The story follows Melanie and Craig, and Jill and Marcos. Melanie has just checked out of life and tends to runaway. She is an author and her husband Craig is a builder. Financial worries are a problem and Craig feels Melanie has "left the building". Jill and Marcos are parents to young children and Jill is having some emotional problems.

It was hard to rate this book. I would give it somewhere between 2 and 3 stars. Here is what I didn't like: The story follows Melanie and Craig, and Jill and Marcos. Melanie has just checked out of life and tends to runaway. She is an author and her husband Craig is a builder. Financial worries are a problem and Craig feels Melanie has "left the building". Jill and Marcos are parents to young children and Jill is having some emotional problems. Most of the book is written based on what is going on in the characters head. There are a few conversations, but most of the dialog takes place within the characters mind. I don't like this. The characters are all dealing with various issues, but they are unwilling to talk to others. The chapters also jump from one character's perspective to another character's perspective. This is fine, you just have to pay attention. Things seem kind of dark and depressing at first. It was hard for me to get into this book. Part of that was because of distractions in my life.

Things I liked: Ultimately I liked where the story ended. I liked the characters. This is a very spiritual book. Each character having to come to terms with their relationship to God. I had to read about 40 pages before I started to understand the authors style of writing. Once I did this and found time to really sit down and read, I did like the book. In the end, it is very uplifting.

I'm sorry. This book wasn't my cup of tea. Please read my opinions above. Thank you.

I received a free ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley!

This book is honest and special. The story is told from the rotating perspectives of the four main characters -- each struggling with issues such as grief, mental illness, marital miscommunication and secrets, perimenopause, thoughts of infidelity, identity crises, and financial collapse. Although that might seem like a tough list of issues to wade through, the novel is highly readable and the characters are very relatable.

The messages of God and prayer are central to the story, but they are primarily addressed through one of the male characters and a female counselor to his wife. The concept of homesickness and loneliness as our longing to be together with God was an interesting one, especially at this particular point in my life, personally. However, the faith messages were not overwhelming or preachy.

I would have given this book five stars if not for the anxiety I was left with at the end, wondering where and how the main couple would (literally) land. I usually don't need neat little endings, but this story struck particularly close to home, and perhaps I had unrealistic expectations for a full resolution. Although not quite as powerfully, it struck me in the same way The Shack did.

Overall, I would sincerely recommend this book.

The story told in this book is not a common one. The topic might be, as grief is a sentiment present in every stage of our lives, but the way the author approached to it was at least, refreshing.
I do believe that every story is created based in true experiences. Even if the story is not exactly true, it might have found its origin based in a random conversation or situation extracted from the writer's day to day life, one of those that remains questioning the same question again and again, just to find us working through different answers until finding the correct one.
The author worked well through the subject of grief, going through different characters and their own private grieving until all of them were able to put it behind, and follow on with their lives... finding the rest of their lives worth to live.
Well done!

Home by Ginny Yttrup is a novel about a novelist who escapes into her own stories. Melanie is working on her sixteenth novel but all is not going well. She needs to escape in order to finish it. She decides she needs to physically get away and retreats to a friend's lake house. She gets very engrossed in her writing and encounters psychologist Dr. Elliot Hammond. Will he be able to assist Mel in answering the questions that will lead her to health along with her character Chloe? Melanie's husband has his own problems with his business being way down due to the recession and knowing if he can make the mortgage payment on the house he and Melanie designed and built together. Craig feels like he is carrying his burdens alone and tempted by a beautiful client. Will he be able to resist the temptation? Will he and Melanie find their way back to God together or ill they go their separate ways? Their friends and next door neighbors, Jill and Marcos are also dealing with serious issues that could affect their marriage and future together.
I found the story to move slowly and at one point almost didn't finish it. I did finish and am glad I did; the loose ends do come together in logical conclusions. At times I wanted to shake Mel as she emotionally checked out of her marriage and real life. I felt bad for Craig as he a lot on his shoulders. No spoiler but the ending redeemed the book for me.
I received an advanced reader copy fro the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review

This is my first book by Ginny & it won't be my last. I adored every character. Home tells of a story of our journey to find a place in our own lives to call home. It really hit close to home for me coming out of a season of dryness. Melanie, Jill, Marcos & Craig were all such amazing examples of what struggle looks like when we don't go to God first.

I throughly enjoyed seeing Melanie go through her struggle through her character Chloe. It just felt like the Holy Spirit was taking her through her struggles in a way that would impact her the most. It allowed for God to meet Melanie where she could handle all of her pent up life! Which we know God will meet us right where we are in our struggles.

I gave 4 stars because I wanted to see more character development & the story line for them flushed out more. I wanted to see Jill's progress in more detail. Giving us a glimpse into the heart of her struggle. Just glad to find another Christian author who isn't writing romance novels!

Shout out to Serena for calling a spade a spade! Hope she gets her own book!

I really should know better than to start reading a book so close to bedtime....

This book has several intertwined stories within the story, including sympathetic treatment of unprocessed grief, family secrets and the stigma of mental illness. Other reviewers have provided synopses, and I won't repeat their efforts, other than to highly recommend this book, and I will be looking forward to reading other titles by this author.

Home features a very compelling story, told in a unique way. I really liked said story, but what I liked more was the style, and the way the whole book was organized. It's written with multiple POVs which were executed pretty well. I loved the look into Melanie's writing which spoke more about he character. Overall, an enjoyable read for any fan of Christian-fiction and romance.

Fans of contemporary Christian fiction focused on married couples will enjoy this touching, insightful book!
Uniquely written from the first person point of view of 4 people--2 different couples--giving an upfront and personal look into their struggles. As they seek solutions to problems they are facing, revealing underlying spiritual and emotional issues, it felt quite therapeutic to see how they resolved their conflicts. The main character, Melanie, is an author and her work in progress becomes part of the story as well, adding a special sideline to her life. I wanted to say a few choice words at times to her husband, Craig!
A look at the many different sides to grief, and how God allows difficult circumstances to get our attention, meeting us in our brokenness, was one key spiritual theme; searching for peace and a place of belonging, defining home, was another prominent one.
A well-written contemporary with a lot of depth. Recommend! 4.5 stars

Ginny Yttrup puts together a novel so compelling, so intriguing, it's very hard to put down. I stayed up till nearly 3:00 AM to finish the book. Her characters are honest, and they all have a voice of their own. One of the quirks of this book that makes it work is the fact that several of the characters are authors and one of the main characters is trying to meet a deadline for her book, but she's having a hard time getting words to paper.

Melanie describes herself as a pantser type author--one who writes by the seat of her pants, but she's having a hard time with her new novel.

Valerie is a therapist who has a lake cabin that she uses for refuge and offers it to Melanie.

Craig is Melanie's husband and a builder whose business had dropped off during the recession.

Jill and Marcos are Melanie's and Craig's next-door neighbors and dearest friends. Jill is having a bit of trouble with obsession and with nightmares.

Melanie takes Valerie up on her offer of the lake cabin, and Jill eventually comes to visit Melanie, needing the mental break from daily life.

The tagline for the book should be "Sometimes you just have to run away from home to find out where home really is."

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a new novel to read.

My thanks to Barbour Publishing/Shiloh Run Press for allowing me to read and review this book.