This book was beautiful. I haven't read one of Kathleen's books before but now I need to read the rest. It was incredibly sad, right from the first page and the ending wasn't particularly happy but it was hopeful. This book really highlights the importance of judge not, lest we too be judged. These characters are each going through their own tragedies and just trying to keep their heads above water and survive. It brings home the importance of trying to look outside your own world for a bit and see that others are hurting too. You may not be able to fix what is happening in your own life but that doesn't mean you need to bury your head in the sand and not try to help those around you that you can help. Unfortunately, I don't think Emory really internalised this concept by the end as during this book, she was obviously focusing on her brother and her own family tragedies. But, these wonderful, imperfect people surround her through this book but I don't think she ever really asks them how they are, they occasionally offer up something about their lives but Emory never checks in or asks them how they're doing. She was going through a lot and I know how you can get lost in your own world so much so that everything around you becomes an afterthought, but, hopefully, those things will come with growth and maturity. <spoiler>A specific example that comes to mind is the alluding towards Liza being sexually assaulted, maybe Emory never made the connections but it's obvious her trauma goes deeper than her parents leaving, and Emory never bothers to ask and we never really find out. I'm not upset about that though because this book was focused on Emory and Joey.</spoiler> I liked that Kathleen chose to write this story from the perspective of Emory instead of Joey, it was very real. I connected with some of Emory's experiences and feelings, and it is important to hear how someone's mental health struggles and addiction can affect those around us. We don't delve too deeply into the other characters, even Joey, we hear bits and pieces but we never really get to understand him on a deeper level and I guess that is quite a good reflection on the world. You may know pieces of a person, but everyone has their own stories and all we can do is try to walk through this world with a little bit more grace and compassion in our hearts and actions.

I had a lot going on in my personal life but wow..

I was lucky enough to receive this via NetGalley. All reviews are my own!!

Please do check the trigger warnings before you read!

This book felt so relatable. I went through so many emotions as I listened and the reader was perfect! It follows the story of a young girl navigating the trauma, heartbreak, fears and loss surrounding drug addiction sadly by her brother. Her family grow closer, I learnt so much I didn’t know as I listened and it’s such a beautiful ending to see.. I know this is not the reality for a lot of people which was so heartbreaking in itself.

I will happily listen or read more work by this author, I learnt so much.

Emmy is the quiet, obedient, reliable one. Not like her strong-willed, beautiful sister Maddie and not like her wild child brother Joey. She's lived her life being told exactly what to do and how to act and never really being able to find her place in the world. But when a devastating accident changes life in her small town forever, can she continue to keep to keep up the charade or is it all going to come crashing down?

Oh my god this book broke me. I have bawled my eyes out reading this. The way you feel for Emmy and Joey and everything they're going through is indescribable. This is so heartbreakingly beautifully written that it's now one of my favourite books and I'm now going to read everyone of Kathleen Glasgows books. I loved the characters in this and watching how each of them dealt with the problems they're faced with. Absolutely loved highly recommend.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up.

You'd Be Home Now offers a poignant exploration of the impact of substance abuse on family dynamics.

Emory's character is portrayed with striking authenticity, delving into her struggles with confidence and the desire for validation. While Emory's plight is compellingly depicted, I wished for more depth in exploring Joey's character, whose abuse reverberates throughout the household.

The narrative unfolds at a deliberate pace, lending an immersive quality akin to real-time storytelling. Despite its gradual progression, the story maintains momentum, building towards a satisfying conclusion.

The handling of sensitive themes is commendable; the author navigates complex social issues with sensitivity and insight.

Listening to the audio version enhanced the experience, thanks to a skilled narrator who adeptly captures the emotional nuances of the narrative.

Overall a hard hitting read, that was raw and realistic throughout. Do check out TW/CW’s for it as it deals with a lot of heavy topics. Not a happy read, but a thought provoking and well written one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you, Net Galley and Bolina Audiobooks for letting me listen to the recording of this masterpiece. I am grateful for letting me discover this story.
The audio actress was simply amazing and managed to interpret all the nuances of the author's writing style!

