Editorial Content for The Homecoming

From Stacie Ramey, author of THE SISTER PACT, comes THE HOMECOMING an engaging, well-written examination of a family haunted by emotional and physical traumas.

John Strickland has been dealt a few bad hands in his life. His girlfriend, Leah, killed herself a year ago, and he blames himself for not only her death, but for the accident that left his brother Ryan physically and mentally handicapped when they were children. 

"Ramey handles all the emotional twists and turns of the novel deftly, never oversaturating or bombarding the reader."

But John just has to make it through the year, and then he’s off to California to put a whole continent between himself and his screwed up family. He’d be off and heading that way sooner, except his latest scrape with the law has landed him in a predicament. The court gives him two options - he can either live with one of his parents while staying clean, or he can go to juvie.

After John’s mom kicked him out of the house at the age of ten for his anger issues, John swore he’d never live there again. With no other choice though, John finds himself back under his mom’s roof, with his little sister, Livy, and Ryan, whose outburst are becoming more and more violent.

Starting senior year at a new high school and fitting into the family that shut him out is a challenge. And it's all that John can do to keep from turning back to bad habits. Lacrosse training helps him focus. As does Emily, the girl next door. She's sweet and smart, and makes him think his heart may finally be healing. Maybe he's ready to trust again.

A story with so much drama, in the hands of a less skilled author would have leaned toward soap operatic. But Ramey handles all the emotional twists and turns of the novel deftly, never oversaturating or bombarding the reader. John pain is real, raw and will leave the reader aching to hug John and rooting for him not to screw up all the chances he is given.

While the story could have used more detail and exploration of what happened to Leah, and developed the relationship between her and John on the page, the story is ultimately more about John coming to terms with the original trauma in his life, the accident that altered the fabric of his family forever.  

THE HOMECOMING is a close up examination on learning how to forgive yourself, and that there can be help out there if you’re only willing to accept it.