A Song Called Home is a terrific story of navigating big changes (like homes, family dynamic, schools, friends, etc.). It provides incredible insight into life with parents struggling with alcoholism that kids could connect to or learn from. The power of music and trusting people is evident throughout the story. I can't wait to add it to my classroom library.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel. The free copy did not affect my review.

Lou likes her life in an apartment with her friend, Beth, close by. It is small, but her sister, her mom, and her have made it work. The only thing she wishes for is her father to stop drinking and come home to be with her. However, her mother wishes for more. She is marrying someone else, a guy named Steve, and they have to move away from everything Lou has ever known. When her father forgets to call her on her birthday, but a guitar shows up, she knows it’s him. She thinks that if she gets good at it, then he will come back and take her with him. This is a great book about her going through change!

A Song Called Home would be perfect for any realistic fiction reader or young guitar player! It was very sweet and seeing her grow throughout the book was nice.

Grades 4+

A Song Called Home
by Sara Zarr
Pub Date 22 Feb 2022
HarperCollins Children's Books, Balzer + Bray
Children's Fiction | Middle Grade


I am reviewing a copy of A Song Called Home through HarperCollins Children’s Books, Bakker + Bray and Netgalley:



Lou and her family do not have much, but for Lou it is enough, she doesn’t need a lot. She has her Mom, her sister Casey. They have their apartment in the city. Her best friend, Beth. It would be better if Dad could stop drinking and be there for her and Casey, and if they didn't have to worry about money all the time. But Lou doesn’t need better she only needs enough.





But what is enough for Lou, however, is not enough for Mom. Steve, Mom's boyfriend, isn’t a bad guy, he's just not what Lou is used to. Now her Mom and her boyfriend are getting married and that means they have to move. It feels like they are packing up the life they had once known and storing it in Steve’s Garage. Lou will be separated from everything in her small but predictable life, farther from Dad than ever.


On her last night in the city Lou receives a mysterious birthday gift: A guitar, left for her by their front door. There’s nothing saying who left it, but it must be from Dad. As she leaves the only place she has ever known she starts to believe that if she can learn how to play it, maybe she can bring a piece of him, and of her old life, home.




I give A Song Called Home five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

This book was lovely. Lu was a layered, complex character who experiences incredible growth. At times her journey was difficult to read. Her life has been topsy-turvy due to her father's alcohol addiction for so long that she struggles to find balance. Between her mother's new (and fast-paced) marriage, her sister's fight for independence, and a move to a new house and school district... Lu has a lot going on. I love how realistic the descriptions of her house and former apartment were. Most middle grade tends to place their character in flawless environments. But Lu's was real, from the stains in the carpet to the old bunk bed. Prior to reading, I did not realize there were themes of Christianity, but they never felt overwhelming or overstated. Christianity was just a facet of the novel, not the main element.

The only reason I docked a star was for the lack of mental health awareness. Lu experienced a lot of trauma in her short life. This trauma resulted in frequent disassociation and kleptomania. While these issues seemed to improve the more stable her life became, she would have truly benefitted from seeing a therapist or counselor. There was some talk of Lu and her sister attending Alateen, but it just didn't feel like enough. However, this was a great read and is sure to bring comfort to many children facing similar difficulties.

#netgalley

This is a really great story about blending families and dealing with a lot of new changes. I liked Louisa and her family. I liked seeing everything through her eyes and really felt for her. This is a great book for any middle grader dealing with new changes in their life and grieving the old.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

A Song Called Home
by Sara Zarr is a beautiful, poignant story of a lost girl, trying to find her way. Lou is up to her ears in difficulties. A new “dad”, a new school, a sister who is becoming more and more distant. A real dad who is someone she loves and yearns for, while despising at the same time. A real dad who shames her. A real dad whom she is trying to make love her.

Lou copes with these problems as any girl her age would. But the change and growth comes about in an easy natural, organic, non-artificial way. The ending is beautiful. We believe every step and miss-step she takes. Lou acts out her frustrations, but tries to make it right in the end. I love that Lou prays. I love that she is wiling to forge new friendships, with different personalities.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-ARC of this novel. This book deals with the emotional toll a child can suffer when they have a parent who is an addict, or an unreliable caregiver. I thought it did a great job showing the hope that is always there, and the pain of the reality.

Lou and Casey’s mom is remarrying, and the girls aren’t happy, It’s going to mean a new “we”. a new “our”, and they have to move. Dad left two years and he drinks so the girls never know when he will stop by. On Lou’s birthday, she finds a guitar and thinking her dad left it for her, she starts to learn how to play it so that maybe he will be proud of her. When the girls find out they have to change schools, they realize “change is hard. Even good change.” The girls’ neighbors offer friendship and guitar lessons for Lou in exchange for babysitting. Lou makes a new friend, Kyra, who wants Lou to be in the talent show and Lou wonders will I be good enough at the guitar to be in the show? Could I invite dad so he could see how talented I am? Surprises await everyone.