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The Home
A gritty, dark and devastating psychological thriller centring around three troubled girls in a children's home, by the bestselling author of Exquisite
'I was immediately ensnared into the devastating and dark world of The Home and devoured it in one day … A triumph' Holly Seddon
'It's both a clear-eyed and compassionate tale of the harm wreaked by commonplace abuse, and a mystery that grips to the final page' Sunday Times
'Gripping, sinister and utterly heartbreaking … I absolutely loved it' Lisa Hall
_________________
One more little secret … one more little lie…
When the body of a pregnant fifteen-year-old is discovered in a churchyard on Christmas morning, the community is shocked, but unsurprised. For Hope lived in The Home, the residence of three young girls, whose violent and disturbing pasts have seen them cloistered away…
As a police investigation gets underway, the lives of Hope, Lara and Annie are examined, and the staff who work at the home are interviewed, leading to shocking and distressing revelations … and clear evidence that someone is seeking revenge.
A gritty, dark and devastating psychological thriller, The Home is also an emotive drama and a piercing look at the underbelly of society, where children learn what they live … if they are allowed to live at all.
________________
'So beautiful and haunting and ghostly and addictive and intense and sad and shocking. Just wow' Louise Beech
'This is a perfect illustration of how fiction really can inform life – read this, be moved, saddened but also enriched' New Books Magazine
'A vividly disturbing, eloquent and enthralling tale … striking, thought-provoking, compulsive storytelling' LoveReading
'I was immediately ensnared into the devastating and dark world of The Home and devoured it in one day … A triumph' Holly Seddon
'It's both a clear-eyed and compassionate tale of the harm wreaked by commonplace abuse, and a mystery that grips to the final page' Sunday Times
'Gripping, sinister and utterly heartbreaking … I absolutely loved it' Lisa Hall
_________________
One more little secret … one more little lie…
When the body of a pregnant fifteen-year-old is discovered in a churchyard on Christmas morning, the community is shocked, but unsurprised. For Hope lived in The Home, the residence of three young girls, whose violent and disturbing pasts have seen them cloistered away…
As a police investigation gets underway, the lives of Hope, Lara and Annie are examined, and the staff who work at the home are interviewed, leading to shocking and distressing revelations … and clear evidence that someone is seeking revenge.
A gritty, dark and devastating psychological thriller, The Home is also an emotive drama and a piercing look at the underbelly of society, where children learn what they live … if they are allowed to live at all.
________________
'So beautiful and haunting and ghostly and addictive and intense and sad and shocking. Just wow' Louise Beech
'This is a perfect illustration of how fiction really can inform life – read this, be moved, saddened but also enriched' New Books Magazine
'A vividly disturbing, eloquent and enthralling tale … striking, thought-provoking, compulsive storytelling' LoveReading
276 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 29, 2019
156 people are currently reading
966 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
January 10, 2021
Dark, bleak, and very uncomfortable to read, yet compelling none the less, my heart broke for the girls in this story. Three damaged teens, lonely, unloved and living in a children's home, one is found dead and the story gradually tells how the tragedy came to pass. The circumstances and characters are not pleasant, they're not meant to be, these girls are so broken they've had all the nice knocked out of them and it hurts my heart to think, even though this is a work of fiction, that these terrible things really do happen to real children every day.
November 22, 2019
Oh …. goodness gracious me. Devastating doesn’t even begin to cover it. Wow!
It’s been a while since Sarah Stovell’s last offering, Exquisite, and while I thoroughly enjoyed that one when I read it, I’m just going to go right ahead and say that The Home is on a completely different level and most definitely worth the wait!
On Christmas morning, the body of a fifteen year old girl is discovered in a churchyard. Hope was a resident at The Home, a place where three young girls lived. Three girls who have been severely affected by violent and disturbing pasts. But what happened to Hope?
I wasn’t at all able to figure out what happened to Hope and to be honest, I wasn’t even really trying. I became so utterly absorbed by these girls’ lives that solving that particular mystery almost became secondary. Despite knowing what happened to Hope, I oddly found myself wishing for a happy ending throughout, which is a credit to Sarah Stovell’s amazing writing.
This incredibly powerful story about the lives of Hope, Annie and Lara will get under your skin and will be impossible to forget. These three girls are so realistic and believable, they almost jump from the pages and you want to reach in and help them in any way you can. It was abundantly clear to me from the very first pages that this book would leave me completely and utterly broken and it did. It is so extremely dark, brutal and raw that I often couldn’t decide if I should keep reading or maybe take a break, have a breather and trawl YouTube for some funny clips.
It should almost go without saying that this is one incredibly uncomfortable book to read. It’s harrowing, it is insanely disturbing, it is shocking. It’s positively heartbreaking but also immensely gripping and compelling. It hurts, people. It’s really, really painful in that way where it feels someone has reached into the very core of you, pulled out your heart and stomped all over it. And yet there is also a sliver of hope and love throughout, amidst all this darkness.
The Home will draw you in from the start and not let go. It will haunt you and linger in your mind for eternity. It will leave you with a lump in your throat and it will make you admire Sarah Stovell for tackling such hard topics in the most exquisite (see what I did there?) way possible.
I have no more words left. Completely and utterly broken. 😭
It’s been a while since Sarah Stovell’s last offering, Exquisite, and while I thoroughly enjoyed that one when I read it, I’m just going to go right ahead and say that The Home is on a completely different level and most definitely worth the wait!
On Christmas morning, the body of a fifteen year old girl is discovered in a churchyard. Hope was a resident at The Home, a place where three young girls lived. Three girls who have been severely affected by violent and disturbing pasts. But what happened to Hope?
I wasn’t at all able to figure out what happened to Hope and to be honest, I wasn’t even really trying. I became so utterly absorbed by these girls’ lives that solving that particular mystery almost became secondary. Despite knowing what happened to Hope, I oddly found myself wishing for a happy ending throughout, which is a credit to Sarah Stovell’s amazing writing.
This incredibly powerful story about the lives of Hope, Annie and Lara will get under your skin and will be impossible to forget. These three girls are so realistic and believable, they almost jump from the pages and you want to reach in and help them in any way you can. It was abundantly clear to me from the very first pages that this book would leave me completely and utterly broken and it did. It is so extremely dark, brutal and raw that I often couldn’t decide if I should keep reading or maybe take a break, have a breather and trawl YouTube for some funny clips.
It should almost go without saying that this is one incredibly uncomfortable book to read. It’s harrowing, it is insanely disturbing, it is shocking. It’s positively heartbreaking but also immensely gripping and compelling. It hurts, people. It’s really, really painful in that way where it feels someone has reached into the very core of you, pulled out your heart and stomped all over it. And yet there is also a sliver of hope and love throughout, amidst all this darkness.
The Home will draw you in from the start and not let go. It will haunt you and linger in your mind for eternity. It will leave you with a lump in your throat and it will make you admire Sarah Stovell for tackling such hard topics in the most exquisite (see what I did there?) way possible.
I have no more words left. Completely and utterly broken. 😭
December 30, 2019
Raw! Passionate! Hard hitting!
I was left with these words when I finished reading this book by author Sarah Stovell.
3 young girls Annie and Hope age 15 and Lara age 12 were residents of a home when one of them was found dead with the other crying over her body. Lara didn't speak. The story of their lives past and present and the dreams of their future, real and imagined, unfurled in front of my eyes in bits and pieces.
My first book by this author, pulled me into the story with every word. Even when I wanted to stop reading due to the uncomfortable, dark world of these girls, I couldn't seem to do so. The prose explored the dark psyche of the humans, and I couldn't help but feel horror and pity for what these children had gone through.
Human mind needs comfort and familiarity, and the author brought that out so well with the way these children grasped theirs. The book dealt with a lot of social issues and abuse, some of which did make me sigh with pain. I knew how the death occurred, and that made the ending so much more poignant as I was hit with the realization how our childhoods affect us.
A book of shadows which had the dark truth told in a straight yet suspenseful manner.
I was left with these words when I finished reading this book by author Sarah Stovell.
