YOU’D BE HOME NOW BY KATHLEEN GLASGOW
Kathleen Glasgow’s newest title, You’d Be Home Now, exposes the tragic outcomes when children feel unseen and unheard, and the lengths they will go to escape these feelings.
Emmie Ward is someone most would call privileged. White, wealthy, intelligent, and a dancer on the school team – she appears to have it all. But she also has two parents too busy to notice her, a brother struggling with addiction, friendships that have been broken, a neighbor who offers an escape that only leads to a broken heart, a body broken by a car accident and the grief of the death of an innocent bystander to all of this. So, while privileged in some ways, Emmie is carrying more than anyone should have to.
When her brother goes missing after a relapse, Emmie is determined to find him. Somehow her strength and determination and love for her brother awaken something in her parents and they finally seem to see what is happening to their family, and more importantly, what they can do to save it.
With themes such as parenting, addiction, slut-shaming, and the bond between siblings wrapped into a story that is deep and beautifully written, this title is one that will be passed from student and to student and leaves its readers with the understanding that just because you’ve heard stories about someone, it doesn’t mean you know them. In Emmie’s words…
I’m a girl on a stage and I have nothing beautiful for you.
I’m a girl on a stage and you think you know my story.
But how can you know my story
when I haven’t written it yet
When I haven’t had a chance to live it yet.
How can you know my story
When you don’t even know me