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kristen_clardy's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
sugarmountain's review
there is a line about a woman hearing the vibrating of her phone and being unsure if it is coming from her phone or a sex toy pressed against her genitals. need i say more
the_sassy_bookworm's review
3.0
⭐⭐⭐
This one was okay. I am not sure if I just wasn't in the mood for this book, but it just felt really slow and a bit jumbled at times. The characters themselves were also kind of "meh" Jane was my favorite. Paloma my least. I also really enjoyed the friendship between Cassidy and Noeli. It wasn't a terrible book. It was well written and I really loved the setting. I am chalking up my feelings for this one to just not being in the right mood for this type of book.
This one was okay. I am not sure if I just wasn't in the mood for this book, but it just felt really slow and a bit jumbled at times. The characters themselves were also kind of "meh" Jane was my favorite. Paloma my least. I also really enjoyed the friendship between Cassidy and Noeli. It wasn't a terrible book. It was well written and I really loved the setting. I am chalking up my feelings for this one to just not being in the right mood for this type of book.
adventureinlit's review
5.0
On Home is a breathtaking piece of classical literature in our modern framework. Using words to tell the stories of a family of women who have all struggle with their need to be loved, have a family and know who they are as individuals. The story is told from three different perspectives of the three women in this family; women who are all processing their experiences at different stages in their life.
Cassidy is a very lost young woman living in California trying to escape her past in West Virginia and find herself. She seeks affirmation and love from men online doing cam shows as a sex worker. But when her father dies and she's thrust back home, she is forced to face not only her own life, but the challenges of her own mother who she has always struggled to understand and her grandmother who will help her set her course.
The parallels between these three women brings the central story to life about what love means, why we seek it out and who we determine ourselves to be in that process. Also bringing attention to Cassidy's discomfort with her own sexuality. While she gets naked for men online, she knows she's a lesbian but struggles to really come out and embrace her own needs and desires. The journey of her own acceptance is what leads her to the happiness and inclusion that felt so far away for her.
It will be easy for readers to focus on the first few chapters that introduce Cassidy and her work online and be immediately turned off because they don't understand the driving factors behind it. But I can assure you that this book dives into deep themes about family dynamics and patterns.
For example, when Cassidy returns home to West Virginia and is back in the family farmhouse that has been in her family for generations we learn that the farmhouse really symbolizes the connection between generations; the essence of the family and family patterns that we all struggle with. To "come home" means something different to everyone, but within those questions we see the similarities, the differences and what makes us whole.
What does it really mean to "come home" and realize who you are as a person? This journey is very different for everyone and until you arrive at that destination, you won't realize the path others have travelled and how similar those footsteps are to your own.
Dobias brings you a refreshing look at life from individual perspectives and the collective in this work that covers sexuality, race, lifestyle, family and self appreciation. A book that will stay with me for a very long time!
Cassidy is a very lost young woman living in California trying to escape her past in West Virginia and find herself. She seeks affirmation and love from men online doing cam shows as a sex worker. But when her father dies and she's thrust back home, she is forced to face not only her own life, but the challenges of her own mother who she has always struggled to understand and her grandmother who will help her set her course.
The parallels between these three women brings the central story to life about what love means, why we seek it out and who we determine ourselves to be in that process. Also bringing attention to Cassidy's discomfort with her own sexuality. While she gets naked for men online, she knows she's a lesbian but struggles to really come out and embrace her own needs and desires. The journey of her own acceptance is what leads her to the happiness and inclusion that felt so far away for her.
It will be easy for readers to focus on the first few chapters that introduce Cassidy and her work online and be immediately turned off because they don't understand the driving factors behind it. But I can assure you that this book dives into deep themes about family dynamics and patterns.
For example, when Cassidy returns home to West Virginia and is back in the family farmhouse that has been in her family for generations we learn that the farmhouse really symbolizes the connection between generations; the essence of the family and family patterns that we all struggle with. To "come home" means something different to everyone, but within those questions we see the similarities, the differences and what makes us whole.
What does it really mean to "come home" and realize who you are as a person? This journey is very different for everyone and until you arrive at that destination, you won't realize the path others have travelled and how similar those footsteps are to your own.
Dobias brings you a refreshing look at life from individual perspectives and the collective in this work that covers sexuality, race, lifestyle, family and self appreciation. A book that will stay with me for a very long time!
erica_lorraine's review against another edition
5.0
This book was filled with interesting and complex characters. I enjoyed the different perspectives throughout the different time periods. Growing up in a small town I related to so many things and it made me feel nostalgic for a place I’d left long ago. I loved the descriptions and Cassidy’s feelings about what home was to her.
neta's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
emmeline_everdeen's review
5.0
I enjoyed this book a lot. The author does an amazing job of bringing the characters to life. I absolutely loved the way each generation told their story and how they were all different yet the same. With every generation many things change like music, clothing, your home town BUT the one thing that stays the same is the journey to find yourself and figuring out how to navigate through the twist and turns of life. The author does a fabulous job of showing how each character took a journey that was both an individual journey and a shared journey that spanned generations.
