Laura is sure it is all her fault. The authorities have taken her mum and dad away. Laura now has to live with an aunt who she does not know. She has to go to a new school. And she is not allowed to phone her mum or dad she can only write letters to the rehab facility. She is wracked with guilt. Why did she make that 911 phone call? This was such a bad decision, or was it?
Her aunt has so many house rules - Laura is constantly on edge worried about doing the wrong thing. Luckily school is okay and without even trying she does make a really good friend - a boy named Benson who is also an outsider. Benson has Sickle cell anemia which means he cannot join in sport activities and he has to spend long periods in hospital. Laura is not sure at first if it is wise to make a friend because surely she can go back home very soon - any day now - but then days become weeks, and weeks become months.
I love books where a dog helps with the healing of a character - Laura finds an abandoned puppy. Her aunt does let him stay and Laura names him Sparrow. She finds out about a program where dogs can go into care facilities like the one where her parents are. They work as therapy dogs so all Laura needs to do is train Sparrow, pass the training test and then find a way to visit Harmonic Way. This is a good plan but then her parents discharge themselves, they disappear and even though she writes to them every week she never receives a reply.
The review by Ms Yingling will give you lots more plot details (Spoilers too). Colby Sharp talks about Something Like Home: "Beautiful, powerful, unforgettable." I totally agree - this is a perfect Verse Novel - you can find more of them by selecting that label from my sidebar. Highly recommended for readers aged 11+.
Companion books:
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