The Homecoming by Stacie Ramey is an emotional young adult novel that deals with some difficult subject matter such as drug and alcohol abuse and less directly, teen suicide. It is a true to life, captivating novel of healing that I recommend to older teen and adult readers due to some of the content.

After a tragic accident years earlier left John Strickland's brother Ryan with severe brain damage, his family gradually fell apart. John's parents divorced after months of fighting over their son's treatment plan. Due to his out of control, violent outbursts, John was eventually sent to live with his father whose frequent business trips and long hours left plenty of time for John to cope with his problems with pot and alcohol. As a condition of his probation, he must move back in with mom, Ryan and little sister Livy and submit to random drug tests and attend counseling sessions. His unresolved guilt and anger over Ryan's accident and its aftermath continue to eat away at him and although he has plenty of support from teachers, counselors and next door neighbor, Emily, John continues to turn to drugs and alcohol to numb his out of control emotions. In the aftermath of another accident, will John finally give voice to the emotions that are slowly but surely destroying him and his relationships?

John is an angry young man and it is just a matter of time before all of his rage spills out. He is his own worst enemy as he continually evades discussing what is driving his anger and guilt. Academically, he is an underachiever with a lot of potential but it is not until his school counselor takes an active interest in him that he finds classes that interest him and provide him hope for his future. With his dad's intervention, John is given a chance to join the school's lacrosse team and while this provides an outlet for some of his aggression, his unresolved issues continue to simmer beneath the surface. His interactions with his mother are fraught with tension and her dedication to Ryan's care continues to be a source of contention for John. The one bright spot in his life is his younger sister, Livy, and he will go to great lengths to protect her from the fallout of their shattered family.

One of the most frustrating aspects of The Homecoming is John's refusal to open up about the reasons for his anger and guilt. He has wonderful relationship with his counselor but he barely scratches the surface of his problems during their sessions. Instead of facing his issues head on, John continues to uses pot and alcohol to anesthetize his pain. Even with the threat of his probation being revoked and getting sent to juvie to serve out his sentence, he continues to make poor choices and he deliberately provokes his probation officer. Emily is the only person he feels comfortable enough to confide in but there are topics that he refuses to discuss even with her.

The truth about Ryan's accident is slowly revealed over the course of the novel. The events surrounding John's banishment to his dad's are also withheld for much of the story as well. This slow parceling of details is somewhat frustrating since there is little context for John's behavior or his anger towards his mother. Getting to the crux of the family's problems is what drives the story but it will take a great deal of patience on the reader's part since all of the details are not revealed until the novel's conclusion.

The Homecoming is an emotionally draining yet ultimately healing young adult novel. The characters are immensely flawed and their struggles are realistically portrayed. Narrated in first person from John's perspective, his voice is authentic and he is a sympathetic albeit frustrating protagonist. The story is well-written with a unique storyline and Stacie Ramey deftly handles difficult subject matter with sensitivity. This riveting story provides an unflinchingly honest look at a family's efforts to cope with the emotional fallout from a tragic accident.

Although this is a companion to last year's release, The Sister Pact, it can be read as a standalone. ( )

John is angry. Angry at the accident that changed his brother. Angry at his mother who kicked him out. Angry at himself for not saving the one he loves. This anger inside of him has led him to make choices even he knows were a mistake. He had it good with his uncle. Now he gets to come home years later to a home and a place with only bad memories. At least he gets to play lacrosse, spend time with his little sister, Livy, who he loves so much, and the girl next door isn't too bad. The plan is to get in and get out. As soon as his parole is lifted he's out of there and on his way to California. Will he let people in or leave them behind?

The Homecoming is a companion book to The Sister Pact by the same author. John gives you glimpses of the past with him and Leah, his girlfriend who killed herself, so I didn't feel like I was missing anything by not reading the other story.

Reasonably, John is very intense and furious at the world. Not only is he dealing with the pain of losing the person he loves, he has to go home to the madness he created. His mother and him have a rocky relationship so he has to contend with that as well as his brother Ryan. Ryan was in an accident and he has to be taken care of by his mother. He's very aggressive as well. It took me a while to read and see that it's not his fault. He has more of a handicap that I could have imagined. Reading the flashbacks of him and John is making me tear up already because you get to see who he was. Even though he was a bit mean to his younger brother, I still felt their connection. I wish he could have gotten better, but that was just not possible...

The girl next door, Emily, seems like the perfect person at first. I really like her good girl personality and her ability to be able to joke around John while simultaneously be there for him. She can be tough on him but he needs it. I didn't really get the full affect of her "trouble" in the past. I felt like there should have been more elaboration on that.

All in all, I enjoyed John's personality; I felt for him. I enjoyed the cast of characters, the family dynamic being reshaped, and most of all what the story was all about - forgiving others and yourself after a tragedy.

Get tissues for this one, I got tired of crying my eyes out and needed to watch and read something happy because it could get intense! ( )

"This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review”

I just love beautiful book covers ...

It's a well written story about being caught in the horrors of the past , being controlled by it . And trying to move forward, letting go of the memories.

I liked John's character, his mind is a bit messed up and he is struggling with his feelings. I felt like this story was addressing serious issues, so it's definitely not a light read, or a romantic one .

There was a bit of romance but the writer didn't focus on it , which i liked , both John and Emily have a lot going on in their lives .

I loved John's relationship with his sister , it was heartwarming.

This book could be seen as a standalone, the story is good and interesting on it's own .

I wish there was some kind of a plot , that's why i didn't give 5 stars ,but i enjoyed going along on John's journey nonetheless , the ending was also good and fitting with the story.

I would recommend it to people who enjoy stories about characters with bad pasts and serious struggles in their lives , and the possibility of overcoming them. ( )