Feels Like Home

by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo

Growing up in a dead-end South Texas town, Mickey had two things she could count on: her big brother, Danny—the football hero everyone loved—and a beat-up copy of The Outsiders. But after the accident—after Danny abandoned her to a town full of rumors and a drunken father—all Mickey had left was a smoky memory, her anger, and the resolution to get out of town for good.

But Danny is back—and he's not the golden boy who left six years ago. He's altogether a different person, and the life Mickey has worked so hard to rebuild seems to be falling apart. Danny's anger is something Mickey just can't forgive, and his best friend's mysterious death six years ago keeps coming back to haunt the edges of her mind. No matter how hard she tries, she can't remember what happened that night—and she's starting to realize that remembering is the only way she can move on. She'll have to face the brother who broke her heart, and that beat-up book that will never again feel like home.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 10, 2007

About the author

The author/filmmaker deemed rockstar by the kids she meets won the prestigious Delacorte Dell Yearling Award, Parents' Choice Silver Honor, National Council For The Social Studies Notable Book and the NY Public Library List for Teens for PRIZEFIGHTER EN MI CASA. FEELS LIKE HOME received critical praise, but it was FAT ANGIE that generated buzz from The New York Times Bestselling Author Gregory Maguire and Ellen Hopkins. Winner of the Stonewall Award, the ALA Rainbow List, Westchester Fiction Award and a Choose To Read Ohio Book, FAT ANGIE garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal. Her trek across America to hold free writing workshops with youth on the fringe is the focus of the documentary At-Risk Summer. Her highly anticipated novel Fat Angie: Rebel Girl Revolution releases March 5, 2019.

Reviews

[Sammi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feels Like Home was one I would read again honestly, I really enjoyed it. It’s hard for me to actually get in depth with books unless it’s genuine and I feel like I can relate to it somehow. This story made me feel empathy and even made me feel at different part here and there throughout the book I was in Mickey’s shoes. I'd been in similar situations, faced similar problems, or even felt the exact way she did in some of her lower points in the novel. Every teenager in high school would view this book as refreshing. I’d definitely recommend this book to my friends because I just know that they would all be appreciate of this read! The way Mickey talks, thinks, and feels is written in such a style that comes across as engaging to our crowd. There isn't much more nowadays kids in my generation appreciate more than a book that they feel like connects to them and all their going through, especially high school students who like to know there not the only ones to face moments where it feels like their worlds are falling to pieces.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really like the beginning. It feels natural, and it’s exciting to see how the story unfolds piece by piece. But right when I’m starting to feel like I can write a good review and relax, I start to notice that the writing is not on par anymore. It’s like when my friends ask me to read over their papers and I see that yes, their introduction is really powerful and catchy, but when I read the middle paragraphs, they lose their voice and start scrabbling for ideas that don’t necessarily connect or seem as good as what they started out with. In this book, it starts with the forced dialogue that Danny exchanges with Michelle. I’m reading it, and I’m like, “What are you talking about and why are you talking like that?” It’s disturbing, like the characters have switched bodies with another’s.

There was another thing that really bugged me. I hadn’t noticed it until the ending chapters, but the author uses too much ellipses. No, it’s not a bad thing by itself! But it was so annoying with Rick saying something, then having a dot-dot-dot pause, and Michelle responding. Then the cycle starts again with Rick, his ellipses, and Michelle. Tres bad. I’m sure it was used for the “awkwardness” of the situation, but it totally turned the character of Rick flat, boring, and one dimensional. Just all-around NOT him.

[Coralie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fast read. Michele's father has just died, and she has to decide how to move on with her life. She lives in Texas, and is in an academically accelerated program and will graduate early. Her mother left the family years earlier. Michele was very close to her brother, who was a football star with a scholarship to college. Right before he graduated, Michele's brother was in a mysterious accident with his best friend, which resulted in a fatal fire. Michele's brother was blamed for the fire, and left town. Six years later, his father died and he is back to try to pick up the pieces with Michele, who is understandably angry at him for leaving and not staying in touch for all those years.

