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hellishlyawkward's review
4.0
Good little story, sad and happy. Loved Charlie and Leo, and the whole family. Liked reading about a foster family situation, interesting.
bookish_notes's review against another edition
5.0
I've read a few Garrett Leigh books, and I have absolutely loved all the ones I have read (as in, they have all made me cry) and I was super excited to find out that Finding Home is a YA book. What makes this book stand out is that both characters are 15-years-old, which we really don't see as much of in YA anymore. A plus is that this book is also set in the UK, rather than the US. As per Garrett Leigh books, this isn't what I would call a light read. It's still very angsty and the prologue itself is violent. Trigger warnings include drug use, domestic abuse, and homophobia.
The story is told from two third-person POVs - Leo Hendry and Charlie de Sousa. Charlie lives with his older sister and his mother and father, with his older brother already out living on his own. His mother and father, Kate and Reg, haven't taken in any foster children in a while, but want to do so again for Leo and his sister, Lila. Leo and Lila are a special case that would make them the best choices to stay with Charlie's family. Kate is hard of hearing and can read lips and speak, but does use sign language. This would be a good thing for Lila, who is deaf.
Leo has been through a lot. Him and his sister have already been through a number of foster homes and he's been known to get violent in school. Charlie's family thinks that they can help Leo and his sister out, so they decide to welcome the two siblings into their home.
Charlie is a sweet kid, kind and loving. And Leo needs that. He needs a loving family and people who will love him and his sister. The journey Leo has in this book as we see him slowly develop love and trust, is one that is tentative, but full of feels. Leo's past is haunting. This book absolutely put my heart through the wringer. This book highlights foster care and adoption and I love that we see a loving relationship between Leo and Lila, as well as how darling Charle's family is.
The bond that forms between Leo and Charlie is slow and full of tenderness. The characters are both fifteen, so this story ends with a HFN as they find their way forward together. Leo and Charlie are precious. And the secondary characters, the family and even Leo's friend Wayne, are the most wonderful people. There's no big shocking plot point, I think, but this is one that's instead full of character growth.
This is a heart-wrenching story that manages to still be full of tenderness and so much love. This is a wonderful YA book that's good for teens and adults. I can only hope that we see more YA books by Garrett Leigh in the future!!
The story is told from two third-person POVs - Leo Hendry and Charlie de Sousa. Charlie lives with his older sister and his mother and father, with his older brother already out living on his own. His mother and father, Kate and Reg, haven't taken in any foster children in a while, but want to do so again for Leo and his sister, Lila. Leo and Lila are a special case that would make them the best choices to stay with Charlie's family. Kate is hard of hearing and can read lips and speak, but does use sign language. This would be a good thing for Lila, who is deaf.
Leo has been through a lot. Him and his sister have already been through a number of foster homes and he's been known to get violent in school. Charlie's family thinks that they can help Leo and his sister out, so they decide to welcome the two siblings into their home.
Leo could handle a row, or a punch up, but the guilt in his gut at hurting Charlie's feelings bothered him more than he cared to admit.
Charlie is a sweet kid, kind and loving. And Leo needs that. He needs a loving family and people who will love him and his sister. The journey Leo has in this book as we see him slowly develop love and trust, is one that is tentative, but full of feels. Leo's past is haunting. This book absolutely put my heart through the wringer. This book highlights foster care and adoption and I love that we see a loving relationship between Leo and Lila, as well as how darling Charle's family is.
The bond that forms between Leo and Charlie is slow and full of tenderness. The characters are both fifteen, so this story ends with a HFN as they find their way forward together. Leo and Charlie are precious. And the secondary characters, the family and even Leo's friend Wayne, are the most wonderful people. There's no big shocking plot point, I think, but this is one that's instead full of character growth.
