Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Grab your tissues, because you're seriously going to be taken on an emotional rollercoaster ride with this book. I found this particularly difficult to read because it hit very very close to home with the character of the Granny. I got half way and I just didn't think I could read anymore because it was getting too personal, but I ploughed through it and I'm really glad that I did.

Zoe Bird is going nowhere fast. She’s angry and lonely, and her only true friend is her granny, whose Alzheimer’s is worsening. When her parents put Granny in a home, Zoe decides now is the time to break free. She smuggles Granny out and together they hit the tracks on a cross-country trip to find Zoe’s long-lost uncle. But there will be some home truths along the way... Zoe Bird is going nowhere fast. She’s angry and lonely, and her only true friend is her granny, whose Alzheimer’s is worsening. When her parents put Granny in a home, Zoe decides now is the time to break free. She smuggles Granny out and together they hit the tracks on a cross-country trip to find Zoe’s long-lost uncle. But there will be some home truths along the way. . .

Just because this book is emotional, that doesn't mean that it's a brilliant book. It was good yes, but not one that I would consider reading again. I HATED Zoe's parents. I hated them. I have never ever disliked a pair of fictional parents this much in my life; they made me so angry. They didn't care about Zoe, at all. What kind of parents believes a sadistic, disgusting and horrible girl like Madi over their own daughter? Them, that's who. Because they only saw what they wanted to see and I truly believe that they were projecting; that they wanted Zoe to be like the version of Madi that they saw. When Zoe told them that Madi was bullying her, they didn't believe her for even a second, they told her that she was lying. When Zoe came home when Madi had tried to kill her, they didn't let her explain where she had been, they just went off on one. Uggggggghhhhhhh. I FEEL SO BAD FOR ZOE. All she wants to do is be with her Granny and look after her and the parents have to sabotage that as well, by putting her in the care home because no one can be bothered to look after her themselves. 1) Granny said that she wanted to die at home, so they ignored her wishes. 2) She wouldn't let anyone but Zoe bathe her and feed her, but they still sent her to the care home. I just kept seeing a lack of love from the parents because they were so hung up on trying to be like the Dad's brother and his wife.





"If you can't live like you want when you're old, when can you?"

- Allan Stratton, The Way Back Home






So yeah, as you can see, I have a lot of anger about the parents on this book. I'm going to try and not get into another massive rant about the character of Madi because that would last forever. She's just a hateful, self-absorbed brat.

On the pleasant side of things, I really did love how the relationship between Zoe and her Granny was portrayed. The love between the two of them was just amazing. Ok so Zoe was very stupid taking her Granny cross country to Toronto but at the end of the day, Zoe just wanted to help and get her Granny away from a place where she knew that she was miserable. I also thought that Granny's Alzheimer's was written perfectly, I genuinely couldn't fault it and I also loved how Zoe didn't lose her patience with her, she just kept calm and tried her best to make sure Granny was getting what she needed.

It was also amazing to be introduced to a transgender charcater and even though this was the only element of diversity that existed within the book. However, I have no experience with transgender indivduals so I cannot say whether this representation was all good or not. But, she was an amazing woman who deserves a medal for what she had to put up with in her family when she was younger. No one should ever have to go through the transition without the support of their loved ones.

Overall, this was a quick, emotional read. And even though it seemed a bit rushed in places (especially when they were in Toronto), it was still an enjoyable read that I wholeheartedly recommend everyone to read. I stated earlier that I would not be reading this book again. This isn't because it's terrible - because it isn't - it's just because it was too emotional for me as I also said earlier, it hit very close to home. I would love to hear what you guys thought about this book!

Warning: includes triggers for depression, suicidal thoughts, death.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

An interesting, emotive read touching on important issues with a unique voice.

The Way Back Home is about a young girl called Zoe Bird who loves her grandmother more than anything and is furious when she is put into a care home. Fed up with her own life in the town, where she is bullied relentlessly and her parents don't listen to her, she decides to escape with her mother to Toronto, where her long-lost uncle lives. There were parts of this book that I really liked, and other parts that I just didn't really feel made an impact on me, and overall it balanced out to be just that. Good, but not great.

