You'd Be Home Now

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Emory was a good and complex character. She was relatable in some cases, like academics and feeling like a failure, which was interesting to read about. I loved her character development throughout the book, where she learned to be brave and to stand up for herself. I've read Girl in Pieces by this author and LOVED it so I had high expectations for this one! I don't like it better than Girl in Pieces but this was still very meaningful and impactful.

Emory is always negotiator, peacemaker, doing always what her parents told her, obedient, sweet, good daughter of the family as her big sister is beauty queen, smart, popular college student and her brother… her rebellious, artsy, introvert brother Joey always gets the full attention with his addiction problem. It would have been easy for an addict to write a story about an addict, right? Maybe too easy. Maybe that's why she decided to write the story from the POV of Emory, whose brother Joey is an addict. This was an excellent decision. It is easy for people to say "I would never become that," but is it so easy to say that no one you love will ever become that? More than twenty million people struggle with substance abuse each year, and the age it starts gets younger and younger. We have spent two years now living through the COVID-19 pandemic, but the opiate epidemic has not gone away. It is still there, silently creeping up on your loved ones, preying on their insecurities and telling them to just try this, and maybe everything won't hurt so much anymore. Somehow Emory ends up taking responsibility for her brother. She has to shadow him when he goes to his PT job at a hoagie shop, they are in different grades in the same school and except for when they are in class, they are supposed to be together at all times, she shadows him when he goes to rehab meetings. Emory has NO life of her own, except for the major crush she has on Gage, the senior who lives next door.Like Liza decided a couple years ago her body isn't for the male gaze so she hasn't worn anything but overalls since then. I'm glad Liza specifically finds this empowering, but honestly what does this little performative gesture actually do to dismantle the sexualization of other/all women in basically any context? Does she volunteer? Does she go to protests? Does she raise money for any causes? Does she run an activist blog? I understand that as a teen your options are limited. But if you're going to spout your mouth off I feel it's only fair to ask you to put your money where your mouth is in some form. These traits make two of her three kids feel like failures. Her middle child, Josh, feels his failures so acutely, he turns to drugs to drown out the negative voices and feelings he has. His dad is a doctor, his mother is a lawyer, they are wealthy (his mother’s family established the little town the live in), and he sees himself as the royal screw up of the family. His self-esteem is pretty low, thanks to his mom always being on him about his faults and the need to improve across the board (or military school is the next stop for him).

When I first started reading the book I was getting myself prepared for what the author was going to do to me. I got to a point in the book that I felt was going to be the same old bullshit I read nowadays and felt bummed. I was so wrong. This book is about ALL the things. The thing about being invisible is, you’d think it would feel light and airy and easy, no pressure, but it doesn’t. It’s the heaviest thing I’ve ever known." Obviously as a teenager it makes sense that she'd have this viewpoint. Many activist teens are so consumed with political correctness as a concept they don't stop to think about practicalities. Even her overalls thing is a normal 'teen trying to make a difference' action. The teens that are legitimately dedicated to social progress learn what real activism is eventually. Mill Haven wants everyone to live one story, but Emmy's beginning to see that people are more than they appear. Her brother, who might not be "cured," the popular guy who lives next door, and most of all, many "ghostie" addicts who haunt the edges of the town. People spend so much time telling her who she is—it might be time to decide for herself. Emory opens her eyes at the hospital, her leg in a cast, confused, numb. Her sister Maddie is by her side, parents arguing because her brother was overdosed and his best friend Leonard is sent to juvie because he killed Candy- yes that innocent, sweet girl who wanted to leave the party earlier because of severe headache, trapped in a car with them and now she’s casualty of the tragic innocent.

These characters are wonderful. Flawed. They are a lot of us when we were young. A lot of us as parents and the people who are lost. If I was Joey, I’d be pawing through the house looking for anything, something to dull all this down. Forget I’m even me.

White Feminist character has also become shorthand for 'not like other girls'. How hard would it have been for Liza to keep fighting the patriarchy in a mini skirt? Why did she have to eschew all overt signs of femininity to establish she's a feminist character? The male gaze is inescapable and none of your choices exist in a vacuum. Might as well wear a mini skirt if you feel like it. Mill Haven wants everyone to live one story, but Emmy's beginning to see that people are more than they appear. Her brother, who might not be cured, the popular guy who lives next door, and most of all, many ghostie addicts who haunt the edges of the town. People spend so much time telling her who she is--it might be time to decide for herself. I'm very thankful to the publisher for providing me with this ARC to share my honest thoughts on this bookwith all of you.

What I didn't like: There was so much potential this book had but Kathleen Glasgow didn't do anything with it. She stayed in her own writing circle and didn't once step out of it. The book is about Joey told through the eyes of Emmy. It would've been so much better if it alternated between Emmy and Joey's povs. While I was reading, I realized how white Glasgow's books are. I can't name a single poc in any of her books. But she added diversity to this book. Kind of? She added a gay character. A cis white gay character but a gay character nonetheless? Not a main character. Not even a side character. But he was there. Sometimes. And yes, it was only one paragraph that talked about it. Never to be discussed again. I also wished the book discussed the trauma that Emmy had to deal with, a bit more. From the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces comes a breathtaking contemporary YA about addiction, family and finding your voice. Glasgow’s books are always sure to take an emotional toll, but they are an important addition to the YA realm. The issues are hard-hitting, important topics, and I hope that these stories will make it into the hands that need them. Another student brings up that it'd be different if it centered the victim rather than the perpetrator, but again that's such a limiting perspective.

You'd Be Home Now is a moving, relatable and raw book which highlights prevalent and contemporary societal issues such as drugs and the effects of helicopter parenting. Although targeted towards a teenaged audience, you don't have to be a teen to relate to the story. Labeling a book problematic because it features the assault of a child by an adult is narrow minded. Many great books include this very serious subject. It's about the intention, impact and execution not the inclusion alone. Same goes for gaslighting. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier doesn't have child sexual assault but am I really supposed to think of it as just as bad as Liza purports Lolita to be purely because of the gaslighting? I loved all of the friendships in this, and how Emory managed to find her group of people despite everything that has happened. i see a lot of people asking for sad book requests, so if you’re one of them, stop your search right now: you need to read this book. I didn't like Gage at all, I could just tell there was something off about him and Emory from the beginning.Nails what it's like to love someone with an addiction and humanizes the struggle of a teenage drug addict." I had a lot more I wanted to say, so much more! It just all went out the window. I just know I want to do even more to help people before I die. I didn't expect to be so moved by this book, but by the end of this story, I felt nothing but love and a sense of protectiveness towards Emory and Joey and a desperation for everything to turn a corner for them and those struggling in their community. This is a beautifully moving story, and one of the best YA reads I've had this year, bar none. Thank you to Kathleen Glasgow---you made me cry when I didn't even know I needed it. What I am saying is that this particular brand of feminist character - the pushy, belligerent white girl who tells it like it is - ages me tremendously whenever she makes an appearance. She feels like the worst aspects of mainstream feminism compartmentalized for only other mainstream feminists to hype up. They always think it's so cool to be above it all and throw out their pithy one liners when really it's emotional immaturity.