Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Linh S. Nguyen does a fantastic job in writing this book, it had everything that I hoped for in a children’s novel. I enjoyed getting to know Lan and thought she was a fleshed out character. I enjoyed the rest of the cast and thought it worked overall. It left me wanting to read more in this world and from Linh S. Nguyen.

Thank you to Netgalley & Inkyard Publishing for this arc!


No Place Like Home follows a Vietnamese girl named Lan struggling to find her place in her new home of Toronto, Canada. One day at a school library sale, Lan finds a mysterious book that seems to call for her to read. Little does Lan know that this book is like no other. Instead, she will be transported into a magical world where the story she is reading is not only true, but she may be the key to the happy ending.

I really liked the concept of this book. As a fan of the Wizard of Oz, I loved seeing the rather subtle mentions of the inspired text. I also liked the connection to the magical world of Silva and Lan’s home of Vietnam.
Unfortunately, I had a really hard time reading this. I never felt truly connected to the characters and found the friendship between the kids to be hard to believe. I feel like this book is more so for the younger range of Middle Grade. Lan was very quick to immediately accept the fact that she was teleported into the novel she was reading. I think a middle grader would even question that.
However, I did enjoy the parts of the book set in the forest with the nymphs and centaurs. I just wish we got more of that throughout the entire book.
Overall, I do think this would be enjoyable for many kids especially if they like fantasy worlds! I don’t think my opinions of the book should be taken without a grain of salt considering I am an adult reading a children's novel!

Posting my review on both my goodreads & storygraph now. Won't post on my Instagram.