[ARC Review] A Feeling Like Home by Haleigh Wenger
Format: eARC
eARC provided by: Sword and Silk Books
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Sixteen year old Paige is spiraling. Her father’s Crohn’s disease is making him sicker, and Paige? Well, Paige didn’t handle it so well. She rebelled, breaking into houses and spray painting buildings and bridges. So now Paige has been sent to Texas for a summer of exile and community service. The only somewhat bright spot is getting to spend time with her older sister, her brother-in-law, and her two little nephews. And then Paige meets Joey. Joey, who immediately infuriates her. Joey, who’s dealing with his own inner struggle just like her. Joey, who makes her feel things she never felt around her ex-boyfriend. As Paige outwardly struggles to become the daughter she thinks her parents want her to be, inside she’s desperately trying to hide her pain and fear that she too has Crohn’s. In a summer she will never forget, Paige discovers who is truly important to her and just what kind of person she wants to be.
A Feeling Like Home was such an emotionally moving tale. Even at her toughest and most rebellious, Paige was such a relatable teenage character. I think everyone either was or knows that teenager that feels like the world is against them and no one understands. I loved the way Wenger wrote this character; she was unapologetically flawed, even when she was apologizing for her behavior. With everything going on in her life, I was heartbroken to watch her hide her physical pain from the Crohn’s disease and her emotional pain from feeling like even her own parents didn’t care about her. I found myself repeatedly wanting to reach into the book and pull Paige back from whatever mistake she was about to make. I sort of just wanted to reach out and give Paige a hug every time she felt like she was running up against a wall.
I really loved the dynamics of all the secondary characters as well. From her tumultuous relationship with her parents and siblings, to her ex-boyfriend who tethers her to her past mistakes, to Joey who represents change and a new start, Paige is physically and mentally pulled back and forth between her past and future as she deals with life in both Washington and Texas. This internal and external conflict was very well done, and Paige’s feelings of being lost and alone weighed heavy on the page.
Haleigh Wenger’s writing was easy to read, and easy to get lost in. Even as someone older than the typical YA demographic, A Feeling Like Home wasn’t a light, airy read by any means. There were illnesses, trauma, and loss, and Paige broke apart and put herself back together right on the page. This was a fantastic read full of self-discovery and healing, and I highly recommend A Feeling Like Home.
A huge thank you to Sword and Silk Books for providing an advanced copy of A Feeling Like Home in exchange for an honest review.
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