This was such a raw and heartfelt story that's beautifully written in verse. This story gives you a glimpse into how foster children feel when they are placed in the system or in a kinship. Laura loves her family so much she can't see a life without them. You experience her emotions as she is telling you them. You feel the guilt, shame, and regret she experiences while she is away from her family. However, she always has hope and that is what makes this middle schooler such a strong and amazing character. Being a Puerto Rican, I loved being able to see that strength in a little girl. Sometimes children aren't seen as strong. but Laura sure proves everyone wrong. I highly recommend this!

This book was incredibly touching and beautifully written. Laura loves her family very much and wants to do whatever possible to bring them back together. She’s such a mature and good-hearted child, you can’t help but love her and hope that life turns around for her. I’m glad this story ends with a hopeful ending. It a happily ever after, perfect ending, but a hopeful one. She deserves that, as do all kids. It gives you a glimpse into the mind of a foster child and just how hard and overwhelming it all is for them. But Laura never gives up hope. She’s an inspiring character.

I was given this arc for free to read. All opinions are my own.

Arango has quickly become one of my favorite middle grade voices.

Her sophomore MG novel-in-verse, features our main character, Laura, navigating foster care, a new school, and big feelings. Laura doesn’t want to live with her Aunt, she wants to go back to her parents, but when she makes a new friend and then find a companion in her found puppy, Sparrow, Laura learns to coop with her new living situation.

Laura’s story is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at times, but one that I’m sure will resonate with many children.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

Andrea's writing always feels like a hug and hits me right in the feels. What a lovely story about found family.

CW: addiction, chronic illness, drug abuse, medical content

This novel-in-verse follows Laura, an 11-year-old girl, after she is brought to live with her aunt. Her parents are away at rehab, trying to get better. She actively refuses to call her Titi Silvia’s apartment home because she knows she’ll be back with her parents one day. At her temporary home she befriends Benson and adopts a dog, Sparrow, but she still can’t think of Stonecreek as home.

This was a fantastic book. Laura was a dynamic character. I enjoyed learning about the route to becoming a therapy dog (even if I’m not a dog person lol), and liked how it acted AS a therapy for Laura. Benson was such a wonderful character as well, and allowed the main character to mature with her friendships. Silvia was also a very relatable character, it was interesting seeing her try to balance how she personally felt about the situation with being thoughtful on how Laura felt. Laura’s parents’ addiction and journey through rehabilitation were well written.

I just think, like with any book I read, that I wanted more. More about Laura’s old friends in Crenwood, more about her birdwatching, and more about her reading program at school.

Overall, I think the heavy topics were handled well and in a way that a child reading the book can understand. I really liked the story and how the relationships between Laura and all the people in her life were complex, from her dog to her old friends to her aunt. It was refreshingly honest and such a heartwarming read.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this book. While I liked the story and think the subject matter is important, the use of introducing characters with their pronouns was unnecessary for a children's book.

LOVED this one! So soft and gentle and pulls on all the heartstrings. I purchased this for my elementary library soon after I finished it and recommend it to students and staff whenever I can.

I am finding that my thoughts about this book are all over the place just like the written thoughts of the main character seemed to me to be.

It is written in verse from the perspective of a young girl who has been removed from her parents care and placed with her wealthy aunt.

The reader learns about birds, sickle cell anemia, the foster care system, therapy dog training, addiction and rehab, family dysfunction and therapy, anxiety and it was just so much in such a short book that I am left with swirling thoughts that have no place to land.

It does have good lessons to be gleaned and a myriad of jumping off places for discussion especially for a child who can relate to the life these children and families have lived.

I really enjoyed this book! It’s a novel in verse which is perfect for struggling readers! The story is relatable and I highly recommend!

I loved this story. While Laura didn't like the season of her life, developed a plan to change it. As she was overcoming and growing in the situation she faced, she was surrounded by a loving aunt. it was a relatable, heartfelt story. I love how the dog who needed to be rescued and healed was a part of the healing and rescue process for Laura.

We tend to think of a kid being placed with a relative as different from "standard" foster care. This novel challenges that assumption. Laura's fear, guilt, and sense of isolation are no different with her aunt than they would be with a total stranger. Being a verse novel, it's highly reflective and deeply honest about emotions and life experience.

Something Like Home is a lovely verse novel that tackles kinship care in the foster system. Laura is currently living with her aunt, but wishing she could reunite with her parents. After rescuing a lost pup, she decides to train Sparrow to be a therapy dog. This story is tough, but the reality is that many children live this way in our world. I definitely think my older students would appreciate the feelings Laura expresses.

This book was absolutely beautiful and I read through it in one sitting. It had me sobbing through the entirety of it (that's how you know it was good). Wow wow wow this is a must read for anyone, but especially teachers and students who may not be familiar with the foster system.

A beautifully written novel-in-verse for a middle grade audience that highlights a situation where a child may not live with their parents. Laura is recently sent to live with her aunt, after calling 911 due to her parents overdosing. Laura feels extreme guilt and misses her parents while they are in rehab.

An interesting perspective and voice that is rarely written about for middle school students, provided in a way that is extremely accessible.

I thought that this in-verse novel was easy to read and had very real problems that kids could find themselves understanding. I really liked the representation in this novel and believe that all children can relate to the characters.

Andrea Beatriz Arango's follow-up to her Newbery Honor-winning debut is not without strife, but it is more heartwearming and soft in tone. Laura's story shows how much foster and kinship care children miss their families and are not easily "saved" by their new guardians. She has a big heart, and of course training her dog is adorable. I also appreciated the storyline with her friend as she navigates that.

Realistic handling of the guilt for calling 911 when parents may have overdosed and then being placed in kinship care. Laura is not thrilled to be assigned to kinship care with her aunt, whom she barely knows, after calling 911 when her parents possibly overdose. Laura works hard to be reunited with her parents, writing to them often, but they don't seem to be working as hard as she is. When it looks like her mother has shown up, out of the blue, to claim her, Laura knows this is not the way things should be. How can it be so hard to not be with the ones you love?

This is such an amazing amazing book. Andrea Beatriz Arango does not disappoint! This book follows Laura, a foster kid, who is separated from her parents when they go to rehab, and moves in with her aunt who's her temporary guardian. Laura is navigating a lot of life changes--a move, a new school, a new friend, and her harboring resentment towards her aunt. Laura's story was written with so much care and intention, and I love how Andrea allowed the readers to experience the complexity of Laura's emotions. I really enjoyed her friendship with Ben and her love for her dog.

It is a difficult, but moving and emotional read. I highly recommend.

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango.
This is a heartwarming story about a girl, a dog, and an aunt that is trying to make life better for all of them. This book is told in short sections which will make it more appealing to struggling readers. Children will also be able to relate to having a pet that helps you through life's difficult situations. Although this book deals with difficult subjects, it offers hope.