Secrets of the Home Wood: The Sacrifice

This Young Adult novel follows the adventures of young Jonathan and his family, and their interaction with the Homewood, a mystical forest that surrounds their home. Jonathan's father, David, and his mom, Sara, have had an argument, and rather than talk things out, they become angry and Sara leaves in a huff toward the Homewood. David has been there before as a child, and barely survived the experience. Their family knows it as a magical place where they are forbidden to go, and a place that no one will talk about openly.

As Sara storms off across the river and into the forest, a horrified David pursues her. Jonathan, fearful of losing his parents, also follows. What they find is a portal to somewhere else, that is not entirely friendly. The three are split up and desperate to find each other. The inhabitants of the Homewood know Jonathan's father, David, but they have other designs, and Jonathan and his family must try to navigate these beings' mistrust of each other, and somehow reunite their family. There are many trials and pitfalls along the way, and the family members quickly forget their grievances, and summon a courage that they didn't know they had. They realize that the denizens of the Homewood also suffer from mistrust and have been divided by falsehoods and petty arguments. Things are coming to a head in the Homewood, and Jonathan and his family realize that not just their family, but the fate of the Homewood is at stake.

Loved the message of Homewood, and the novel is well-written as it brings events together to force everyone to confront the rumors that they have believed, and to put aside their pride to find a way forward.

I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There are stories of people disappearing in the woods near the farm where Jonathon and his family live. His father David went missing in the Home Wood almost 20 years ago and returned home badly injured. Jonathon has been warned about the dangers but when he sees his father going to the woods to search for his missing mother Sarah he decides to follow him.
Jonathon loses his father and finds himself at the base of a large tree that looks like it has been split by lightning. Suddenly he feels very tired and curls up to take a nap. When he wakes up he finds himself in a world on the brink of war between the Sanigglan, Maorrr, and Grue clans. With help from the San, a clan of warrior rabbits Jonathon will begin a magical journey to reunite his family while attempting to avoid an imminent battle.

This book was beautifully written and if I could give it more than 5 stars I would. I absolutely loved the magic and the characters in this story. I would highly recommend this to fantasy lovers of all ages.

Every one knows you need to stay out of the home woods. Ever since his father got lost in there for a bit, it's been forbidden. But when Jonathan's mother and father fight, she leaves to "think". When his father finds out she didn't make it to the neighbors, he knows she must have gone too far in the woods and he goes after her. He doesn't know that Jonathan is right behind him...

BooksGoSocial and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

This author creates an imaginary world that felt very real. It has the spirit of Watership Down, has several groups of creatures that are intelligent and for the most part peace-loving. To get there, you have to take cover in an old tree that has been split by lightening. You get sleepy and when you wake up, you're in the other world.

While the boy and his father are there looking for the mother, they get involved with a pending war. One group of warriors wants to conquer the other two races and dominate them all. If they're not careful, they may end up being victims, too.

The story flows well, not all their plans work, and it takes a bit of magic to make it all work out. It's an exciting read and I found myself caring about all the creatures as well as the human characters. The best part is the happy ending. Not everyone makes it but those who do make the most of it. That's a good approach to life.

I really enjoyed this one. Why don't you give a read and see what you think?

An interesting world, likeable characters and a plot that keeps you turning the pages. This was a fast read that always had me in suspense about what would happen next. I enjoyed the writing style and the book in general.

Now, why not 5 stars? For most of the book, there are three points of view per chapter and I found that this got a little old with time - personally, I found the switches happened too often for my taste.

Other than that, this was a perfectly enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend!

This novel I was very excited to read it because I thought it was going to be something that I would like and I did. It was really good. Julie’s writing just brought me into to this story from the beginning. I was hooked to the story. I love YA Fantasy novels and this one did not disappoint. I would highly recommend this novel.