3 young girls Annie and Hope age 15 and Lara age 12 were residents of a home when one of them was found dead with the other crying over her body. Lara didn't speak. The story of their lives past and present and the dreams of their future, real and imagined, unfurled in front of my eyes in bits and pieces.
My first book by this author, pulled me into the story with every word. Even when I wanted to stop reading due to the uncomfortable, dark world of these girls, I couldn't seem to do so. The prose explored the dark psyche of the humans, and I couldn't help but feel horror and pity for what these children had gone through.
Human mind needs comfort and familiarity, and the author brought that out so well with the way these children grasped theirs. The book dealt with a lot of social issues and abuse, some of which did make me sigh with pain. I knew how the death occurred, and that made the ending so much more poignant as I was hit with the realization how our childhoods affect us.
A book of shadows which had the dark truth told in a straight yet suspenseful manner.
December 7, 2019
I loved the authors debut novel so this has been one of my most anticipated reads for a while, it didn’t disappoint either.
The story mainly focuses on Hope and Annie where we find out more about their pasts as well as their relationship when they meet in the children’s home. Lara seems to hover more in the background but she is by no means any less intriguing.
It’s obvious these girls have all had troubled backgrounds. Sadly they haven’t had the lifestyles that most children should have in a loving environment. Whilst Hope’s life at home was bad enough, I have to say Annie’s story is the one that got to me the most.
Whilst this is a psychological thriller, as there is a lot of suspense and mystery surrounding the death, it is so much more. The story deals with difficult subjects like, manipulation, abuse, drugs, mental health to name but a few. It makes for a dark read that’s for sure.
The Home is a dark, at times disturbing, read which fully absorbed me. What I especially love about this authors books are they are quietly brilliant. The authors writing gently draws you in and before you know it you are held captive. It took over my world as I was gripped to every page. A heartbreaking, emotional yet deeply dark and gripping read. Loved it.
My thanks to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
The story mainly focuses on Hope and Annie where we find out more about their pasts as well as their relationship when they meet in the children’s home. Lara seems to hover more in the background but she is by no means any less intriguing.
It’s obvious these girls have all had troubled backgrounds. Sadly they haven’t had the lifestyles that most children should have in a loving environment. Whilst Hope’s life at home was bad enough, I have to say Annie’s story is the one that got to me the most.
Whilst this is a psychological thriller, as there is a lot of suspense and mystery surrounding the death, it is so much more. The story deals with difficult subjects like, manipulation, abuse, drugs, mental health to name but a few. It makes for a dark read that’s for sure.
The Home is a dark, at times disturbing, read which fully absorbed me. What I especially love about this authors books are they are quietly brilliant. The authors writing gently draws you in and before you know it you are held captive. It took over my world as I was gripped to every page. A heartbreaking, emotional yet deeply dark and gripping read. Loved it.
My thanks to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
January 22, 2022
This is an excellent but harrowing read built around a murder mystery.
Be prepared for all the feelings... this tells of a series of tragedies which I don't believe are just fictional anomalies... which makes me very angry and sad.
Trigger warnings for child abuse and people who should never be allowed to have children.
Be prepared for all the feelings... this tells of a series of tragedies which I don't believe are just fictional anomalies... which makes me very angry and sad.
Trigger warnings for child abuse and people who should never be allowed to have children.
October 25, 2019
Wow. Wow. Wow. So beautiful and haunting and ghostly and addictive and intense and sad and shocking. Just wow.
November 9, 2019
Hi and welcome to my review of The Home, the brand-new and long awaited Sarah Stovell novel, and one of my most anticipated books of the year! Sarah’s first book, Exquisite, was one of my first Orenda books, and I loved it to bits, so I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I was for The Home. Hugest of thanks to Orenda Books for the proof copy! I read it last month but I wasn’t able to squeeze the review into #Orentober, due to a fried brain and a full schedule, so let’s have a little #Orentober in November!
The Home is the story of Annie (15), Hope (15) and Lara (12), three girls in a home named Hillfoot House in the Lake District. It starts with a short pitch-black prologue that got me hook, line and sinker. Turning that first page, I knew I would adore this book at least as much as Exquisite. Sometimes you just know. And then the internal struggle commenced: the impossible choice between reading slowly, savouring each and every sentence (Sarah’s writing is exquisite, I love the flow of her words, their cadence, their darkness like a current simultaneously pulling you under and drawing you into the book) and racing through the novel to find out what happened on that fatal night, Christmas eve.
Christmas morning is when the present-day events in The Home kick off, with Lara all alone at the home, and Annie and Hope found by the water, one girl dead, one girl hysterical with grief. All three girls are in care because their parents are incapable of taking care of them. When Annie and Hope meet at Hillfoot House, it’s like they’ve found their twin souls, and quickly form a bond and venture from friendship into a sexual relationship. Throughout the novel, we learn what exactly is in these girls’ past and frankly, it did not just break my heart, it completely destroyed it. Fragile as Breakers and In the Absence of Miracles left it, it was not equipped for what The Home threw at it.
Without giving away too much, I can safely say The Home deals with quite a few difficult topics. Child neglect and abuse, grooming, self-harming, mental health, the challenges of child protection services, …
Child neglect and abuse are never easy to read about, but when the main characters are fifteen-year-old girls who have never known any better than neglect and abuse by the hands of their own mothers, it’s even worse, parents are supposed to protect their children, keep them from harm, not be the cause of mental and physical pain. Coming from a lovely and loving family, I can hardly imagine what children like Lara, Annie and Hope go through. Because that’s the thing: you know these kids are but figments of Sarah Stovell’s imagination, but there are lots of kids out there who have to live that kind of life and that destroys me. And then there’s the aspect of grooming, and its nefarious effects. Despite the lack of details, it made my stomach churn and my skin crawl.
So yes, it is dark, I think that’s rather obvious, but there is also love in The Home. Love between lost girls, love between sisters, love of carers, and most tragic of all, love of a child for a parent who has wronged them.
The Home’s narration alternates between the girls (with one of them speaking to us from beyond the grave and the other one dealing with the aftermath and the grief) and the home’s manager, Helen, which was a very interesting point of view as well because it sheds a light on child protection services, and the problems (financial and otherwise) they are faced with.
After turning the final page, I just sat there for a minute or two, holding on to the book, letting out a huge sigh in shock and astonishment, processing the finale. Out of all the scenarios I’d had considered, out of all the ways things could possibly pan out, the way it did never occurred to me for even a second.
It was a long wait, but The Home was worth every second! It is a harrowing, yet devastatingly beautiful tale. A tragic thriller that left me with a lump in my throat and a rock in my stomach. Highly recommended.
The Home is the story of Annie (15), Hope (15) and Lara (12), three girls in a home named Hillfoot House in the Lake District. It starts with a short pitch-black prologue that got me hook, line and sinker. Turning that first page, I knew I would adore this book at least as much as Exquisite. Sometimes you just know. And then the internal struggle commenced: the impossible choice between reading slowly, savouring each and every sentence (Sarah’s writing is exquisite, I love the flow of her words, their cadence, their darkness like a current simultaneously pulling you under and drawing you into the book) and racing through the novel to find out what happened on that fatal night, Christmas eve.
Christmas morning is when the present-day events in The Home kick off, with Lara all alone at the home, and Annie and Hope found by the water, one girl dead, one girl hysterical with grief. All three girls are in care because their parents are incapable of taking care of them. When Annie and Hope meet at Hillfoot House, it’s like they’ve found their twin souls, and quickly form a bond and venture from friendship into a sexual relationship. Throughout the novel, we learn what exactly is in these girls’ past and frankly, it did not just break my heart, it completely destroyed it. Fragile as Breakers and In the Absence of Miracles left it, it was not equipped for what The Home threw at it.
