Barbara Samuel
No Place Like Home (2002)
Author: Barbara Samuel
Genre: Romance (Contemporary)
Plot Summary:
Jewel Sabatino rode off on the back of her muscian, boyfriend's motorcycle 20 years ago, figuring she would never return. When the apartment building that she and her 17 year old son, Shane, is sold she has no other options. She returns home to Pueblo, Colorado, bringing with her her best friend, Michael, a gay man dying of AIDS. She has inherited her aunt's house so she has a place to live, which is a good thing since her father refuses to speak to her. Jewel's youngest sister, Jane is getting married and while Jewel remains estranged from her father the rest of her family welcomes her in. Shane gets into trouble with the local police and Jewel's family finds him a job in their restaraunt. This opens a line of communication between grandfather and grandson. Food and recipes are central to this novel. Jewel writes to Michael's brother Malachi, an adventure tour leader, to tell him his brother is sick with AIDS. When Malachi arrives Jewel describes him as a sex god and finds herself lusting after him. She reminds herself that she is supposed to be older and wiser. However, the feelings appear to be mutual and they have sex a couple of times. Jewel knows though that they will never stay together since he is bound to leave for some adventure. Malachi and Michael are also estranged from their father because Malachi cannot bring himself to forgive his father for killing his mother's lover. At the wedding Malachi makes a deal with Jewel, if she'll dance with her father he'll write his father and tell him he is forgiven. Jewel refuses and Malachi feels justified and free to continue to walk away from anything. SPOILER: When Michael dies, Jewel is the first to realize his is gone. She seems able to pull herself together and her family gathers around her to give comfort. Malachi rides off on his motocycle. Jewel calls Michael's father and tells him to come for the funeral, Michael's last request of her. Malachi returns, and Jewel is trying to find a way to tell him that his father is coming. She picks up the phone and calls her own father. Malachi knows he will need to forgive his own father as well. After the funeral, Jewel is alone for months as Shane has left to become a muscian and Malachi goes off to lead adventure tours. Malachi eventually realizes that he has fallen in love with Jewel and comes back to her.
Geographical Setting: Pueblo, Colorado
Time Period: Present (2002)
Appeal Characteristics:
The main character of this novel Jewel, is multidimensional. She is the daughter of a close Italian family; the mother to Shane, the friend of Michael, and the lover of Malachi. The multifaceted nature of the main character provides multiple stories to follow. The reader wants to know how she will deal with her maturing son, her realtionships with family, the sickness and death of Michael and ultimately her romance with Malachi. The relationships in this novel make it a very character centered work. The pace of this story is unhurried because it takes place in the summer, a more relaxed time of year. The frame or setting is a small town in Colorado. Jewel is a member of a well known local family, so everyone knows her life story...or will make up what they don't know. The author's style is insightful. She has gotten into the minds of the characters and allows us to see their world. The tone of this novel is bright and hopeful. The bonds of family, friendship, and love overcome the obstacles that are in the way. This book won the Rita Award for Best Contemporary Single Title in 2003. It also won a Library Journal Best Book of the Year Award in 2002 (Best Romance Books)
Read-alikes: Another choice that is frequently mentioned as a read-alike in the reviews read is A Piece of Heaven also written by Barbara Samuel. Luna McGrew is a former counselor, who because of alcoholism, lost both her marriage and her custody of her daughter. Now her teenage daughter is coming to live with her again and she is falling in love with the next door neighbor's grandson, Thomas Coyote, someone with his own issues in life. In this novel you have a similar middle aged complex character in Luna McGrew and the small town setting. You also have the same writer so the writing style is as insightful as No Place Like Home. Another book with complex characters and a small town setting is Stone Heart by Luanne Rice. In this novel Maria Dark notices signs of abuse in her sister's family, but no one seems willing to do anything about it until a tragedy occurs. Flight Lessons by Patricia Gaffney is another character driven novel written about a woman returning to her estranged family and has the same bright and hopeful tone as No Place Like Home. Anna Catalano gets rid of her lover after she catches him in bed with her boss. Her Aunt Iris offers her a job managing the restaurant, Bella Sorella. While there Anna meets and falls in love with photographer Mason Winograd. Wishing Garden by Christy York deals with another woman, Savanah Dawson, who moves back home this time with her teenaged daughter to take care of her ailing father. There is a battle of wills between Savanah and her mother regarding good versus bad luck. Life is further complicated by Jake who is building a bench for her father's garden. Wishing Garden has similar complex characters and a southwestern small hometown setting as . Another novel dealing with returning home to a small town and also having the delicious food presented in No Place Like Home is Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs. Rosa Capoleti has taken an old restaurant and made it into an award winning spot. When her old lover, Alexander Montgomery comes back into her life she must decide if the secrets that he holds will keep her from loving him again.
Red Flags: Mildly graphic sex scenes, mild swearing, death, AIDS
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