A place unburdened by emotional baggage. A town playing grown-ups, with a river that split the centre like a giant sinkhole, only pretty, that slick of a sinkhole, so long you wanted to fish its depths, sail the surface, or jog its perimeter."

What is family? You might as well ask what happiness is? Or what is love? The answers to these questions have eluded me for the majority of my life. The reality is that these ideas are the things we hunger for and the things that are the hardest to define. I find my answers in stories until life doesn't seem like it can compare with stories.

I don't read a lot of literature. I'm more of a genre reader and mostly because I'm afraid I won't understand the books on the literature scale.

You Belong Here I think I understand. It's a story, but it's real life. It asks these questions, and I'm not saying it answers them, but it makes me look at my life and see that the reason I love stories so much is that they rarely come or leave you with emotional baggage. They are a new city where we can play grown-ups.

I feel like this book changed me and made me face some demons I didn't want to face. I always thought I belonged in a world of stories, but this story made me think that maybe I belong here.
Profile Image for Shelley Timms.
90 reviews6 followers
April 2, 2019
You Belong Here is the kind of book that could be about the inner turmoil of any suburban family. Set against the backdrop of the suburb of Mount Lawley, in Perth, Laurie Steed paints a picture of a family going through a rough period in their lives beginning with a divorce, and eventuating into very serious mental health issues.

I wasn't prepared for how bleak this novel was going to be, however I enjoyed the story and the characters. It is definitely a character-driven novel, rather than driven by plot which is why it's not a 5-star read for me. The writing style wasn't something I enjoyed that much either, as it was quite abrupt and clunky at times.

One thing I did enjoy about this book was how nostalgic it made me feel, especially due to the setting. I spend a few years in Mount Lawley while I was at uni, and so the mention of Hamer Park, Beaufort Street and all of the icons of the area made for great reading.

I'd definitely be interested in reading more from Laurie Steed in the future!

For more reviews, visit Underground Writers: https://bit.ly/2DJJQ9g
Profile Image for Kelly Van Nelson.
54 reviews10 followers
June 10, 2018
I had a feeling I was going to like You Belong Here, after reading other short story work by author Laurie Steed. I was not disappointed.

The Slayer family are engaging from the offset, with everyday moments made funnier, messier, sadder, and more piercing as a result of the razor-sharp writing. Love the tidbits fed through that take you back through different periods, everything from classic tunes to common foods that we all love but pretend to hate. This is a family that I'm sure everyone will relate to and I enjoyed every witty second of their highs and lows.

Point of view is jumbled and the style is unusual, but that's what is so good about the book. It breaks boundaries. A unique rhythm to the words and a good heartfelt family story at the core make it a quick easy read.

Pick this one up from Margaret River Press and read it with gusto. It's smashing.

Profile Image for Sue.
169 reviews
October 31, 2018
My first reaction as I started reading Laurie Steed’s debut novel, You belong here, was, “oh dear, another novel about a dysfunctional family”, but I was quickly disabused of that prejudice because while that is indeed the book’s “genre”, Steed writes it in such a fresh and engaging way, albeit seriously so, that I was soon engrossed in his Slater Family.

You belong here is an ambitious novel, spanning over four decades from 1972, when Jen and Steven are 16 years old, to 2015 when their grandchild turns 13. This is the span you’d normally find in a family saga of 400 pages or so, but Steed does it in under 250 pages. How does he do it?

For the rest of my review, please see my blog: https://whisperinggums.com/2018/09/08...
Profile Image for Lewis Woolston.
Author 3 books66 followers
November 13, 2019
Simply the best new Australian novel I've read in years.
The Slater family attempt to build their little slice of happily ever after, things do not go as planned.
It sounds like a simple plot but there is a lot going on, a lot of depth. And the Perth references!
I grew up in WA in the 80's and 90's the same time period as this novel and I love that the author casually drops all these little nods to that time and place.
This is a beautiful book that you really need to read. I hope this becomes an Australian classic over time, it's certainly more deserving of the title than a lot of rubbish that wins awards.
Profile Image for Guy Salvidge.
Author 15 books43 followers
November 16, 2018
This is a domestic 'novel in stories' that reminded me of another family saga by a WA writer, Michelle Michau-Crawford's Leaving Elvis. You Belong Here starts off gently but the momentum really builds in the second half as the various family plots thicken. Steed has a knack for depicting the interrelations of family members and thus he weaves a rich tapestry of loves, hurts, heartbreaks and even a redemption or two. This is very well done and will appeal to lovers of family sagas, Western Australian history or both.
Profile Image for David Allan-Petale.
Author 1 book19 followers
November 25, 2018
One test for a book is whether it stays with you. Six or so months on from reading Laurie Steed's debut novel You Belong Here I still find myself thinking about the Slater family and the slow, painful destruction of the ties that bind them, and how that falling apart reveals raw love and deeper undertows.
It's a story set in a place at once familiar to me and totally alien - Mt Lawley in Perth - and seeing my home town through his delightfully taut prose was hugely enjoyable and reflective. It's universal though, in the way a truly good story is, beautifully sad and beautifully funny.

1 review
November 5, 2018
I have to tell you that from the moment I picked up this book, I found it riveting and I could not put it down until I finished reading it.

I felt compelled to write to tell you how much i enjoyed your style of writing, albeit very sad - I found myself reaching for the tissues.

I applaud you on your ability to produce such an eloquently written book.

You had me spellbound from beginning to end.

Good luck with your future endeavours and keep up the good work.
8 reviews
September 16, 2018
One of the best books I have ever read. Beautifully crafted and written, with heavy themes, but still easy to read. The flawed characters are realistic and likeable and get better on a second reading. Anyone that has had difficulties or come from an unusual family will connect with this book like a bat on ball.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.