Without giving away too much, I can safely say The Home deals with quite a few difficult topics. Child neglect and abuse, grooming, self-harming, mental health, the challenges of child protection services, …
Child neglect and abuse are never easy to read about, but when the main characters are fifteen-year-old girls who have never known any better than neglect and abuse by the hands of their own mothers, it’s even worse, parents are supposed to protect their children, keep them from harm, not be the cause of mental and physical pain. Coming from a lovely and loving family, I can hardly imagine what children like Lara, Annie and Hope go through. Because that’s the thing: you know these kids are but figments of Sarah Stovell’s imagination, but there are lots of kids out there who have to live that kind of life and that destroys me. And then there’s the aspect of grooming, and its nefarious effects. Despite the lack of details, it made my stomach churn and my skin crawl.
So yes, it is dark, I think that’s rather obvious, but there is also love in The Home. Love between lost girls, love between sisters, love of carers, and most tragic of all, love of a child for a parent who has wronged them.
The Home’s narration alternates between the girls (with one of them speaking to us from beyond the grave and the other one dealing with the aftermath and the grief) and the home’s manager, Helen, which was a very interesting point of view as well because it sheds a light on child protection services, and the problems (financial and otherwise) they are faced with.
After turning the final page, I just sat there for a minute or two, holding on to the book, letting out a huge sigh in shock and astonishment, processing the finale. Out of all the scenarios I’d had considered, out of all the ways things could possibly pan out, the way it did never occurred to me for even a second.
It was a long wait, but The Home was worth every second! It is a harrowing, yet devastatingly beautiful tale. A tragic thriller that left me with a lump in my throat and a rock in my stomach. Highly recommended.
January 3, 2020
I’m not sure I can convey just how much this book affected me, The Home by Sarah Stovell is a book that will swallow you up, and then spit you out, your heart will break, you will live and breathe the tragic and horrifying story of three young girls Hope, Lara and Annie. These characters will burrow their way into your heart and mind leaving you bereft as this haunting tale reaches its final pages. The Home is part mystery, part thriller, and yet it’s so much more, it’s an emotive, deeply moving, and tragic tale of those who live amid abuse and poverty.
Hope, Laura and Annie first meet in The Home, three damaged girls who find themselves bound together by their shared horrifying and imaginable pasts. The story begins with the shocking death of pregnant fifteen-year-old Hope, but Hope’s death is only the beginning of the story, what lies beneath is the heart-breaking story of three girls failed by a flawed system, failed by budget cuts and staff shortages. Although this is a fictional story, for me it’s felt like the heartbreaking story of thousands of children who have been placed in care through no fault of their own. They have grown up where love and nurturing have been replaced with violence and abuse, their young life’s shaped by abusive parents, family and friends.
The authors almost lyrical prose could seem at odds with this harrowing tale, but the two fit perfectly together creating one of the most emotive stories I have ever read. Sarah Stovell has created three living, breathing characters, you feel their every emotion, anger, despair, fear and frustration. A small part of me kept wishing for that ‘happy ever after ending’, but is there such a thing for children who have been so badly damaged? It’s a story that’s brutal, disquieting, and uncomfortable and yet there are tender moments filled with ‘hope’, love and friendships.
There’s no getting away from it Sarah Stovall has written a multi layered story that left me broken, as I reached the final pages I openly cried for Hope, Annie and Laura, and that’s a testament to the author’s superb writing. The author has bravely tackled some uncomfortable subjects, but in doing so she has created a beautiful, compelling read that will haunt me for a long time to come. If you are looking for a ‘warm fuzzy’ read then this book definitely isn’t one for you, but if you are looking for a book that has depth, with unforgettable characters, a book that will cause you to feel a spectrum of emotions then you should make The Home your next read. Highly recommended.
All my reviews can be found at the://thebookreviewcafe.com
Hope, Laura and Annie first meet in The Home, three damaged girls who find themselves bound together by their shared horrifying and imaginable pasts. The story begins with the shocking death of pregnant fifteen-year-old Hope, but Hope’s death is only the beginning of the story, what lies beneath is the heart-breaking story of three girls failed by a flawed system, failed by budget cuts and staff shortages. Although this is a fictional story, for me it’s felt like the heartbreaking story of thousands of children who have been placed in care through no fault of their own. They have grown up where love and nurturing have been replaced with violence and abuse, their young life’s shaped by abusive parents, family and friends.
The authors almost lyrical prose could seem at odds with this harrowing tale, but the two fit perfectly together creating one of the most emotive stories I have ever read. Sarah Stovell has created three living, breathing characters, you feel their every emotion, anger, despair, fear and frustration. A small part of me kept wishing for that ‘happy ever after ending’, but is there such a thing for children who have been so badly damaged? It’s a story that’s brutal, disquieting, and uncomfortable and yet there are tender moments filled with ‘hope’, love and friendships.
There’s no getting away from it Sarah Stovall has written a multi layered story that left me broken, as I reached the final pages I openly cried for Hope, Annie and Laura, and that’s a testament to the author’s superb writing. The author has bravely tackled some uncomfortable subjects, but in doing so she has created a beautiful, compelling read that will haunt me for a long time to come. If you are looking for a ‘warm fuzzy’ read then this book definitely isn’t one for you, but if you are looking for a book that has depth, with unforgettable characters, a book that will cause you to feel a spectrum of emotions then you should make The Home your next read. Highly recommended.
All my reviews can be found at the://thebookreviewcafe.com
January 17, 2020
I’m not sure I will ever again read such heartbreaking depravity. I feel so fortunate and blessed to have had a childhood full of love, the safety of a home with food on the table and normal parents.
This is a very dark read which doesn’t just touch on difficult subjects it shouts them out with a megaphone so be prepared. But if you can handle it you are in for the most beautiful tender story of three poor little girls whose only misfortune was to be born into bad circumstances.
With one girl dead and one found clinging to her body raw with grief and the other girl never speaking there is a mystery running throughout. However this is really secondary to the pure story of their difficult lives and how each have different ways of dealing with not only their past but also their present.
Hope and Annie formed an instant bond on meeting that developed into love. So how did it all end so horribly wrong? Can you love when you have never been shown any? Why does Lara never speak? Are you brave enough to discover the answers? If you are you will be rewarded with ghostly narration and writing that is elegant in all its descriptive glory, I don’t use the term masterpiece lightly but this is without a doubt the most masterful piece of literature I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long time.
This is a very dark read which doesn’t just touch on difficult subjects it shouts them out with a megaphone so be prepared. But if you can handle it you are in for the most beautiful tender story of three poor little girls whose only misfortune was to be born into bad circumstances.
With one girl dead and one found clinging to her body raw with grief and the other girl never speaking there is a mystery running throughout. However this is really secondary to the pure story of their difficult lives and how each have different ways of dealing with not only their past but also their present.
Hope and Annie formed an instant bond on meeting that developed into love. So how did it all end so horribly wrong? Can you love when you have never been shown any? Why does Lara never speak? Are you brave enough to discover the answers? If you are you will be rewarded with ghostly narration and writing that is elegant in all its descriptive glory, I don’t use the term masterpiece lightly but this is without a doubt the most masterful piece of literature I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long time.
January 27, 2020
The body of a fifteen-year-old girl has been found in a churchyard on Christmas morning. Hope Lacey didn’t lead an easy life. Growing up in a home where her mother battled drugs, alcohol, and prostitution, Hope’s needs were rarely looked after. Hope ended up living in The Home, an institute for young girls who come from violent and disturbing pasts. The Home is supposed to be a place for these girls to feel safe again, but Hope’s life didn’t follow that path. Someone was seeking revenge, but for what?
THE HOME is my second book by Sarah Stovell and she has yet again blown me away with her ability to write character relationships that captivate and draw me into them. In this story we meet Hope Lacey, a troubled girl who has had nothing positive remaining in her life. She lives in a place called The Home with two other girls around her age, Annie and Lara. Looking for a sense of happiness and purpose in her life, she quickly builds a relationship with Annie and it is Annie who is with Hope the morning her body is discovered. This relationship and discovery set the stage for the story within these pages, as the reader learns about each of the girls, their friendship, their pasts, and their present realities. I was captivated by every single aspect of these main characters and immediately was pulled into their world.
