Something Like Home

What a beautiful book Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango is! Told in free verse, it is a moving middle-grade story about friendship, family and courage.

Laura is sure she made the wrong decision when she called 911. But what was she to do? Her parents weren’t moving.
Once social services came in, however, everything changed. Laura’s parents were sent to rehab, and she was whisked away to live with her aunt. An aunt who, Laura believed, never reached out when she was younger, and never cared when her mother needed help. Laura now has one plan–she must get back home to her parents.

Something Like Home wrung my heart. No child should have to deal with absent parents, and in Laura’s case, her love for her parents made me seethe at the unfairness of it all. She knows what family is, and even if hers is dysfunctional, it’s hers.

With empathy and sensitivity, Arango portrays how Laura navigates life with her aunt and her determination to ensure that every new friend she makes is temporary. As Laura balances all her goals and dreams, we root for her, hoping she finds the sense of love, belonging and home every child deserves.