A review by breaklikeafish
Home of Her Heart by Tara Goldstein

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Home of Her Heart by Tara Goldstein takes the reader on the journey of a Colombian adoptee who travels back to her home country to learn more about her past. The novel sets out to present a nuanced view on transnational adoption, and while it certainly succeeded in informing me of the many different perspectives and experiences in this discussion, the emotional arcs often seemed to fall flat due to hurried writing.

I have no personal experiences with transnational adoption or cultural displacement, so my opinion on this should probably be taken with a grain of salt! I absolutely loved how well Tara Goldstein portrayed the many facets of these topics. If nothing else, this read was a very informative one. It definitely made me think more about the ethical implications of adopting children from another cultural background. I enjoyed how the novel highlighted how different experiences can be even for people seemingly in the same situation. Louisa, the protagonist, and Ana, her sister, are shown to adapt vastly differently to their new life in Toronto after being adopted. Though the focus is on Louis in this particular story, the author never passes judgment on other experiences.

Despite this well-researched and heartwarming story, I did not find the writing engaging. The impact of emotional scenes was frequently lessened by a lack of descriptions of the characters' reactions. Often, characters were described as "being angry" or "being sad" rather than detailing these feelings. I liked the protagonist and was at least somewhat immersed in the story. However, at the same time, there was always a certain distance that, in my opinion, did not fit the story's tone.

The novel is interspersed with letters from Luisa's Jewish grandmother, who fled Nazi Germany as a teenager, and relates her own experiences with those of her granddaughter. Interestingly, these parts felt far more engaging than Luisa's narration. I suppose it's because, in contrast to the rest of the books, these letters were written in the first person. I also liked how these letters gave me a whole new perspective and showed parallels between situations that I have never related before.

Lastly, I want to mention that I found the romance subplot extremely unnecessary and annoying. I'm never one to complain about queer representation, and I thoroughly enjoyed the diversity of Luisa's Canadian family and how these topics were handled in regards to her more conservative Colombian friends and family.
However, Luisa kissing two different people in the span of the novel (not counting the epilogue) seems to add little to the story. I would've enjoyed Luisa figuring out her bisexuality more if it had been stretched out across the novel more. Like this, it came up out of nowhere and felt like a plot point added simply for additional conflict.
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