Zoe's relationship with her grandmother is one of the best parts of this novel. Zoe on her own was not a character that I liked. I really do not connect to characters who are rude for no reason, and I felt like, although I can relate to the struggles of seeing a loved one be put into a care home, Zoe's anger and attitude to her parents felt a bit exaggerated at times. Generally, the parts of Zoe's life that did not directly link to the story with her grandmother felt a little two-dimensional, like her cousin Madi's character. I guess none of it felt real enough to me, it all just felt a bit too much of a caricature. However, seeing Zoe with her aunt on their trip was really endearing or Zoe's character. We see that Zoe is kind and loyal behind all the anger that she harbours, and her desire to look after her grandmother isn't a pipe dream, but she actually does it.
On the other hand, I felt like this is a perfect example of a character that is just too dumb to live. The whole way through this book I was waiting for the moment where someone would shake Zoe by the shoulders and ask her what the hell she was doing. I admire the way that Zoe and her grandmother's relationship was written, but it also felt a bit ridiculous. Having seen Alzheimer's in my own family, I know how difficult it is to deal with, and I find it hard even now, let alone when I was fourteen or fifteen. The whole story in this respects felt a bit naive, but once you look past the recklessness of it and how unreal the situation is, you can sort of enjoy the story.

Finally, the best part for me was the story with Uncle Teddy. I loved seeing the story unfold and the family come back together and especially Zoe discovering the truth of the family secret. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who goes onto read this book, but it was refreshing and I felt like it was handled well, exposing some common experiences whilst not being insensitive. However, I was really confused at how the rest of the storylines played out around this. Zoe's family reunite with one side of their family, only to turn around to the other side of their family and completely cut them off. When you read the book, you do see that their relationships are not exactly healthy, but I felt like for a book about families coming back together and looking past each other's problem, perhaps this could have made an effort at humanising Aunt Jess and cousin Madi a little more to make it feel more cohesive.

Overall, I didn't love this book, but I didn't not like it. It was okay, with good bits and bad bits. I think perhaps my own experiences with the subject matter made it difficult to connect to because it felt silly to me, but it didn't ruin the book for me.

I very much enjoyed reading this book - I could not put it down! It dealt very sensitively with difficult family relationships, dementia, care of the elderly and transgender issues. I loved how the relationship between the grand daughter and grandma was portrayed - so positive and life affirming.

I have already ordered a copy for my library and will be recommending it to my more mature readers.

Interesting book, I found this a good read and would recommend it

This review may contain some spoilers.

The Way Back Home tells the story of Zoe Bird, an angry, rude and sarcastic teenager, who I ironically fell in love with from the very first page. Usually I find annoying and self-absorbed teenagers... well, annoying and self-absorbed, and I have limited patience for their view of the world. However, something about Zoe captivated me. At one point in the novel, she asks her Granny: 'why do you love me? Why would anyone love me?' If you're finding Zoe to be an unlikeable heroine, I would suggest attempting to see her through her grandmother's eyes: someone who is 'good, and kind, and loyal' with the 'biggest heart in the world.' Behind all her poor behaviour and reckless decisions, I believe that is exactly who she is.

This relationship between Zoe and her Granny is at the heart of the book. It's the reason why I loved it so much. The love they had for each other really resonated with me, and I believe it will resonate with anyone who has loved and lost a grandmother.

(Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

General Rating: ★
Diversity rating: ★★ (LGBT+: transgender; mental illness: alzheimer’s)

The Way Back Home is a story about a girl whose grandmother with Alzheimer’s is sent to a care home. And since you’re reading this review and I’m assuming after this you won’t read this book, my review will contain some spoilers.

First things first, do not read this book. Unless you hate yourself, then be my guest, read this book.

Second, the main character is a horrible brat with serious issues. If I were her parents, I would definitely put her in some kind of institution because that girl seriously needs to get her act together. She is not only rude to her family, she is mean to everyone (except her grandma), she is self-absorbed, reckless, immature, and if I think she has some type of mental illness (possibly depression?) because what she thinks and does is not normal.

Some quotes of things she says to her parents / thinks about her parents are:

(edit: they’re in the car)
I want to kick the back of her seat so hard she’ll fly through the windshield.