The subject matter within the pages of THE HOME is disturbing, but Stovell writes in a way that also shows the beauty within the darkness. Despite all that the young girls living in The Home have been through, the reader is able to see the light within them. It’s something that for me makes me want to learn every facet of the characters. To know what makes them tick and how they have survived what they have been through. Stovell allows the reader to learn the bulk of this information firsthand, as she alternates the narration between Annie and Hope. There are also portions of the story told by Helen, who runs The Home, which provides the outside opinion the reader needs to see the girls from an alternative perspective.
Stovell has mastered the art of driving a story forward in a thrilling and suspense-filled story. Utilizing short chapters and cliffhanger revelations, Stovell lures the reader into consuming chapter after chapter to find out more information. I never wanted to put this book down. There was constantly something new I needed to know more details about. The joy in this need was that the details I wanted weren’t always about the present day situation, but they were about events from the past or instances at The Home. There was never a part of this story that didn’t matter to me or that I wasn’t fully invested in.
I cannot say enough how brilliant this book was! If you enjoy suspense, thrillers, crime fiction, drama, or just reading in general, you must give this book a try! I promise you that you’re going to love it from the moment you open it until the late hours of the night when you finally finish!
A huge thank you to Orenda books for providing me with a free copy of this book!
THE HOME is my second book by Sarah Stovell and she has yet again blown me away with her ability to write character relationships that captivate and draw me into them. In this story we meet Hope Lacey, a troubled girl who has had nothing positive remaining in her life. She lives in a place called The Home with two other girls around her age, Annie and Lara. Looking for a sense of happiness and purpose in her life, she quickly builds a relationship with Annie and it is Annie who is with Hope the morning her body is discovered. This relationship and discovery set the stage for the story within these pages, as the reader learns about each of the girls, their friendship, their pasts, and their present realities. I was captivated by every single aspect of these main characters and immediately was pulled into their world.
The subject matter within the pages of THE HOME is disturbing, but Stovell writes in a way that also shows the beauty within the darkness. Despite all that the young girls living in The Home have been through, the reader is able to see the light within them. It’s something that for me makes me want to learn every facet of the characters. To know what makes them tick and how they have survived what they have been through. Stovell allows the reader to learn the bulk of this information firsthand, as she alternates the narration between Annie and Hope. There are also portions of the story told by Helen, who runs The Home, which provides the outside opinion the reader needs to see the girls from an alternative perspective.
Stovell has mastered the art of driving a story forward in a thrilling and suspense-filled story. Utilizing short chapters and cliffhanger revelations, Stovell lures the reader into consuming chapter after chapter to find out more information. I never wanted to put this book down. There was constantly something new I needed to know more details about. The joy in this need was that the details I wanted weren’t always about the present day situation, but they were about events from the past or instances at The Home. There was never a part of this story that didn’t matter to me or that I wasn’t fully invested in.
I cannot say enough how brilliant this book was! If you enjoy suspense, thrillers, crime fiction, drama, or just reading in general, you must give this book a try! I promise you that you’re going to love it from the moment you open it until the late hours of the night when you finally finish!
A huge thank you to Orenda books for providing me with a free copy of this book!
November 17, 2019
Fans of Sarah Stovell's previous book; Exquisite will be aware of the beauty of her prose; of how she creates the most alluring, yet insidious characters and keeps her readers gripped throughout the telling of her stories.
The Home is another superbly written story that will chill the hearts of the reader. It's a murder mystery, it's psychologically thrilling and it is heartbreakingly emotional. This author has taken three young girls and told their individual stories with finesse and compassion. It is mesmerising, unsettling and immaculately crafted.
The Home houses troubled young girls. With just three residents and situated in a desolate part of the Lake District, it's not a happy place. The staff are underpaid, the manager is in despair and the girls are broken. Hope, Lara and Annie are three of the most elegantly crafted characters that I've met in fiction for many a year. Their inner turmoil explodes into behaviours that try the patience of the staff, and each other. Lara's silence hides secrets that are so terrible that they cannot be voiced. Annie's determination to better herself, to study and to make something of her life mirrors the brutality of her childhood. Hope's total disregard for her own safety and for the feelings of others is a reaction to the traumas she has experienced since she was just a baby.
Hope is dead. Drowned in one of the beautiful Lakes. She was pregnant, she was fifteen. Annie was discovered alongside the body of Hope; distraught and emotional. Annie and Hope had been lovers; theirs was an innocent love that consumed both of them. They found solace and hope in each other, they had plans. These plans have been ruined and only Annie can answer the questions posed by the staff of The Home, and the police.
The Home is exquisitely written, as we have come to expect from this extremely talented author. The story touches on the darkness that engulfs the children who are let down by their families, and by society. It is dark and it is eye-opening. It can be a difficult read at times; the author doesn't shy away from issues that are all too often swept under the table and brushed over by the majority.
The story is intoxicating and riveting; I finished it in almost one sitting; it's a story that drew me in and continues to haunt me after I turned the final page.
Beautiful, visceral and uncompromising. The Home has been a long time coming, but I can assure you that it is worth every single second of the wait.
The Home is another superbly written story that will chill the hearts of the reader. It's a murder mystery, it's psychologically thrilling and it is heartbreakingly emotional. This author has taken three young girls and told their individual stories with finesse and compassion. It is mesmerising, unsettling and immaculately crafted.
The Home houses troubled young girls. With just three residents and situated in a desolate part of the Lake District, it's not a happy place. The staff are underpaid, the manager is in despair and the girls are broken. Hope, Lara and Annie are three of the most elegantly crafted characters that I've met in fiction for many a year. Their inner turmoil explodes into behaviours that try the patience of the staff, and each other. Lara's silence hides secrets that are so terrible that they cannot be voiced. Annie's determination to better herself, to study and to make something of her life mirrors the brutality of her childhood. Hope's total disregard for her own safety and for the feelings of others is a reaction to the traumas she has experienced since she was just a baby.
Hope is dead. Drowned in one of the beautiful Lakes. She was pregnant, she was fifteen. Annie was discovered alongside the body of Hope; distraught and emotional. Annie and Hope had been lovers; theirs was an innocent love that consumed both of them. They found solace and hope in each other, they had plans. These plans have been ruined and only Annie can answer the questions posed by the staff of The Home, and the police.
The Home is exquisitely written, as we have come to expect from this extremely talented author. The story touches on the darkness that engulfs the children who are let down by their families, and by society. It is dark and it is eye-opening. It can be a difficult read at times; the author doesn't shy away from issues that are all too often swept under the table and brushed over by the majority.
The story is intoxicating and riveting; I finished it in almost one sitting; it's a story that drew me in and continues to haunt me after I turned the final page.
Beautiful, visceral and uncompromising. The Home has been a long time coming, but I can assure you that it is worth every single second of the wait.
May 30, 2020
Dark, dark, dark! If you've ever screwed up as a parent by doing something like...oh, I dunno--pick up your kids late from soccer...then read this book. You'll feel SO much better! Your parenting mistakes don't hold a candle to the ones described here. The three teenage girls who live at this care home in the English countryside each have some seriously screwed up parents. And that bad parenting comes back to wreak havoc in this twisted tale.
January 28, 2020
Finished reading: January 14th 2020
"We were fragile, too. But we weren't fragile like flowers. We were fragile like bombs."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
January 20, 2020
I'm grateful to Orenda Books for a free advance copy of The Home and for inviting me to take part in the book's blogtour.
The Home was my first read of 2020 - and suitably so. While the book is set around Christmas, it's a dark and sobering corrective to mince pies, tinselitis and tinkling bells.
When the body of a pregnant, fifteen-year-old girl is discovered in a churchyard on Christmas morning, the community is shocked, but unsurprised. For she lived in The Home, the residence of three young girls, whose violent and disturbing pasts have seen them cloistered away...
One girl is dead.
Another is found embracing her, stunned, unable or unwilling to give any coherent account of what's happened.
The third had long retreated into her own silent world.
As the police and the social workers at the care home try to unpick what has been going on, we're made privy to the personal stories of the three girls and see just how deep are the roots of what happened that Christmas Eve - and how wide the guilt goes.