I liked this book. I thought the characters were realistic. No one was portrayed as perfect or evil. All of the characters were multi-layered. The only element that I thought was a little unrealistic was the total disappearance of the mother.

[Adele · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so disappointing. I also loved The Outsiders and read my copy to tatters as a young teen, but that was where my ability to relate to this book ended. I had major problems with the writing style. The characters would never do something like "pull into a driveway". They would always "pull into a gray, cracked driveway with random weeds poking through cracks like tired children left standing outside waiting for their mothers" or something equally distracting. Every single action and thought in the story is like this. I would probably have been more forgiving of this if the story and characters had been really great, but the story was barely okay, the main character was unlikable, and all the other characters were hardly developed at all.

[Gina Buchko · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really life Feels Like Home because I found it kind of confusing. I could of found it confusing because I was reading other books while reading this one and I was only reading this book occasionally. Also I didn't really like it because I couldn't really connect with any of the characters. The book is about Danny reentering Mickey's life after 6 years of not seeing each other and Danny is a totally different person than he was before. They live in Texas.

[Selena Hill]

This was a bit highschool beginning romance and unexpected ending story. it is about Mickey and her life after her fathers death and her brothers sudden return after running away years ago from a tragic death and fire the town blames him for. Mickey's best friend is Christina and Ricky is a cool guy that falls for Mickey (Michelle). this all happens during Michelle's junior year of high school, where she is not popular (outsider) and is extremely intelligent (set to graduate a year early).

[Tayeba Hussaini · Rating 4 out of 5]

kinda flat, but there were some high points.
good for teenagers to learn about family love.

[Liteboho Motloheloa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[*Weebles* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

[Haylie Gilts]

Great book

[Carmen Yeung · Rating 3 out of 5]

I choose this book, because i thought this book was going to be relaxing to read according to the cover page, but it turns out that i was wrong. It started off with a girl named Michelle with the nickname Mickey which was attending a memorial event for someone that died, which turns out to be her father. It all happened starting with Danny, Mickey's older brother who was the best at everything, until an accident happened and Ronald was dead. Everyone suspect that Danny did it,so danny had to leave the home and abandon his beloving sister and the father that hates him for killing Ronald. Danny came back after Mickey was all alone, since her father is dead, her mother left the house and Danny that abandonded them. Soon it turns out that Mickey was the one who saw what happened to Ronald and Ronald himself was the one that killed himself when he set himself on fire. Mickey was holding on her favorite book but not reading it- the outsiders and saw Ronald burnt to death. During the time when Danny abandoned Mickey, he met another girl and they had a kid. Mickey hates Danny for everything he did, but at least Danny have to leave again but this time there was a reason - his child. His child was also named Mickey, because Danny dear his sister so much to name it after her. Mickey now misses Danny since he will be gone for forever, and settle down in his family. I thought this book was kind of confusing, because it kept going back and forth the timeline and that kind of mess my thought a little bit. I caught up sometimes when i go backwards. Also i thought i felt sad for Mickey, even though she was already 17 but she is abandon not just once, more than once. I thought it will be a horrible feeling and sad and also lonely. No one likes the be lonely ever. One thme i learned froom this book was, Nothing gold can stay, so everyone should keep their everything precious before it is gone and nothing will be there anymore. I will recommand this book to older childrens, because it can teach them how to be nice to others and not the abandon each other. It is a horrible feeling to have with no friends. Also i will recommand it to good readers, because this book was personally pretty hard with catching up with the time period of the story. Overall i thought it was a fantistic book.

[Jennifer Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character has had to suppress her emotions from what happened that day. She didn’t think it effected her until it did. Her brother is back and there is so much she has learned about herself and her family.

