Carry Me Home

De: Janet Fox

Narrado por: Emily Eiden

“A poignant and powerful reminder that homelessness is not hopelessness.” —Kirby Larson, author of Newbery Honor book Hattie Big Sky

Two sisters struggle to keep their father’s disappearance a secret in this tender middle grade novel that’s perfect for fans of Katherine Applegate and Lynda Mullaly Hunt.

Twelve-year-old Lulu and her younger sister, Serena, have a secret. As Daddy always says,“it’s best if we keep it to ourselves,” and so they have. But hiding your past is one thing.Hiding where you live—and that your Daddy has gone missing—is harder.

At first Lulu isn’t worried. Daddy has gone away once before and he came back. But as the days add up, with no sign of Daddy, Lulu struggles to take care of all the responsibilities they used to manage as a family.

Lulu knows that all it takes is one slip-up for their secret to come spilling out, for Lulu and Serena to be separated, and for the good things that have been happening in school to be lost.

But family is all around us, and Lulu must learn to trust her new friends and community to save those she loves and to finally find her true home.

Sweet and thoughtful middle grade read

Carry Me Home is a beautiful coming of age story set in Montana focusing on our main character Lulu, as she struggles with the pressures of homelessness and poverty after her mother passes away. The book documents the decline of their living conditions as Lulu’s father fails to find adequate housing and work after their move from Texas. Lulu and her sister Serena are left alone for the larger part of the story as their father tries to keep ends met and their heads above water.

As a middle grade fiction, this is geared more toward the younger end of this age range, as evidenced by the writing. Though written for a very young audience, the themes of this are quite heavy and open up conversation between parents and children on the reality of poverty in America and the power of asking for help. The perspective of Lulu gave incredible depth to what a middle school student experiences in such an uncertain situation and the shame and fear that come with it.

All in all, this was a short but powerful read that will sit with me for a time to come.