Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this book. I found this book to be truly beautiful and touching and will definitely recommend it.

Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. An extremely difficult subject tackled by an incredibly sensitive and empathetic author. Armstrong draws us in from page 1! Well done!

This book tackles a topic not often seen within young adult fiction, despite the fact that homelessness is affecting people of a young age in greater numbers than ever before. This book is very emotional and thought provoking.

Central Avenue Publishing and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Roam. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

How can a terrible mistake have such catastrophic consequences? 17 year old Abby Lunde finds out after her mother's actions force the family to flee their home. Starting over in Rochester, Minnesota, the problems compound when Abby, her sister, her mother, and her stepfather must live in their van. Will an attempt at normalcy, namely attending high school and making friends, give Abby the hope she needs to move forward?

Highlighting an important issue that many people in this country face, Roam follows a family from their lowest point to, ultimately, hope. The truth of the matter is that many families are one lost paycheck away from being homeless, just like Abby and her family. The support of the community, friends, and school give Abby a good foundation, but many of her real life counterparts are not that lucky. The author did a good job of putting the reader in Abby's shoes, allowing an honest look into life for those whose circumstances are dire. The rapid slide into homelessness is glossed over, so I wish the author had spent some time giving readers the complete picture. Roam has heart, but is not really that realistic. It is true that there may be resources out there for those in similar circumstances, but many areas of this country are either overrun with people in need or do not have the infrastructure to help. Overall, Roam was well written with realistically drawn characters and is a book that I would recommend to others.

I already read a book by this author, which broke me a bit.
But Roam was different. It was full of hope, of little love and forgiveness. Roam felt so real, so hard and unforgiving, like life sometimes is - and it made me realize some things about reality. Why people only want to see, what they want to see, not what is really there. This book explains so well, how torn apart you can be between loving someone and hating this person. The book shows young people, how to be more open, more understanding and more emphatic, than any teacher ever could.

Sometimes the story was a bit too predictable for me, and maybe too naive? I loved what the author wanted to say, but it still was a cute contemporary read with a important message. I just think it could have been a bit deeper, and maybe I needed more explanations on some of the happenings and actions?

I wanted to write this long review with all my thoughts in it, but I think you should just read it for yourself! The characters are cute and relatable and I felt very sorry while reading this book. It made me want to change reality!

I am rating this book a 3/5 stars.

This book was very pleasantly surprising! I really thought I was going to hate it based on the story line. I started it with little-to-no expectations, but as I read I realized it was your typical YA book--which I normally try to stay away from now. I decided to grit my teeth and bear through the cliche story line to focus on the characters and the deeper struggle. I personally think that the book is redeemable as a quick read if you aren't into certain aspects/genres of YA. If you're into YA, this book will be one of the better YA books you read.
Almost everybody can relate to being a new person at a new school and can especially relate to having a love interest that you feel is way out of your league. For the first time, however, this is a story that the other half of American teens can relate to-- being homeless and trying to carry on like normal. I haven't seen very many stories where the main character is homeless and trying to carry on like she isn't, let alone trying to deceive the upper class into thinking she isn't as out-of-place as she really is.

Without going into too much detail and giving the story away, this story definitely deserves a chance. It has mother-daughter struggles, a loving step-parent and sibling, a supportive but flamboyantly gay best friend, inside jokes, a super hot and incredibly rich boyfriend. Basically, it's a book that shows that despite the hell you go through, there is always a reason to persevere to the other side. It does get better.

The cover art is what first drew my eye when browsing books. The story is what drew me in. An excellent and insightful read, perfect for any shelf.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet YA story.

This was a really sweet YA novel. I loved the take on homelessness, something not very represented in books. The plot and characters were very real and believable, and I just really enjoyed it.