This is a heart-wrenching story that manages to still be full of tenderness and so much love. This is a wonderful YA book that's good for teens and adults. I can only hope that we see more YA books by Garrett Leigh in the future!!
kira_dance's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.75
haletostilinski1's review against another edition
5.0
***ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
OH MY GOSH!!!
THIS. BOOK.
I Am..SPEECHLESS.
This was completely, amazingly beautiful to me. Yes, this has what I have heard of as the typical Garrett Leigh angst - boy howdy is there ever angst in this, be prepared for that - even though I've only read one other book by Garret Leigh before - which I also loved - but this was a beautiful, beautiful book.
Leo goes through something horrific at the start of the book - after already enduring years and years of abuse - with his sister, Lila, and he's only 15, his sister only 6, so they're put into foster care, and he ends up in a home filled with a love that he doesn't trust at first. Except for Charlie, who he trusts practically right away, because there's just something about Charlie he can't resist.
And this is definitely a young adult romance - we get kisses, but these are two 15 year olds, not even quite legal for the UK, i believe - which is 16 for the legal age of consent, I believe - and we see them falling in love - and it is adorable, but no sex in this, which is completely fine, not only because these boys are so young and one has gone through horrific trauma, but because their romance was beautiful on its own.
I would love to see these two later in life - I wanted so badly to see Charlie and Leo grown up, stronger and grown up and happy, together. But the ending was still sooo sweet and happy and adorable.
This is no easy read, mind you. It deals with being a teenager, but the added weight of trauma piled on top of that, as if being a teenager isn't hard enough. Leo goes through a lot through this book, and how he gets to the place where he is ready to see a therapist and get better is a long and hard journey, but he gets there, and Charlie plays a big part in it.
These two were so sweet together, and they are each other's first loves. Will their relationship make it beyond into adulthood? Who knows, but I like to think they do, that they are one of the rare first love type couples who make it, because they're just so in love and sweet on each other, it's adorable.
I zoomed through this book, finished in about 6 hours even though it was 250 pages, it was just addicting from the first page, engaging as it was hard to read, because sometimes life is suchhhh a shittt, so fucking hard. My heart hurt for Leo throughout this book, and for Charlie even, who while he didn't have trauma, had some of his own hurts.
GAhhh, this is one of my favorites. Superb writing, superb story that treated teenagers how I think they are - more grown up than grown ups think, but also still a lot younger then they think they are. The balance between these boys being mature beyond their years - most of it out of their control, like with Leo having to deal with what he has the first 15 years of his life - and still immature at times, not quite having an adult awareness of the world, was written so well. They weren't dumbed down like they were children, but they weren't completely wise either. They still did completely immature things at times. I loved that balance.
I highly, hiGHLY recommend this book. It was beautiful, it was real, it was breathtaking.
OH MY GOSH!!!
THIS. BOOK.
I Am..SPEECHLESS.
This was completely, amazingly beautiful to me. Yes, this has what I have heard of as the typical Garrett Leigh angst - boy howdy is there ever angst in this, be prepared for that - even though I've only read one other book by Garret Leigh before - which I also loved - but this was a beautiful, beautiful book.
Leo goes through something horrific at the start of the book - after already enduring years and years of abuse - with his sister, Lila, and he's only 15, his sister only 6, so they're put into foster care, and he ends up in a home filled with a love that he doesn't trust at first. Except for Charlie, who he trusts practically right away, because there's just something about Charlie he can't resist.
And this is definitely a young adult romance - we get kisses, but these are two 15 year olds, not even quite legal for the UK, i believe - which is 16 for the legal age of consent, I believe - and we see them falling in love - and it is adorable, but no sex in this, which is completely fine, not only because these boys are so young and one has gone through horrific trauma, but because their romance was beautiful on its own.
I would love to see these two later in life - I wanted so badly to see Charlie and Leo grown up, stronger and grown up and happy, together. But the ending was still sooo sweet and happy and adorable.