I should say first that this is a very dark story indeed. Stovell's writing is compulsive, her story urgent and important, but there are some very, very hard things here. Each of the three young women at the centre of the story - Hope, Annie and Lara - has experienced tragedy and death in her own personal life. Each has been victim of abuse (physical, sexual or emotional: sometimes all three). At times this makes for very challenging reading - while Stovell avoids explicit details of what has been done to the girls, some will find this material difficult and there were times when I simply had to put the book down for a few minutes and reflect.
That said, The Home is not simply layers of misery. The three girls are far more than just victims, they are brave, resilient and well rounded young women with a lot to say. This is a complex and tangled story, with a teasing narrative structure. Stovell gives us a "present day" thread from the perspective of the girl found alive in the graveyard... and observations from the one who was found dead, leading into both of them telling their stories about their separate, earlier lives and their time together in The Home. I'd hesitate to call it a ghost story - there is no supernatural angle here - but this clever structuring does allow us, the readers, to get to various places and hear different voices without the insertion of an all-knowing narrator (and therefore allowing the possibility that these viewpoints are partial and may not be completely reliable).
They are, as I have said, dark stories. One girl is the daughter of a sex worker, groomed almost from birth to follow the same path, which she is forced to do at the age of twelve. She suffers family tragedy and is controlled by a pimp. Another of the three has a psychologically - and physically - abusive mother and only gets by begging food from the local foodbank. The third has seen murder. The care system struggles - bluntly it fails - to cope with the needs of these girls. While the manager of the home, Helen, tries her best amidst a chaotic and uncaring system there are neither the financial nor the emotional resources available. (I would have liked to have heard more of Helen's story, she seems like an interesting character herself but only remains on the margins). In the midst of this, Annie and Hope find some sort of bond, some sort of love, but it's one that only complicates their position and - with the inevitable threat of being separated - raises new fears.
That relationship is though at the core of this book. I think Stovell succeeds brilliantly in showing us the inner lives of all the girls, not just their suffering but their selves inside that, their hopes and regrets.
'For the first time ever, I wanted my mother. No. Not my mother. A mother...'
Stovell shows how these brilliant, strong young women have been forced, at an impossibly early age, to carry burdens that would floor most adults, burdens nobody should have to bear alone, still less children, and how - for the most part - they bear those, their simple survival being a triumph. In all of this there is so little help, with them being grateful for even small gestures. I found myself getting very angry that there are women in situations like this (there is righteous anger behind every word of this novel and Stovell acknowledges this in discussing the research behind the book) and that the services provided for them are so truncated, so obtuse, so ungracious.
It's not a book with an impossible, happy ending. Nobody waves a wands and transforms the lives of these girls and there is I think no inspiration in the fact that they prove so resilient.
It is a crying scandal and there is, at best, a grimy, polluted kind of justice served up.
Welcome to 2020.
The Home was my first read of 2020 - and suitably so. While the book is set around Christmas, it's a dark and sobering corrective to mince pies, tinselitis and tinkling bells.
When the body of a pregnant, fifteen-year-old girl is discovered in a churchyard on Christmas morning, the community is shocked, but unsurprised. For she lived in The Home, the residence of three young girls, whose violent and disturbing pasts have seen them cloistered away...
One girl is dead.
Another is found embracing her, stunned, unable or unwilling to give any coherent account of what's happened.
The third had long retreated into her own silent world.
As the police and the social workers at the care home try to unpick what has been going on, we're made privy to the personal stories of the three girls and see just how deep are the roots of what happened that Christmas Eve - and how wide the guilt goes.
I should say first that this is a very dark story indeed. Stovell's writing is compulsive, her story urgent and important, but there are some very, very hard things here. Each of the three young women at the centre of the story - Hope, Annie and Lara - has experienced tragedy and death in her own personal life. Each has been victim of abuse (physical, sexual or emotional: sometimes all three). At times this makes for very challenging reading - while Stovell avoids explicit details of what has been done to the girls, some will find this material difficult and there were times when I simply had to put the book down for a few minutes and reflect.
That said, The Home is not simply layers of misery. The three girls are far more than just victims, they are brave, resilient and well rounded young women with a lot to say. This is a complex and tangled story, with a teasing narrative structure. Stovell gives us a "present day" thread from the perspective of the girl found alive in the graveyard... and observations from the one who was found dead, leading into both of them telling their stories about their separate, earlier lives and their time together in The Home. I'd hesitate to call it a ghost story - there is no supernatural angle here - but this clever structuring does allow us, the readers, to get to various places and hear different voices without the insertion of an all-knowing narrator (and therefore allowing the possibility that these viewpoints are partial and may not be completely reliable).
They are, as I have said, dark stories. One girl is the daughter of a sex worker, groomed almost from birth to follow the same path, which she is forced to do at the age of twelve. She suffers family tragedy and is controlled by a pimp. Another of the three has a psychologically - and physically - abusive mother and only gets by begging food from the local foodbank. The third has seen murder. The care system struggles - bluntly it fails - to cope with the needs of these girls. While the manager of the home, Helen, tries her best amidst a chaotic and uncaring system there are neither the financial nor the emotional resources available. (I would have liked to have heard more of Helen's story, she seems like an interesting character herself but only remains on the margins). In the midst of this, Annie and Hope find some sort of bond, some sort of love, but it's one that only complicates their position and - with the inevitable threat of being separated - raises new fears.
That relationship is though at the core of this book. I think Stovell succeeds brilliantly in showing us the inner lives of all the girls, not just their suffering but their selves inside that, their hopes and regrets.
'For the first time ever, I wanted my mother. No. Not my mother. A mother...'
Stovell shows how these brilliant, strong young women have been forced, at an impossibly early age, to carry burdens that would floor most adults, burdens nobody should have to bear alone, still less children, and how - for the most part - they bear those, their simple survival being a triumph. In all of this there is so little help, with them being grateful for even small gestures. I found myself getting very angry that there are women in situations like this (there is righteous anger behind every word of this novel and Stovell acknowledges this in discussing the research behind the book) and that the services provided for them are so truncated, so obtuse, so ungracious.
It's not a book with an impossible, happy ending. Nobody waves a wands and transforms the lives of these girls and there is I think no inspiration in the fact that they prove so resilient.
It is a crying scandal and there is, at best, a grimy, polluted kind of justice served up.
Welcome to 2020.
December 28, 2019
I’ve long been awaiting the second novel by Sarah Stovell, ever since I read her debut, Exquisite. Her latest book, The Home, is utterly gripping and heart-breaking. Sarah’s writing is also so addictive; I devoured the first hundred pages in one gulp. The writing here is purely brilliant and I was blown away by the revelations at the end!
Sarah’s second book opens with the discovery of the body of a young girl, Hope, on Christmas Eve in a churchyard. Hope’s fate is intricately tied with the lives of three girls, Hope, Annie and Lara, who have all suffered devastating trials in their past. They are all either orphans or estranged from their parents. This is why they are living in a home for children together. But what really happened the night Hope was killed?
Sarah Stovell really drew me into the lives of her characters and their lives are what makes this book quite a painful read at time as Sarah examines their lives in great detail. As we get to learn more about the lives of Hope and her best friend, Annie, we begin to see that there is a lot of mystery here. As I was kept reading, I kept asking myself what would prompt the killer to kill Hope, and I could never quite get to the truth myself until Sarah revealed the devastating details in the final chapters.
I found Hope and Annie to be very complex characters. Annie I could never quite make my mind up about, this is especially as she is faced with Hope’s death in the present. She does come across as a very cold person, especially in the opening chapters, but as Sarah Stovell reveals more about her background, we can see that this isn’t quite the case.
I was instantly intrigued by Lara. Although she makes an appearance, we don’t get to know more about her until much later in the book. Her continued silence made me even keener to find out more about her and what her individual story was. This is what I really liked about this book, the added mystery that made it clear that there were more secrets about the characters to be unearthed.
Sarah Stovell does a brilliant job of creating characters which you really care about. The Home is a dark, addictive read that will pull you in from the very first line. Highly recommended!