I received this book from the author through Voracious Readers Only
I received this book from the author through Voracious Readers Only
di27's review
4.0
*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC*
A solid 3.5 stars for me, I didn't mind this book but I wanted to focus to be on just Cassidy. It didn't feel necessary to have the viewpoints of Grandma Jane, even though I loved her background story, and Cassidy's mother, Paloma. I did like her relationship with her grandmother and how close they are in this book. Cassidy and Noeli's blossoming relationship was great to read as well, I wasn't really expecting it but wasn't surprised either.
I would have liked an epilogue of how Cassidy settles in the end with the new changes she had to deal with.
Overall a decent read and I would like to read more from the author.
A solid 3.5 stars for me, I didn't mind this book but I wanted to focus to be on just Cassidy. It didn't feel necessary to have the viewpoints of Grandma Jane, even though I loved her background story, and Cassidy's mother, Paloma. I did like her relationship with her grandmother and how close they are in this book. Cassidy and Noeli's blossoming relationship was great to read as well, I wasn't really expecting it but wasn't surprised either.
I would have liked an epilogue of how Cassidy settles in the end with the new changes she had to deal with.
Overall a decent read and I would like to read more from the author.
cdubiel's review
5.0
Becca Spence Dobias is a dear friend, and I have had the pleasure of editing her work several times. I am so pleased that ON HOME will soon be out in the world.
Although Cassidy is the main protagonist, this is really a family story, with many layers going back generations. Cassidy makes her living doing cam work in California, but her roots are back in West Virginia. Her mother, Paloma, and her grandmother, Jane, both tell their parts of the story. In short, arresting chapters, we cycle through their points of view. Jane, who is in a nursing home now, reflects on her life as a Government Girl during World War II, while Paloma recollects her time spent in Czechoslovakia with Cassidy's father, Ken. Jane isn't doing well, and Paloma wants Cassidy to come home - but when Ken dies unexpectedly, Cassidy doesn't have a choice but to return.
Through the flashbacks and unfolding of the present-day story, the novel explores the definition of home and what makes a place a home. It also comments on how our identities are tied to the places we're from, and how we can feel contempt for a place and yet be inextricably tied to it. Finally, there's the definition of family and how we make it, through both blood ties and chosen relationships. Layered with these themes is the lyrical writing, which propels the reader through each story and the novel as a whole. Since Becca is my friend, I can honestly say that I am jealous of how well she writes - with surprising turns of phrase that delight the reader on each page.
Readalikes are going to be different depending on what brings you to the story. I would definitely recommend this book for those who enjoyed Natalka Burian's DAUGHTERS OF THE WILD. Burian's book includes magical realism, but both novels are set in Appalachia and contain gorgeous writing. I might also recommend to fans of Chloe Benjamin's THE IMMORTALISTS, another well-researched family story told from differing perspectives.
Although Cassidy is the main protagonist, this is really a family story, with many layers going back generations. Cassidy makes her living doing cam work in California, but her roots are back in West Virginia. Her mother, Paloma, and her grandmother, Jane, both tell their parts of the story. In short, arresting chapters, we cycle through their points of view. Jane, who is in a nursing home now, reflects on her life as a Government Girl during World War II, while Paloma recollects her time spent in Czechoslovakia with Cassidy's father, Ken. Jane isn't doing well, and Paloma wants Cassidy to come home - but when Ken dies unexpectedly, Cassidy doesn't have a choice but to return.
Through the flashbacks and unfolding of the present-day story, the novel explores the definition of home and what makes a place a home. It also comments on how our identities are tied to the places we're from, and how we can feel contempt for a place and yet be inextricably tied to it. Finally, there's the definition of family and how we make it, through both blood ties and chosen relationships. Layered with these themes is the lyrical writing, which propels the reader through each story and the novel as a whole. Since Becca is my friend, I can honestly say that I am jealous of how well she writes - with surprising turns of phrase that delight the reader on each page.
Readalikes are going to be different depending on what brings you to the story. I would definitely recommend this book for those who enjoyed Natalka Burian's DAUGHTERS OF THE WILD. Burian's book includes magical realism, but both novels are set in Appalachia and contain gorgeous writing. I might also recommend to fans of Chloe Benjamin's THE IMMORTALISTS, another well-researched family story told from differing perspectives.
thesassybookworm's review
3.0
⭐⭐⭐
This one was okay. I am not sure if I just wasn't in the mood for this book, but it just felt really slow and a bit jumbled at times. The characters themselves were also kind of "meh" Jane was my favorite. Paloma my least. I also really enjoyed the friendship between Cassidy and Noeli. It wasn't a terrible book. It was well written and I really loved the setting. I am chalking up my feelings for this one to just not being in the right mood for this type of book.
This one was okay. I am not sure if I just wasn't in the mood for this book, but it just felt really slow and a bit jumbled at times. The characters themselves were also kind of "meh" Jane was my favorite. Paloma my least. I also really enjoyed the friendship between Cassidy and Noeli. It wasn't a terrible book. It was well written and I really loved the setting. I am chalking up my feelings for this one to just not being in the right mood for this type of book.