“I can’t wait till you’re old,” I mutter as we go inside. ‘I’ll lock you in Greenview so fast your heads’ll spin. When you cry and scream like Granny, I’ll laugh.”

“I hate you. I wish you were dead.”

Mom’s lip trembles. “What did we do to deserve this?”

“You got pregnant, that’s what. Why didn’t you get rid of me? I wish you had.” I run to my room, smother my face in my pillow. A whirlwind of hollers. “LEAVE ME ALONE LEAVE ME ALONE LEAVE ME ALONE LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” I keep it up till they do.

Third, the whole book is basically built around the fact that you’re supposed to feel sorry for Zoe (the main character), which I didn’t obviously . The side characters are if possible even worse than Zoe. Madi, her cousin, is an absolute bitch. She is literally evil. (view spoiler)

So then her grandmother is sent to an elderly home, which is something I think is completely grounded because she could barely function alone. Zoe completely disagrees with her parents. I am on the parents’ side this time. Zoe’s parents are not perfect and I would say they were quite bad parents (they believed Madi over their own daughter!). On this topic, however, I think they were completely in the right to put grandma in the home. When you start to agree with parents in YA books, you’re either just too old for the book, or the kid is just stupid. This time it’s the latter.

Zoe decides to break out her grandma and go to her uncle who she never met and don’t even know where he lives or let alone lives at all, which is just about the stupidest decision I’ve heard so far. She freaking let her grandmother who can barely function at all drive on the freaking highway. GIRL GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER. Zoe never learns, and even in the end, she is still rude and hateful.

I am giving this book 1 star, because I can’t come up with any reasons why I would give it any more stars. I hated this book, it made me angry and pissed and I just wanted to punch these characters in their face. The writing was okay and I kind of liked Zoe’s relation with her grandmother but that was all of the good things I could come up with. I would honestly not recommend this book to anyone, but if after all of my ranting you still decide to pick it up, I wish you good luck.

The Way Back Home – Allan Stratton
In “The Way Back Home” we meet Zoe Bird, who is a teen (pretty obvious in a YA novel, but whatever).
Zoe’s only friend is het grandma, but lately she starts forgetting stuff. And the forgetting stuff is getting more and more noticeable. What started out with forgetting small things, is ending with forgetting much bigger things, like that the stove was on.
Zoe’s parents want to put grandma Bird in a house, but Zoe doesn’t agree at all. Her grandma doesn’t want to go to a home, she wants to die in her own house!
Since her grandma is constantly forgetting the is in a home, she keeps freaking out.
Zoe is planning for a cross country trip to find her long lost uncle her grandma keeps talking about. But there is a reason why her family doesn’t have contact with her uncle anymore.

Now, before I start with stating my opinion and stuff, I have to tell you that this story is extremely sad. It will make you cry more than once (and more than twice, believe me), and after reading you definitely need some cheering up.

Because this book is quite short, my review will also be short. I don’t want to spoil any of you with what is going to happen!

This story written by Allan Statton is kind of playing with your emotions. Sometimes it just makes you feel happy inside, but other times it just makes you want to bawl your eyes out. So another warning, since crying is inevitable!

Stratton really captured what it is like to deal with someone who has Alzheimer and how it is for the people around that person. Someone who you love ends up being a stranger.
I loved (I know, a very wrong word to use, but you totally get me) how you noticed that grandma Bird’s situation gets worse every day. This makes you feel as though grandma Bird is your own grandma and you’re in Zoe’s shoes.

The book just left me speechless and with a lot of tears in my eyes and streaming down my face. Please read it, I think it is the best book I have read this year. I ended up giving it 5 out of 5 stars!

(review is not yet up on Goodreads or my blog)

Supporting characters fail to convince & resolution is a little too neat but overall this is a warm-hearted story with an assured portrayal of a character with Alzheimer's & its impact on close family.

I liked this book but I didn't love it. I thought it was written well but I just didn't engage with it like I thought I would. It was a lovely idea and I thought I'd love it but I think I might reread it at some point because I did read this whilst I was ill with the Norovirus, so maybe when I'm feeling better I'll connect with it more. Thank you for the opportunity to read it before the publishing date.