Homecoming

"Another gem. She is one of my favorite authors. I love how she describes the Australian country…not many books do it the way she does. I hope to one day visit and explore all the places she describes."

"I haven't finished it yet, but I am loving it. It can be frustrating at times because the author will spend too much time on characters' thoughts. There's a tendency for too much description. But when she is focused on the actual story, I can't put it down. "

"Vexingly slow for a good majority of the first half, and the occasional feminist messaging is irritating but it picks up near the end, and is overall a fascinating mystery with an ending I didn’t expect "

"Excellent writing….love the characters and how they connect….it was slow paced yet the plot kept me intrigued"

"Horrible book. If I had to hear cinnamon bun or high hair bun again I was going to scream. Vapid characters..waste of my time"

"I knew little to nothing about Australia so I learned a lot while looking up the plants and birds and tracing the character’s journeys on Google Maps and Earth. The plot is somewhat reminiscent of ‘60s soap opera plot, with a missing baby and murder; but also layers of complicated and nuanced family themes. The criticisms of it being long are justified, but it still kept my attention"

"While the longevity of this read is beautiful. The detail can become overwhelming for such a long book. Unfortunately the inability for the book to grab my attention left me desiring more but the book was unable to grab my attention and ended poorly "

"I love Kate Morton's books. This one was a slow moving epic that left me guessing until the end. Some things were obvious, but there were 2 especially that I did not see coming. Even at over 500 pages, I was left wanting more. I actually wanted to see what Polly and Jess did with the information that is revealed at the end! (And unpopular opinion - I thought Nora was a truly terrible person)"

"Unfortunately one of the worst books I've recently read, and certainly the worst of Kate Morton's. It felt like she was trying to pull together another 'Forgotten Garden' but it didn't land, at least not with me. The book within a book format was a slog to get through, and I found that the transitions back to Jess and Polly and Percy's perspectives were jarring and unwelcome. I found myself getting quite bored and really had a hard time getting through the first half of the book. Some parts felt redundant and overly descriptive, and it seemed to take a lot of pages to get through very little plot. Though the rest is purely my own literary tastes, I figure I'd share in case someone is reading trying to make sense of why they didn't enjoy the book as I sometimes do: ********************************************* Spoilers Ahead ********************************************* In terms of the story, nothing about the plot was particularly enjoyable or resonated with me personally. I predicted the 'big reveal' (both the death of Nora's biological infant, plus the fact that Nora knowingly raised Thea as 'Polly') by the halfway point and also predicted the identity of the real murderer about 250 pages in, though I did not correctly guess their motivation. None of what I would consider to be the antagonists of the story were punished- from Nora gaslighting her child into abandoning her daughter, to the actual killer being a jealous wife who unintentionally commits mass murder. For me, neither story line ends in a satisfactory way as all the villains are dead by the time the truth comes out. Basically to me, this story felt less like repairing family rifts and coming home, and more like the outcome of two toxic and possessive moms and the havoc that inflicts on a child (Polly). Nora is not a particularly likable or relatable character (especially once you start reading from Polly's perspective) and you end up spending a lot of time reading about her."

"4.75⭐️<br/>What a crazy plot twist! This is a story where the plot twist completely reverses the presumption of the entire story. There is amazing character development, great detail and very descriptive story telling. You feel as if you could have been there to experience this tragedy among them. It reflects on the nuances of being a mother, and what it means for children/a child to need their mother. It has so many individual details that seem to tie together in a perfect bow at the end, but yet you feel as if this could have happened in real life. <br/><br/>It causes you to question yourself and your own morals; how much does forgiveness matter to you when you can’t change the past? How can a loving person be so deceitful? And where does it cross the line? How can the “truth” be so wrong, and is it worth repairing years later when it won’t change anything? <br/><br/>This is a book focused on family tragedy and secrets, identity, motherhood, forgiveness, sad memories, grief and loss, guilt, and unforgivable actions."