Just finished reading Roam and loved every minute of the book! The story centers around a homeless teenage girl and her family’s struggle to survive while keeping their situation hidden. A thought provoking and touching story. The author, C.H. Armstrong does an exceptional job in covering the difficulty of the homeless especially a young teen still in high school. The way the author handles such a tough subject is right on. I was instantly drawn into the world of Abby Lunde, her family, and circle of friends., I read this book in one day as I could not put it down until it was finished.

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was written in a very real and honest way. It showcased some of the realities not only teens have to face when dealing with being homeless but also with adults. I thought the plot, writing, and characterizations were really nice and realistic.

Abby is homeless living in her mum's truck after a scandal involving her mum at their last school where her mum was a math teacher.



On her first day she meets Josh and his bunch of girl friends he ironically nicknames Disney characters after they are lookalikes.



She also meets Zach, a hot guy she falls for only to make an enemy of his jealous ex girlfriend Trish who takes an instant dislike to Abby.



As Abby and her family live in their van, we see the trials they face from sleeping in it in the perishing cold weather, begging for money on the street, washing and using public shop bathrooms and having to rely on salvation army food and church food donations too as well as in desperation after being ill the family find themselves squatting too.



The book shows how normal families can fall into poverty and not even have a home nor money for basic supplies we all have a right to for survival. We see the dangerous effects of sleeping out in the cold as they become ill and especially how it can take a toll emotionally on the whole family not just the children in the family either. Realistic, moving and tragically hopeful too.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.“ To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee

Surviving high school is tough. Navigating the politics of the classroom and lunch room is hard enough, and joining a new school part way through even harder. Consider then that you move to a new school when you are homeless and living out of a van with your little sister and mum and dad. Welcome to Abby’s new life.

The book gently unfolds how Abby and her family find themselves in this situation. Abby’s mum was a teacher and had an affair with a colleague, which was discovered and made very public. At the same time that Abby’s mum loses her job for her indiscretion, her father is made redundant when his employer goes bankrupt. Sometimes you can be just a few paychecks from poverty. When that income stream is lost, savings can quickly be eroded. And then things get really bad.

Without family or other support, Abby and her family move north to Minnesota to make a new start there. While the children go to school in the day, the parents look for jobs and hunt out what help they can from the community. For supper they go to the Salvation Army soup kitchen and in the weekend the church hosts a similar lunch, but rather than making them feel needy and helpless, the church lunch makes them feel like guests and offers more support. This for me was an important distinction: when these people have already lost everything, the church lunch helped them to keep or regain their dignity.

Abby has to work hard to keep up the pretence that she has a normal home life (indeed, a home). She meets some new friends who are warm and welcoming, and well-to-do. The contrast between what they have and how they live is stark with Abby’s reality. She struggles with their easily given generosity, but when she sees that it isn’t just directed at her, that they share things with each other, she is gracious in accepting.

But how long can she maintain the pretence? And will her world come crashing down again if anyone finds out?

This book was touching and thought-provoking without becoming schmaltzy. It has the classic theme of trying to endure high school with the elevated emotion and worries of a person struggling with abject poverty.

After reading the book I did some research. Recent statistics in the U.K. state that 80,000 families (including 120,000 children) are homeless in the U.K. They will be housed in temporary accommodation, often a B&B, but without any security as to how long they can stay. Approximately half of these families have working parents, but they can not escape their circumstances because of the high cost of private rents, the freeze in housing benefit and the scarcity of social housing. The book has made me ask myself, how can I do more?

I don't know where to begin. This was a 5 star read. It had a few cliches (a smidge of insta-love and super dramatic and cliche drama of high school) but the overall message and meaning is so important. I would love to hear that this book has become mandatory reading in middle and high schools. Important inside perspectives on homelessness, bullying/cyberbullying, and so many characters learning to forgive are very important.

This book hit me very close to home. To think of this book being read and more people understanding homelessness, volunteering, donating, and giving to charities is so special and fills me with hope. This book is a call to action with no preachiness, but if you leave from reading this book and don't feel a call to action, I don't know what to tell you.