[Hermela Tefera · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Feels like home" by e.E. Charlton-Trujillion is a great book that I recommend for others. This book is about Michelle (Mickey) who struggles to put her tragic past behind her. With Mickey's dad dead, her mother gone, and her brother dissapeared, Mickey must live her life in Texas with her distant memories as a constant companion. When Mickey's older brother Danny whom she once loved mysteriously reappears, Mickey has to face the brother who broke her heart. The minor charcters in this story are Uncle Jack, Mickey's boyfriend (Rikky), and the bully (Chuck). The characters in this book seem very believable because Mickey has to face real life situations such as grief, depression, and family problems. In my mind, Michelle has dark brown hair,tan skin, and a slim body. On the other hand I imagine Danny as muscular, tan skin, and approximtely six feet in height. In "Feels like Home", she says ,"just get the damn pie Danny" which implies that Mickey is impatient and harsh. In this story, Danny is affectionate. For example he says, "you need anything Mickey?" It is evident tht Mickey dislikes Danny because she shoves Danny around and tries to break him down. All in all, I love this book and recommend it to others because it shows how Danny and Mickey eventually come together after all their past tragedies.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is about loss. If we didn't have S.E. Hinton, our selection of YA lit would not be. I think that this novel reinforces the theme of loss from The Outsiders. The main character, Michelle/Mickey, is subdued by her dreams, much like Ponyboy, and is living in a vacuum devoid of feeling; only to awaken and realize that she isn't viewing life from a child's innocent eyes, but from that of an adult who has experienced tragedy and loss.

This was a great book and I really got it. Maybe it is because I just experienced a great loss, my dad; and maybe because I have suffered from depression, so a loss of myself? All I know is that this book struck a cord in me and I really enjoyed feeling loss. It is nice to find a book that helps you deal with feelings that you are experiencing.

[Fany · Rating 3 out of 5]

was an easy read...good plot not sooo good but GOOD

Mickey is the kind of strong-girl at the beginning she lives with her dad and her brother Danny.
her dad is like always drunk and her brother is a football-star in her little town. but something terrible happen to her brother's Bestfriend and he die. everybody in town blame to Danny. Mickey was with them when this happen but with the shock of the situations she almost forces-without-knowing to forgett what happen that night. her brother runaway after his graduation.

after several years her dad die to she became kind of an orphant-girl but with that her brother reappear at the funeral of her dad.

things became very difficult she can't find a way to forgive her brother for living her alone.

Isn't the best book i have read but was generally ok.!

[Emily M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book but for me it took forever to get into, and to tell you the truth i cant figure out why. I think i might of been because it was a little slow but over all this book was good. I thought this book was going to be an easy read but once i got into it i found out it wasnt. I loved the emotion that was in the book, but Mickey i thought was kind of annoying. Like when she was talking to Danny about everything that happened before Danny left six year ago she was never willing to listen to danny and she was always doubting everyone around her and she never wanted their help, and that just annoyed me. But i loved to see how much Danny cared about his sister after what he has all been through. And i liked how Mickey was finally willing to listen to her brother, and that she began to forgive him.

[Int'l librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a good story here, but there’s too much left unsaid for too long. Too many muddled emotions and confusing frustrations.

Danny is linked to the death of his best friend, but even after the facts become more clear, it’s hard to imagine why the situation would turn out the way it has. There’s no clear way to line up his cruelties with his apparent desire to make selective amends.

He reaches out furthest to his younger sister, Micky, the narrator of this story. And she’s as inexplicably tormented as he is. The connections to The Outsiders never fully take hold either. There’s an interesting secondary theme of Hispanics and Gringos in this Texas town, but it never seems to develop. Maybe you had to be there. This book never makes me feel close enough to know, one way or another.

[dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book surprised me. I started it and hated, thought it was boring, but I pressed on, and it caught me off guard, because 3/4 of the way in, I realized how much I could relate to Mickey, and that was the reason why I found myself hating her at times, because it was like looking in a mirror. We had many things in common, and in a way, towards the end, it was exactly how I had—and still do— in vision how I want my life to play out.