Sarah’s second book opens with the discovery of the body of a young girl, Hope, on Christmas Eve in a churchyard. Hope’s fate is intricately tied with the lives of three girls, Hope, Annie and Lara, who have all suffered devastating trials in their past. They are all either orphans or estranged from their parents. This is why they are living in a home for children together. But what really happened the night Hope was killed?
Sarah Stovell really drew me into the lives of her characters and their lives are what makes this book quite a painful read at time as Sarah examines their lives in great detail. As we get to learn more about the lives of Hope and her best friend, Annie, we begin to see that there is a lot of mystery here. As I was kept reading, I kept asking myself what would prompt the killer to kill Hope, and I could never quite get to the truth myself until Sarah revealed the devastating details in the final chapters.
I found Hope and Annie to be very complex characters. Annie I could never quite make my mind up about, this is especially as she is faced with Hope’s death in the present. She does come across as a very cold person, especially in the opening chapters, but as Sarah Stovell reveals more about her background, we can see that this isn’t quite the case.
I was instantly intrigued by Lara. Although she makes an appearance, we don’t get to know more about her until much later in the book. Her continued silence made me even keener to find out more about her and what her individual story was. This is what I really liked about this book, the added mystery that made it clear that there were more secrets about the characters to be unearthed.
Sarah Stovell does a brilliant job of creating characters which you really care about. The Home is a dark, addictive read that will pull you in from the very first line. Highly recommended!
April 28, 2020
I’m not sure how I feel about this one. Definitely a page turner, trying to figure out the details of a teenage girls death. But it was hard to follow sometimes—several POVs that were at times hard to keep straight, some twists and a sudden ending. Good, but I didn’t like it as much as I hoped I would.
April 30, 2020
This book was just miserable. Every character had a horrible life with no hopeful outcome. I don't know why I finished it!
May 25, 2020
This book has one of the best and one of the most engaging first pages that I’ve ever read. I read it, and then I went back and read it again because I loved it so much. It painted a picture of two people that were so very unique. As a small taster, how about this for intriguing:
“I can picture her now, sweeping up the aisle
towards me…only her, white faced and spectral, her black dress whispering across the floor… There might be flowers too, black tulips in her hand, black roses at the altar.
…We were young, it was true. We were fragile, too. But we weren’t fragile like flowers. We were fragile like bombs.”
Okay, seriously, how can anyone not be intrigued by that? A black wedding dress, black tulips and black roses. Bombs. Oooh, this book had me, right there, right on the first page.
I know I’m starting to sound like a stuck record when I describe the thrillers that I read this way, but this psychological thriller is dark! But really, there is no better way to describe this devastatingly emotional, raw, real and shocking tale of three damaged young girls who live in a home for abused and neglected children.
This story is narrated primarily by Hope and Annie, two 15-year-old girls with backgrounds that will bring tears to your eyes. It’s one of those stories that will make you feel very uncomfortable, that will shock you, but which will keep you turning each page at a rapid rate. As the respective lives and backgrounds of Hope and Annie are disclosed, their stories are, quite simply, depressing as hell. We’re talking psychological abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, manipulation, drug abuse, prostitution, murder, suicide and so the list goes on. At this stage, you’re probably thinking that this sounds like an atrocious read. But wait, don’t go!
This is one of my favourite reads of the year. The writing is so beautiful, and often in contrast to the difficult subject matter. There were paragraphs in this book that I read two, sometimes three times. The observations made by some of the characters were so deep, even though they were themselves young, and I loved so many of the sentences that I read in this book. And although this is a psychological thriller, there is a lot of mystery and suspense throughout this book. Ultimately, this is a murder mystery but it’s told in such a different way, with such real and genuine characters. They are characters that you’ll get to know inside and out. Your heart will pump extra fast while reading about the lives of these girls, that I promise you.
While I was reading this book, it took over my world. I was so immersed in this story that I couldn’t tear myself away, even sitting in front of the TV with my husband, me wearing my noise reducing headphones so that I could read because I couldn’t put the book down for our evening routine. It’s a story that will punch you in the gut, and that will hang around thereafter, tickling your synapses when you least expect it. You’ll finish this book and it will stay with you, you’ll continue to think about it and it will be difficult to let go of the characters. If you’re looking for an easy-going, fun, fuzzy read, then I don’t advise that you pick this one up. But, if like me, you love gorgeous writing, stories that reflected the grubby world that we live in, dark events that open your eyes to the evil in the world, and dramatic characters then this is for you. Loved it!
Wow, I’m seriously on such a good reading streak at the moment. Long may it last!
“I can picture her now, sweeping up the aisle
towards me…only her, white faced and spectral, her black dress whispering across the floor… There might be flowers too, black tulips in her hand, black roses at the altar.
…We were young, it was true. We were fragile, too. But we weren’t fragile like flowers. We were fragile like bombs.”
Okay, seriously, how can anyone not be intrigued by that? A black wedding dress, black tulips and black roses. Bombs. Oooh, this book had me, right there, right on the first page.
I know I’m starting to sound like a stuck record when I describe the thrillers that I read this way, but this psychological thriller is dark! But really, there is no better way to describe this devastatingly emotional, raw, real and shocking tale of three damaged young girls who live in a home for abused and neglected children.
This story is narrated primarily by Hope and Annie, two 15-year-old girls with backgrounds that will bring tears to your eyes. It’s one of those stories that will make you feel very uncomfortable, that will shock you, but which will keep you turning each page at a rapid rate. As the respective lives and backgrounds of Hope and Annie are disclosed, their stories are, quite simply, depressing as hell. We’re talking psychological abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, manipulation, drug abuse, prostitution, murder, suicide and so the list goes on. At this stage, you’re probably thinking that this sounds like an atrocious read. But wait, don’t go!
This is one of my favourite reads of the year. The writing is so beautiful, and often in contrast to the difficult subject matter. There were paragraphs in this book that I read two, sometimes three times. The observations made by some of the characters were so deep, even though they were themselves young, and I loved so many of the sentences that I read in this book. And although this is a psychological thriller, there is a lot of mystery and suspense throughout this book. Ultimately, this is a murder mystery but it’s told in such a different way, with such real and genuine characters. They are characters that you’ll get to know inside and out. Your heart will pump extra fast while reading about the lives of these girls, that I promise you.
While I was reading this book, it took over my world. I was so immersed in this story that I couldn’t tear myself away, even sitting in front of the TV with my husband, me wearing my noise reducing headphones so that I could read because I couldn’t put the book down for our evening routine. It’s a story that will punch you in the gut, and that will hang around thereafter, tickling your synapses when you least expect it. You’ll finish this book and it will stay with you, you’ll continue to think about it and it will be difficult to let go of the characters. If you’re looking for an easy-going, fun, fuzzy read, then I don’t advise that you pick this one up. But, if like me, you love gorgeous writing, stories that reflected the grubby world that we live in, dark events that open your eyes to the evil in the world, and dramatic characters then this is for you. Loved it!
Wow, I’m seriously on such a good reading streak at the moment. Long may it last!
January 31, 2020
The Home opens with the death of a teenage girl but Sarah Stovell ensures her voice is not only heard but her story - which is sadly representative of the experiences of too many children - will linger long after the devastating conclusion has been reached. It is a murder mystery but far more than that, this harrowing novel explores what happens to those whose childhoods are ripped apart by neglect and abuse.
When young people have their trust in adults destroyed, it's not surprising that they should be drawn to one another and so it is for Hope and Annie when they are both placed in the care of Hillfoot House. Its remote location in the Lake District means the girls have little to do other than explore the surrounding area and soon form a passionate but destructive bond. When they are discovered missing on Christmas morning, the police deliver the tragic news that one of the girls has been found dead. As the novel progresses, both Hope and Annie's terrible stories are slowly revealed and it makes for necessarily difficult reading. There is a third girl in Hillfoot House, twelve-year-old Lara whose background has left her so traumatised, she is unable to speak. All three are clearly desperately vulnerable but while Hope and Annie's histories are more fully explored, the largely unexplained nature of what actually led to the tragedy which brought Lara to the home means she often cuts a particularly heartbreaking figure.
