Home by Amanda Berriman @MandyBerriman @penguinrandom

Book Description:

Jesika is four and a half. She lives in a flat with her mother and baby brother and she knows a lot.

She knows their flat is high up and the stairs are smelly. She knows she should not draw on the wall where the wallpaper is peeling or touch the broken window. And she knows she loves her mummy and Toby.

She does not know that their landlord is threatening to evict them and that Toby’s cough is going to get much worse. Or that Lauren, her new best friend, has a secret that will explode their world.

My Thoughts:

Home is told through the point of view of four year old Jesika. Jesika lives in a flat with her mum and younger brother Toby. Her mum is struggling to make ends meet and Jesika struggles at times to understand her mum’s moods. All she knows is that she loves her mum and doesn’t want to live anywhere other than with her. This story really makes you realise how lucky some of us are. We all have constant money worries but for Jesika’s mum she really is on the bread line not knowing how she is going to pay the rent. Their home is hardly liveable with damp causing health issues for herself and Toby. My heart really went out to them all and I wanted to whisk them away from it to somewhere better. Due to the story line I do think some people may find Paige’s story especially hard to read. I could see what was coming a mile away and my heart literally broke. To hear things from a child’s point of view really hits you hard. The book certainly homes in on issues very much in todays world. Home is an endearing and heart wrenching read. It was an emotional roller coaster of a story but one that I would urge everyone to read. Jesika and her family are a family that will capture the readers attention and steal their heart. Overwhelmingly moving.

My thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

Home is available to purchase from Amazon. (Please note that link used is an affiliate link).

Amanda was born in Germany and grew up in Edinburgh, reading books, playing music, writing stories and climbing hills. She works as a primary school teacher and lives on the edge of the Peak District with her husband, two children and two dogs.

Follow Amanda on Twitter at @MandyBerriman