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the most moving and heartfelt novel you'll read this year

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Home

By: Penny Parkes
Narrated by: Laura Kirman
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Summary

 ***Penny Parkes' brilliant new novel MAYBE TOMORROW is out now!***

'Moving, hopeful and heartfelt... an ideal book group read' AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird

A gripping and heartfelt story about overcoming the past and finding where you belong.

Anna Wilson travels the world as a professional housesitter – stepping into other people’s lives - caring for their homes, pets and sometimes even neighbours. Living vicariously.

But all Anna has ever really wanted is a home of her own – a proper one, filled with family and love and happy memories. If only she knew where to start.

Growing up in foster care, she always envied her friends their secure and carefree lives, their certainty and confidence. And, while those same friends may have become her family of choice, Anna is still stuck in that nomadic cycle, looking for answers, trying to find the courage to put down roots and find a place to call home.

Compelling, rich and evocative, Home is Anna’s journey to discovering that it isn’t where you settle down that matters, but the people you have around you when you do.

‘I loved this warm and touching story about home, belonging, and finding your way in the world. Vivid, evocative and beautifully written, with a message of hope at its heart’ Holly Miller, author of The Sight of You

'Friends are where the heart is… I very much enjoyed this thoughtful and absorbing novel' Kate Eberlen, author of Only You

'A gorgeous, thoughtful read' Catherine Isaac, author of The World at My Feet

'Clever, warm and funny, Penny writes with a big heart, a light touch and supreme confidence. Home will be on all the best bookshelves! The ultimate comfort read' Veronica Henry, author of A Wedding at the Beach Hut

'As heartbreaking as it is uplifting, this book wouldn’t leave me. I loved it’ Katie Fforde, author of A Wedding in the Country

** WHY READERS LOVE HOME **

'Sometimes you read a book that genuinely touches your heart. Home by Penny Parkes did that to me... I will be buying this book for friends and for my 18 year old daughter and her friends. I also really hope my book club read it, as there is so much I want to discuss' 5-star reader review

'I felt as though this book touched my heart. I now want to read more of Penny's books as I feel as though I have missed out on her awesome writing' 5-star reader review

'This was without a doubt one of the the most captivating books I have read in quite some time, and I would certainly recommend it to others!' 5-star reader review

'I love this book… I found myself in tears on more than one occasion, smiling and laughing at others… This is a fantastic book and will be recommending it to all of my friends' 5-star reader review

'Goodness me I loved this book. It was so heartfelt and thoughtful… So brilliantly done and the best Penny Parkes to date (they are all brilliant though)' 5-star reader review Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Romantic Comedy Women's Fiction Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

'Moving, hopeful and heartfelt... an ideal book group read' (AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird)
'A gorgeous, thoughtful read' (Catherine Isaac, author of The World at My Feet)
'As heartbreaking as it is uplifting, this book wouldn’t leave me. I loved it’ (Katie Fforde, author of A Wedding in the Country)
'Clever, warm and funny, Penny writes with a big heart, a light touch and supreme confidence. Home will be on all the best bookshelves! The ultimate comfort read' (Veronica Henry, author of A Wedding at the Beach Hut)
‘I loved this warm and touching story about home, belonging, and finding your way in the world. Vivid, evocative and beautifully written, with a message of hope at its heart’ (Holly Miller, author of The Sight of You)
'Friends are where the heart is… I very much enjoyed this thoughtful and absorbing novel' (Kate Eberlen, author of Only You)
All stars
Most relevant
what a wonderful story...

amazing narration of fabulous characters

can't wait for another Penny Parkes.

fantastic

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I found it hard not to continuously listen to this book well into the night.. it was well written and the way thoughts and feelings were described made me reassess my own life.
Definitely worth a read.

Best book in a long time

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I really enjoyed this. In spite of the switching timelines you could feel the main character grow.

Anna, the main character, has been moulded by her childhood. We follow her on her nomadic journey as she tries to overcome her fear of making a choice until she finds a place to call home and the courage to put down roots.

Abandoned by her parents, she’s cruelly ripped from a sympathetic foster carer, only to move from one foster home to another, with varying success. She not finds peace in books. This transient childhood sets her up as a perfectionist house sitter, who looks after the homes and animals of people on holiday, while she harbours an ambition to write.

The women are mostly sympathetically portrayed. Academically talented, Anna develops a strong friendship bond with Kate, her university roommate. Margery, her first foster mother and her namesake and Anna, an elderly lady she meets through a tragic accident both shape her emotional blossoming. Kate’s mother and her school teacher support her academic ambitions. And Callie, a troubled young woman who sparks Anna’s empathy, helps Anna to appreciate the possibility of a different sort of family.

Men generally fare less well. From her father who left her feeling she wasn’t enough, to a foster parent and her first love Max, they all turn out to be callous characters that use and abuse her. Only Henry, a young man she meets while home-sitting, and Alex, Kate’s brother, are sympathetically drawn.

What does home mean?

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Only finished this because I had paid for it and kept hoping it would improve.
Felt it would have been better if it was not so long. Liked the characters in the book but found the introspection repetitive and dull.
Narrator very good.

Disappointed

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A fabulous book. Ups and downs, fun and laughter, heartache and more. I loved this book. It touched on every emotion and told of how precious friendship is. A must read book.

The richness of friendship

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