The character's were awesome even if cliche.
Cliches: instalove, Zach being nearly perfect, Trish being the cliche evil popular girl, [the entire school banding together to go against Trish for her bullying/cyberbullying
The great parts about the characters: Zach is the definition of a great (although nearly too perfect) guy. Abby's friends Tera, Wendy and Josh are the perfect friends to have.
There are discussion guide questions in the back of the book so this would be perfect for a bookclub or (yes I'm saying it again!) homework assignment for schools.

Roam is a thoroughly moving book on the homelessness issue and for that alone I do think it's worth adding to your YA shelves. Abby's story illustrates just how fine the line is between "doing ok" and "everything is a disaster piled on a disaster", something we could all do with recognising. There is such snobbery about poverty and Armstrong illustrates very clearly how one lapse of judgement can turn a whole family upside down.


Unfortunately there are two issues that bug me, and they're common YA tropes - the insta-friends, and the instalove. I just didn't find it realistic at all and it really upset the balance of the story, to the point that the inevitable "saved by Prince Charming" ending was a bit of a let-down.

Thankyou to NetGalley, the publishers and the author, C.H Armstrong, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Roam in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
This book is a very powerful and compelling read. The storyline was well thought out and written. Very emotive.
Worth a read.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, this has not altered my opinion of the book.

This book really surprised me, I read it in one sitting. It made me cry, and I'm not a cryer.  However, this book tugged at my heartstrings and the ending really is worth the read, in my opinion.

While this story does follow the stereotypical formula that the majority of ya contemporary books follow, it really seemed to be a bonus in the end. While I knew what was basically going to happen all of the time during each main scene, I have never read a book where the main character is a homeless teen. I haven't read a book where there were such difficult family dynamics and such a focus on the fact that things happen and sometimes there isn't a way to avoid a confrontation. This book talked about the importance of talking to everyone as well as being open with your family and working through problems.

This book had a few tropes that did get to me, but I understand how they furthered the plot. For instance, there was insta-love, there was a gay best friend, there was the love interest's ex-girlfriend was not nice. However, These points furthered the story itself, and Josh is my favorite person. The plot surprised me and I'm so glad to have read a ya book that talks in such detail about the struggles this family goes through as they try to get back on their feet.

I can't give this book anything other than a 5 out of 5 because while there were tropes, they were used in a way that furthered the story and didn't cause it to be more drawn out. I'm glad that this book talks about something as difficult as homelessness and how that can affect you and those around you. Go read it!

This book made me think. There are plenty of Americans in similar situations to Abby and her family. Imagine being in high school and homeless? Trying so hard to fake it and not let anyone know the truth- that you have no idea where you will spend the next night. That is Abby's reality. And it is heartbreaking.

C.H. Armstrong gives us a glimpse into what many American's are one bad day away from- homelessness.

4/5 stars

**I received a copy of this book, from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review**

What a though provoking read - an interesting topic that I don't think I've read about before. Well developed characters that I felt completely invested in.

When I was a young reader, one of the many reasons that I was drawn to authors like Judy Blume was because her books covered topics that weren't seen in books for readers my age. C.H. Armstrong's new book ROAM is that same kind of book. Tackling the issue of teen homelessness in a real and relatable way, Armstrong follows in the footsteps of authors like Blume who realize the importance of addressing uncomfortable topics that affect children and teens just as much as adults.

My first thought after finishing ROAM was, "I want my son to read this book." I want every teenager I know to read this book. The main character Abby's struggles are sad to read and eye-opening. They are also very true to life. Her attempts to remain a "regular" teenager - worrying about Homecoming, meeting a cute boy, applying to college - are shaded with the pains of homelessness and poverty. The topics are heavy but you are filled with hope that Abby would rise out of her situation with grace and perseverance. These are messages that any teenager in any situation would benefit from hearing.

(And as a side note, I absolutely loved Armstrong's use of To Kill A Mockingbird throughout the story.) I highly recommend!