This is no easy read, mind you. It deals with being a teenager, but the added weight of trauma piled on top of that, as if being a teenager isn't hard enough. Leo goes through a lot through this book, and how he gets to the place where he is ready to see a therapist and get better is a long and hard journey, but he gets there, and Charlie plays a big part in it.
These two were so sweet together, and they are each other's first loves. Will their relationship make it beyond into adulthood? Who knows, but I like to think they do, that they are one of the rare first love type couples who make it, because they're just so in love and sweet on each other, it's adorable.
I zoomed through this book, finished in about 6 hours even though it was 250 pages, it was just addicting from the first page, engaging as it was hard to read, because sometimes life is suchhhh a shittt, so fucking hard. My heart hurt for Leo throughout this book, and for Charlie even, who while he didn't have trauma, had some of his own hurts.
GAhhh, this is one of my favorites. Superb writing, superb story that treated teenagers how I think they are - more grown up than grown ups think, but also still a lot younger then they think they are. The balance between these boys being mature beyond their years - most of it out of their control, like with Leo having to deal with what he has the first 15 years of his life - and still immature at times, not quite having an adult awareness of the world, was written so well. They weren't dumbed down like they were children, but they weren't completely wise either. They still did completely immature things at times. I loved that balance.
I highly, hiGHLY recommend this book. It was beautiful, it was real, it was breathtaking.
anya_doesntmatter's review against another edition
5.0
Garret Leigh never fails to find new ways to break my heart -in a good way- with her characters. Finding Home is my latest read from Leigh and I must say that Leo Hendry, is a character that will haunt me whenever I think of Leigh’s books. This story was more than the young adult romance I naively presumed it would be when I snagged it. To be honest, I thought this would be a cute opposites attract squeaky clean-cut kid falling for the rebel bad boy type of story but this was leaps and bounds more.
Leo Hendry isn’t a bad kid. He’s the victim of a gruesome set of circumstances in which he grows up witnessing his father abusing him and his mother. His mother always shifted his father’s abuse to herself in order to protect Leo and she eventually extricates herself and her children from their dreadful situation. A warning and a piece of paper isn’t enough to stop a man hell-bent on wielding control and violence over his family and Leo’s life is changed forever when his father did the most heinous thing imaginable, killed his mother and set the house on fire— knowing his children were still inside.
Leo’s story is one of healing and survival. He doesn’t realize it at first (because he and his sister have been placed with people who never really cared for them) that their latest new home with this beautiful intriguing boy, Charlie is the refuge and safety he and his sister have been starving for. Leo is perceived as a bad apple because of how he dresses and his tendency to get into trouble but nothing could be further from the truth. Leo harbors a deep mistrust for males because of years of abuse at the hands of his father. Leo’s sole concern and duty is to keep his sister safe. Nothing is more important than that even though he can’t help falling for Charlie.
Charlie like Leo is a foster child. He’s smart, sensitive and kind. All the traits guaranteed to attract the bullies at his school. When Charlie sees Leo he is instantly hooked and also realizes that there’s no way Leo could possibly gay let alone return his feelings. Charlie is convinced that once at school, Leo will be embraced by the “in crowd” and eventually treat him like they do. Despite these sad thoughts, Charlie is determined to help Leo in any way he can. Little does he know that with each passing day and each gesture of genuine kindness towards Leo’s little sister, Lila, he’s entrenched himself firmly in Leo’s heart and Leo will do anything to protect him.
This story is deep and touching on so many levels. Keep a box of tissue handy because crying is unavoidable as you read of the atrocities that Leo experienced and you can’t help but feel for him as he struggles to come to terms with them, lower his guards and trust people, especially men again. There’s no doubt this story is a heavy read but Leigh lightens it up in suitable scenes to ease some of that oppressive darkness. My favorite scenes consist of the dawning realization of love Charlie and Leo have for each other, Leo embracing his new family and Leo finally putting his demons to rest. In other words, I loved the entire book :) This story is one of my top 10 reads for 2017. Grab it. You won’t regret it.