This may be fiction but there is a painful truth to The Home because what happens to these girls is the lived experience of real children and young people. Born into chaotic homes where mental illness, poverty and addiction leads to physical, psychological and sexual abuse, Hope and Annie's experiences are never anything less than distressing but there is nothing gratuitous here; the shame and guilt they feel is agonising and highlights why it's so important for people to understand that right now there are children being failed by their parents and by society as a whole. They are not easy young people; they are frequently belligerent, mistrustful and secretive but when they are barely able to cling on to life, they need these protective barriers against a world which has let them down time and again. That one of them ends up dead is perhaps horribly inevitable,
"We were fragile, too. But we weren't fragile like flowers. We were fragile like bombs."
Home to most of us conjures up feelings of warmth and safety but Hope, Annie and Lara have been denied that for most of their short lives. With staff who are demoralised by cuts and low wages, it's not surprising that mistakes are made at Hillfoot House but this is not so much a book about the failings within the care system as a heartending look at the circumstances which mean so many children are reliant on a system which cannot cope. It's hard to feel much sympathy for the adults who have failed these children but with the exception of one particularly loathsome individual, I was able to recognise that they too have been let down time and again and are also victims of a society which is unable or unwilling to help those living in its underbelly.
This dark, deeply affecting book never balks at discussing subjects as raw as youth suicide and the exploitation and prostitution of children, meaning that I can't describe The Home as enjoyable; it made me angry and desperately sad but Sarah Stovell's empathetic, perceptive writing ensured I couldn't tear my eyes from the page. This isn't an uplifting read and it never patronises its readers with false promises of hope but it is an important and realistic portrayal of young lives marked by abuse and violence. Highly recommended.
When young people have their trust in adults destroyed, it's not surprising that they should be drawn to one another and so it is for Hope and Annie when they are both placed in the care of Hillfoot House. Its remote location in the Lake District means the girls have little to do other than explore the surrounding area and soon form a passionate but destructive bond. When they are discovered missing on Christmas morning, the police deliver the tragic news that one of the girls has been found dead. As the novel progresses, both Hope and Annie's terrible stories are slowly revealed and it makes for necessarily difficult reading. There is a third girl in Hillfoot House, twelve-year-old Lara whose background has left her so traumatised, she is unable to speak. All three are clearly desperately vulnerable but while Hope and Annie's histories are more fully explored, the largely unexplained nature of what actually led to the tragedy which brought Lara to the home means she often cuts a particularly heartbreaking figure.
This may be fiction but there is a painful truth to The Home because what happens to these girls is the lived experience of real children and young people. Born into chaotic homes where mental illness, poverty and addiction leads to physical, psychological and sexual abuse, Hope and Annie's experiences are never anything less than distressing but there is nothing gratuitous here; the shame and guilt they feel is agonising and highlights why it's so important for people to understand that right now there are children being failed by their parents and by society as a whole. They are not easy young people; they are frequently belligerent, mistrustful and secretive but when they are barely able to cling on to life, they need these protective barriers against a world which has let them down time and again. That one of them ends up dead is perhaps horribly inevitable,
"We were fragile, too. But we weren't fragile like flowers. We were fragile like bombs."
Home to most of us conjures up feelings of warmth and safety but Hope, Annie and Lara have been denied that for most of their short lives. With staff who are demoralised by cuts and low wages, it's not surprising that mistakes are made at Hillfoot House but this is not so much a book about the failings within the care system as a heartending look at the circumstances which mean so many children are reliant on a system which cannot cope. It's hard to feel much sympathy for the adults who have failed these children but with the exception of one particularly loathsome individual, I was able to recognise that they too have been let down time and again and are also victims of a society which is unable or unwilling to help those living in its underbelly.
This dark, deeply affecting book never balks at discussing subjects as raw as youth suicide and the exploitation and prostitution of children, meaning that I can't describe The Home as enjoyable; it made me angry and desperately sad but Sarah Stovell's empathetic, perceptive writing ensured I couldn't tear my eyes from the page. This isn't an uplifting read and it never patronises its readers with false promises of hope but it is an important and realistic portrayal of young lives marked by abuse and violence. Highly recommended.
November 11, 2024
Set in a children's residential care home in the Lake District of England, this novel was the intense and disturbing story of three very damaged teenage girls. Girls who have suffered unimaginably in their short lives.
Helen, the director of the home, recently announced that the home will soon be closed due to lack of funding.
Hope - age 15, was brought up in a brothel. Her mother was a sex-worker who abused drugs. Her mother's pimp, Ace Clark, groomed her to follow in her mother's footsteps - and she did at age thirteen. When her mother had another child, Jade, it was Holly who cared for the baby as if she were her own daughter. At age 14 she turned tricks to earn enough money to escape this life with her baby sister. Until... tragedy struck.
Now Hope dress all in black and self harms. She is also 20 weeks pregnant.
Annie - now 15, was brought up hungry, neglected, and impoverished in the care of her single mother, Caitlin who shows signs of madness. Friendless, Annie is quite intelligent and hopes that if she studies hard, she will escape her life. When she was twelve her mother and her boyfriend left her alone for a two week trip away. She comes to hate her mother over time...
Lara - is 12 years old and suffering from selective mutism. She was present when, at age six, her father shot her mother and sister in front of her. Now she has withdrawn into her own tortured mind. She listens to what goes on in the home around her, but she never participates. She is prone to taking long walks on the fells and returning with the dead bodies of rodents, insects, or birds that she finds. She stores these in a shoebox in her room which makes her bedroom reek.
"Lara had already taken her place among the debris. She was part of the litter of the world and one day the wind would simply blow her off the face of it."
Learning the backstories of the girls makes for grim and at times uncomfortable reading. Annie and Hope, starved of their mother's love, find solace in each other. They are best friends and also lovers. One Christmas morning the staff at the 'Home' discover that Annie and Hope are missing. Then, it is discovered that one of the girls is dead.
This novel gives a voice to all of those vulnerable children who exist in society's underbelly. Their desperation was palpable.
This is an astounding, well-written, thriller with a chilling, devastating plot. The ending was both unexpected and tragic. With themes of dysfunctional childhoods and disturbed psyches, I can easily describe this book in three words... dark, gritty, and heartbreaking. A worthy read, but not an easy one. A novel with characters that I'll remember for a very long time.
Helen, the director of the home, recently announced that the home will soon be closed due to lack of funding.
Hope - age 15, was brought up in a brothel. Her mother was a sex-worker who abused drugs. Her mother's pimp, Ace Clark, groomed her to follow in her mother's footsteps - and she did at age thirteen. When her mother had another child, Jade, it was Holly who cared for the baby as if she were her own daughter. At age 14 she turned tricks to earn enough money to escape this life with her baby sister. Until... tragedy struck.
Now Hope dress all in black and self harms. She is also 20 weeks pregnant.
Annie - now 15, was brought up hungry, neglected, and impoverished in the care of her single mother, Caitlin who shows signs of madness. Friendless, Annie is quite intelligent and hopes that if she studies hard, she will escape her life. When she was twelve her mother and her boyfriend left her alone for a two week trip away. She comes to hate her mother over time...
Lara - is 12 years old and suffering from selective mutism. She was present when, at age six, her father shot her mother and sister in front of her. Now she has withdrawn into her own tortured mind. She listens to what goes on in the home around her, but she never participates. She is prone to taking long walks on the fells and returning with the dead bodies of rodents, insects, or birds that she finds. She stores these in a shoebox in her room which makes her bedroom reek.
"Lara had already taken her place among the debris. She was part of the litter of the world and one day the wind would simply blow her off the face of it."
Learning the backstories of the girls makes for grim and at times uncomfortable reading. Annie and Hope, starved of their mother's love, find solace in each other. They are best friends and also lovers. One Christmas morning the staff at the 'Home' discover that Annie and Hope are missing. Then, it is discovered that one of the girls is dead.
This novel gives a voice to all of those vulnerable children who exist in society's underbelly. Their desperation was palpable.