The book was sweet and painful and real. I hated it when I started it and loved it once I finished it. It definitely hit close to home, and is a book I will carry with me.

I don't really like writing reviews, but when I finished this book I knew it was something I needed to do. Thanks e.E Charlton-Trujillo.

[MeghanM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels Like Home by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo is about a teenage girl Michelle, "Mickey", who grew up in South Texas and recently lost her father. Shes having a difficult time with the loss of her father and to make it even worse her brother, Danny, who hasn't been around for years decided to show up. While reading, you get to know all the struggles that Mickey was going through and how she overcame them. Overall, the book was very relatable in the fact that if you ever lost someone special in your life you knew how Mickey was feeling. While reading you could also make a connection to the modern world because Trujillo decided to incorporate "The Outsiders" which most people have read. All in all, Feels Like Home is a very unique book because there are really none like it.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

a seven-teen year old girl in texas deals with her dad's death, the return, after six years, of her brother, and the deeply buried tragedy that she witnessed that caused her brother to leave in the first place. Mickey and her brother Danny have this amazing, lasting bond centered around the book The Outsiders.....although it takes most the book to get there, this book eventually bridges (although not completely) their horrible estrangement. i read this in one night and loved it. Mickey's voice resonated with my own teen self and yanked to the surface many of my own deeply buried emotions. really great voice. great story.

[bjneary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mickey had a good life, a brother she adored and one day with the accidental death of Danny's best friend, life veered out of control. Danny leaves and Mickey lives with her uncle and then with her dad, after he attends AA meetings. With her father's death, Danny comes home after 6 years and Mickey is angry. She wants nothing to do with the brother who left her and she won't listen to Danny. As she recalls that fateful night, she comes closer to finding out how Roland died, what she needs to do to forgive her brother and move on with her life.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was really good. It was a pretty fast read once I got into it. I chose this book because I thought it looked good, and because someone told me it was good. It sometimes got a little confusing with the words they used. I would defiantly recommend this book to others. If I was Mickey I would be pretty mad at my brother for just leaving me and not telling me where he was going. Overall I thought this book was awesome, it had me constantly turning the pages to find out what happened next.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mickey is a smart girl, determined to get out of her small town and the past events that haunt her. In some ways I liked this book, but I felt like there was too much going on - the dead father, the mysterious brother, the great best friend, the cute boy in school, the family friend who has taken care of her in times of trouble. There's a lot to keep track of. The author brings them all together in an admirable way, but I could have done with one less person to care about.

[Mia Siegert · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this didn't captivate me the way FAT ANGIE did, this is a book that I'd very eagerly recommend to any of my students. In fact, I might actually use it as assigned reading for them in the future. There was something really raw and real about the text, and the omission of translation/footnotes was something that we, as readers, really should get used to. There's no need for footnotes when the message is clear.

Enjoyable, one day read.

[Anastasiya M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t usually go for young adult books that aren’t mixed with another genre.

My favourite ones usually involve a dystopian world where everything seems to be going downhill. Sometimes even a romance twist does the trick. I don’t pick up books that are drama-orientated, and sometimes I do and they don’t turn out to be all that bad.

Read the full review here: https://sincerelyyoursannie.com/2023/...

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, and I think the plot was a good but the supporting characters were very flat. didn't do it for me, but I did stick with it since I wanted to know what happened (and I kept hoping it would get better).

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What is he doing here?" After six years away, her brother has no right to show up at her fathers funeral. Feels like home is a story of loss, love, forgiveness and finding ones self in the process. I would actually give this book 4 and 1/2 stars.

[Alarika · Rating 4 out of 5]

this Is an amazing book and I like the book and it is a really good ending to this book

Its about a girl who moved to her grandma and finds it boring at first but not anymore. And she gets her wish come true

[Gina Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://ginasblogging.blogspot.com/200...

[Syd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books that revolve around the importance of another book in the lives of the characters, and this was no exception. Stay gold everyone.