*ARC provided for review at my discretion*
leahkarge's review against another edition
4.0
I would definitely recommend this book and I look forward to, hopefully, more YA from Garrett Leigh in the future.
Check out the full review on my blog!
Check out the full review on my blog!
the_argumentative_bong's review
5.0
4.5⭐ (rounded off)
Gah... I needed more! Why is it over already?
I have a lot of feelings about this one. Maybe later.
Gah... I needed more! Why is it over already?
I have a lot of feelings about this one. Maybe later.
themoonwholistens's review against another edition
1.0
// Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review //
“There was only one home left for him.”
The start of this book was very interesting and seemed appealing at first, even the first few pages or so.. but I soon then realized that it was not the story or book me. This book mentions a lot about physical abuse/substance abuse, and just a lot or blatant cursing enough which I truly am not a fan of. And there was a lot of talk about it.
I find the theme of the book too dark for my taste and I can't even decide if his is suppose to be a YA or NA book.
On the brighter side of things, I enjoyed a bit of Leo and Charlie's relationship . . to an extent, hehe. There were times when I found certain parts all swoon worthy but some parts where I just had to cringe because it seemed inappropriate and just not romantic. Though, this could also be due to the fact that the book was not able to capture my full interest at all times. The idea of the book was a good one to begin with but it needed a more capturing start in my opinion. The writing style was a bit moody and draggy.
The design of the cover really does capture the mood of the book, though, I am not really sure if that is good or bad.
I LOVED HOW FAMILY IS PART of the story though. It's almost as if it was saying that with all of the things going on what you need is people that you can call home. That was the most redeeming part of the book to be honest. That idea and that concept made the book a better to read. It was emphasized a lot throughout the book but I hope it was able to focus on the family aspect to more characters and not just between the two main interests.
I got weirded out of Leo in some parts though, like how he's so obsessed with Charlie right away with nothing much happening yet. But then again, that's just me.
Lastly, another reason I gave this book 1 star is due to the very unsatisfying ending. Nothing to be specific about really but I just wanted more of a "BAM" effect one I turn the last page, it just didn't do it for me. I was expecting a lot of heart warming stuff for this book but I was sadly let down. Although, the family aspect surprised me a little bit.
“There was only one home left for him.”
The start of this book was very interesting and seemed appealing at first, even the first few pages or so.. but I soon then realized that it was not the story or book me. This book mentions a lot about physical abuse/substance abuse, and just a lot or blatant cursing enough which I truly am not a fan of. And there was a lot of talk about it.
I find the theme of the book too dark for my taste and I can't even decide if his is suppose to be a YA or NA book.
On the brighter side of things, I enjoyed a bit of Leo and Charlie's relationship . . to an extent, hehe. There were times when I found certain parts all swoon worthy but some parts where I just had to cringe because it seemed inappropriate and just not romantic. Though, this could also be due to the fact that the book was not able to capture my full interest at all times. The idea of the book was a good one to begin with but it needed a more capturing start in my opinion. The writing style was a bit moody and draggy.
The design of the cover really does capture the mood of the book, though, I am not really sure if that is good or bad.
I LOVED HOW FAMILY IS PART of the story though. It's almost as if it was saying that with all of the things going on what you need is people that you can call home. That was the most redeeming part of the book to be honest. That idea and that concept made the book a better to read. It was emphasized a lot throughout the book but I hope it was able to focus on the family aspect to more characters and not just between the two main interests.
I got weirded out of Leo in some parts though, like how he's so obsessed with Charlie right away with nothing much happening yet. But then again, that's just me.
Lastly, another reason I gave this book 1 star is due to the very unsatisfying ending. Nothing to be specific about really but I just wanted more of a "BAM" effect one I turn the last page, it just didn't do it for me. I was expecting a lot of heart warming stuff for this book but I was sadly let down. Although, the family aspect surprised me a little bit.