This is an astounding, well-written, thriller with a chilling, devastating plot. The ending was both unexpected and tragic. With themes of dysfunctional childhoods and disturbed psyches, I can easily describe this book in three words... dark, gritty, and heartbreaking. A worthy read, but not an easy one. A novel with characters that I'll remember for a very long time.
January 15, 2020
*I voluntarily reviewed this book from the tour organiser.
Sarah Stovell blew me away with her first book, Exquisite, and it obviously comes easy to her because this story did the same thing in a completely different way. THE HOME broke me in so many ways and is the type of book that will linger with you for a long time after you turn the last page.
When the body of a pregnant fifteen-year-old girl is found in a quiet graveyard with another young girl distraught beside her, an investigation is launched to uncover the truth. But this may be no easy feat, as these two girls were two of the three residents of the local home that tried to care for girls with troubled and abusive pasts. As the staff and the police try to untangle the past to reveal the truth of the present, horrifying truths will come to light and a devastating reality will come to the surface.
THE HOME by Sarah Stovell deftly weaves a story of trauma, innocence, and the gritty, terrifying reality that so many children live with in this world, so this is certainly not a light read. The story is told mainly from the points of view of the two girls themselves, Hope and Annie, with some input from Lara and the workers at the home. I expected this novel to be dark and to evoke emotion but I was unprepared for the onslaught of feelings that I experienced on each page - ranging from anger, revulsion, deep sadness and beyond. And while some readers may feel that this would be too much, THE HOME by Sarah Stovell shows the importance of not turning a blind eye and recognising what is happening.
A compelling story that will break your heart, THE HOME by Sarah Stovell shows the author's immense talent in making a reader feel everything while also shining a light on important issues that need to be heard.
Sarah Stovell blew me away with her first book, Exquisite, and it obviously comes easy to her because this story did the same thing in a completely different way. THE HOME broke me in so many ways and is the type of book that will linger with you for a long time after you turn the last page.
When the body of a pregnant fifteen-year-old girl is found in a quiet graveyard with another young girl distraught beside her, an investigation is launched to uncover the truth. But this may be no easy feat, as these two girls were two of the three residents of the local home that tried to care for girls with troubled and abusive pasts. As the staff and the police try to untangle the past to reveal the truth of the present, horrifying truths will come to light and a devastating reality will come to the surface.
THE HOME by Sarah Stovell deftly weaves a story of trauma, innocence, and the gritty, terrifying reality that so many children live with in this world, so this is certainly not a light read. The story is told mainly from the points of view of the two girls themselves, Hope and Annie, with some input from Lara and the workers at the home. I expected this novel to be dark and to evoke emotion but I was unprepared for the onslaught of feelings that I experienced on each page - ranging from anger, revulsion, deep sadness and beyond. And while some readers may feel that this would be too much, THE HOME by Sarah Stovell shows the importance of not turning a blind eye and recognising what is happening.
A compelling story that will break your heart, THE HOME by Sarah Stovell shows the author's immense talent in making a reader feel everything while also shining a light on important issues that need to be heard.
February 18, 2020
A well told story that gripped me throughout. Great characterisation as always, which seems to be one of Stovell's talents. Although it's easy to guess the baddie and how the book will end from very early on, and I did, I kept reading in hope that I was wrong, and I guess that's why I ignored the glaring procedural error throughout where the female PC is termed a WPC yet the book is based in the present, and the PC and her male colleague (also a PC) are both interviewing a murder suspect instead of the DC or DS who would actually be investigating a murder as part of a CID enquiry. Unfortunately I wasn't. There's no twist. And though I'm glad Stovell is one of very few authors who write books with diverse characters in them, I didn't feel this one needed the lesbian love affair, whereas her first, Exquisite, obviously did. The themes of teenage pregnancy, children in care, child sexual exploitation, prostitution, drug addiction etc. were spot on, they weren't for me written in a dark or emotive way as marketed. Though I udnerstand why. Trauma often manifests itself differently in individuals affected by it, especially when complex or repeated, and almost certainly if including grief. However, I just felt at least one of the kids (Hope or Annie) could have shown some emotion other than vocally expressed anger. All in all this book reads like a memoir, the retelling of past events similar to a crime drama, but I would have liked a bit of a psychological thrill considering that's how it was advertised.
July 13, 2020
Home – A Gripping Thriller
Sarah Stovell has written a gripping thriller, with an excellent twist that will keep you guessing all the way through to the end. This really is a stonking thriller, that takes you to the Lake District and to girls in care. Not the usual sort of thriller you would expect, but Sarah Stovell likes using surprising subjects in her excellent thrillers.
When a young girl is found dead, with her unborn child, in a churchyard on Christmas Day, and her friend is found crying over her body, the police think the obvious, she is guilty. We get to follow this story through the eyes of the dead as well as those still alive, as we uncover the lives of all the players in this thriller.
We learn how the desperate for love can be the victims of abuse, how teenagers with no family love can find love in the strangest of places. We see the dark sides of both these children who themselves are victims. We see how their nurture has affected their lives and their future.
On a deeper level, it does make us reflect on how we treat children, who through no fault of their own, are outside the societal norm of ‘loving family’. How they are treated by adults, good and bad, and how they have to try and stand on their own feet from a young age. We can never know that pressure.
This really is an excellent thriller, that will keep you gripped from beginning to end.
Sarah Stovell has written a gripping thriller, with an excellent twist that will keep you guessing all the way through to the end. This really is a stonking thriller, that takes you to the Lake District and to girls in care. Not the usual sort of thriller you would expect, but Sarah Stovell likes using surprising subjects in her excellent thrillers.
When a young girl is found dead, with her unborn child, in a churchyard on Christmas Day, and her friend is found crying over her body, the police think the obvious, she is guilty. We get to follow this story through the eyes of the dead as well as those still alive, as we uncover the lives of all the players in this thriller.
We learn how the desperate for love can be the victims of abuse, how teenagers with no family love can find love in the strangest of places. We see the dark sides of both these children who themselves are victims. We see how their nurture has affected their lives and their future.
On a deeper level, it does make us reflect on how we treat children, who through no fault of their own, are outside the societal norm of ‘loving family’. How they are treated by adults, good and bad, and how they have to try and stand on their own feet from a young age. We can never know that pressure.
This really is an excellent thriller, that will keep you gripped from beginning to end.
October 30, 2022
This was a somewhat disappointing and one-dimensional read. The story centres around 3 damaged girls who end up in a care home for troubled teenagers. They feed off each others’ misery with fatal consequences. I felt the characters merged into one (one was anorexic, one self harmed, all three had negligent parents etc), and there wasn’t enough distinction between the three. There were no positive/thriving characters to balance out the misery, and not enough male characters to balance the female wretchedness. The result, strangely, of all the female angst, was actually to make me care less about the characters, not more. If there had been more light and shade, it would have been a more compelling read.
August 29, 2020
Audio version of this book 📚- A really original listen! Gripping from the first page , my only criticism is that ‘The Home’ is a home for very troubled girls set in the countryside in the middle of nowhere and the fact that two of the girls managed to escape and the staff never realised they’d gone till the following morning a little unbelievable!!
March 17, 2025
A disappointing read. Most of the book was taken up by the rather disturbing backstory of the two main girls, which I felt went on too long. Very little directly relating to the plot. Perhaps that’s just me. Oh, and I also correctly guessed the “twist”, I think I only finished the book to find out if I was correct.
May 26, 2020
I love the way this book was written. Past and present mixed made the twists unending. The final chapter was such a huge rollercoaster that I did not see coming! Will definitely be reading more by this author.
June 1, 2020
This book was a free book I picked up that I didn’t know much about and it and it really surprised me and I completed it in one day. The story is dark but well written and my heart just broke for the characters.
January 3, 2022
"There were times when true justice meant not lying, but just keeping calmly and steadily silent"
Deeply disturbing and upsetting story of neglect and abuse. Brilliantly written and put together by the author.
Deeply disturbing and upsetting story of neglect and abuse. Brilliantly written and put together by the author.
January 16, 2020
A superb read that has you turning the pages furiously. Keeps you second guessing yourself. More on the blog tour.
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