Book review: Finding Home by Lauren K. McKellar

NOTE: I received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It's tough reviewing one of those novels, the ones that barely keep your interest, isn't it? Well, that's exactly what I'm going through right now, as I'm trying to figure out what to write that would justify the existence of Finding Home.

Harsh. I know. But in my opinion, it's the truth.

I had a hard time going forward with this one. Why? It was unrealistic, to say the least. It was a compilation of oxymorons that just didn't click together.

I read somewhere that Finding Home had a real teen voice. I think it's got nothing of the sort. Unless a teen voice means naivete to the point of not being able to see the obvious, innocence to the point of stupidity, and having your own mother offer a complete stranger (an old one too) to kiss you on your sixteenth birthday without a single complaint from you. If that's what a teen voice entails, then please I'd rather not read any teen books again.

Lucky for me, that's not the case.

To say that I was disgusted by the events in this novel, is to put it mildly. Here's why.

The POV heroine, Amy comes from a broken family. Her dad's a famous pop star, her mom died from too much drinking, and she's suddenly moving to live with her aunt. Everything's new to her - life outside a tour bus included. So far so good.

Except, said 'mother' - and I'm putting her in quotes because who in their right mind would make their child drink liquor even before 16 - has wrecked Amy's view of the world. As a result, Amy has no idea how to behave around her peers. She doesn't know how to recognize the cliche player from the nice guy. She doesn't know how to keep her panties on. And she doesn't know how on earth to stay away from her aunt's liquor cabinet.

We're talking a 17 year old girl here. Traveling constantly with musicians. Who have groupies. You know what I mean? How on earth is she supposed to be so naive after all she's seen? And she's seventeen too! I understand she's inexperienced (read a virgin) but does that have to make her act like a stupid girl who hasn't heard/read/seen a single thing about sex? I'm simply not buying it. Not unless she's Amish, which she obviously isn't since the events take place in Australia.

Gosh, Amy disappointed me so much! In her attempt to escape the cliche, she fell into a bigger cliche, with a lot more drama and a whole lot more complications.

Now, don't get me wrong. I understand how the author wanted to address the problems of drinking and having sex before being ready for it. But for some reason the most I got from it was a lesson for parents. Because honestly? If that 'mother' had acted the way a MOTHER ought to, Amy wouldn't have gone through all those incredibly nonspecial things that happened to her.

So I guess the wisdom here is... parents educate your children!

My rating is