I sincerely am at a loss for words for this book.
The emotional rollercoaster it brought me in was unexpected and I think everyone, EVERYONE, should read it.
It´s a Young Adult book and the protagonist is a teenager, but this book NEEDS to be read by parents, teachers, and brothers.

The book starts with Emery waking up in a hospital bed and remembering the car accident that brought one of her classmates to death, her brother to OD in the backseat of the car, and her brother's best friend in jail.

Emery is a teenager who feels invisible, she needs to be fine, fine, fine, and not a problem like her brother Joey, or perfectly pretty like her sister Maddie.
Emery is the richest girl in town but she is not popular, even though she is hooking up with the baseball star player, but in secret, because she is invisible after all.
Emery is the one who needs to be fine, fine to take care of her brother after he comes back from rehab, or fine to not make her mother more worried if she cared enough to see her.
But Emery wants to be a teenager and she is tired of having to do the right thing and be fine all the time because she is not. Her brother says he is ok, but maybe he is not. Her mother is in control, but maybe she is not.

In this book, there are so many themes and focus points that it really is food for thinking. This is a story about addiction, about struggling, feeling wrong or invisible, it´s about how misogynistic our society is and how much girls cannot even make a tini-tiny error because they become immediately easy. It´s about losing hope, losing purpose, losing everything. But most are about the consequences of our actions. It´s about how someone struggles and everyone around this person is affected. How your sadness is my sadness when I love you enough, and maybe sometimes you need to lean on me to get better.

In the book, the protagonist is asked by her literature teacher to read a book, of relevance and make a 30-page essay about it. Well, High Schools all over the world. This is the book you were looking for. Nothing against the big classics I love them, but this story, this author, is able to portray a social problem that sooner or later touches everyone.

I feel like I should warn future readers that there is very little joy in this book. That doesn't make it a bad book, just not a particularly happy one. This tells the story of complicated teen life. Hard drugs are involved, photos of an adult nature, broken bones, death and love. All types of complicated love - familial, friends, lovers, unrequited. Addiction is depicted well, as are family dynamics. This book does not end in the way I thought but it also does not end in a neat and tidy bow.

In Mill Haven, Emory is the rich one, the great-great-granddaughter of the mill's founder. At school she's Maddie Ward's not as hot younger sister. And at home, she's the good one, her stoner older brother Joey's babysitter. After a car accident changes their lives, and takes that of a popular girl at school, everyone's telling Emmy who she is, but so much has changed, how can she be the same person? Or was she ever that person at all?

You'd Be Home Now is a chilling and stark look at the effects that substance use can have on a family. Emory's character felt so real, her struggles with her confidence and her need for approval. I genuinely felt like Emmy could have been treated better by everyone who knew her. I did feel that Joey could have been explored more, especially since the effects of his abuse caused such a ripple through a household. The story was quite slow moving, making it feel like it would be a real time retelling. It never once stalled though, it was very slow burn to the end. I never once felt like the author was victim shaming, and the delicate social issues discussed were handled with great care and in a very informative way.

I listened to the audio for this one, and loved the narrator. They were clear and easy to understand, giving all the emotions the right moments to shine. Thank you to NetGalley, Bolinda Audio and Kathleen Glasgow for the advanced copy of the audio. You'd Be Home Now is available now in physical, audio and ebook.

An absolute favourite of mine. After reading you’d be home and loving it I really enjoyed listening to it come to life in audio. The narrators voice and expression really made the story even more relatable

🏫 BOOK REVIEW 🏫

Synopsis: For all of Emory’s life she’s been told who she is. In town she’s the rich one—the great-great-granddaughter of the mill’s founder. At school she’s hot Maddie Ward’s younger sister. And at home, she’s the good one, her stoner older brother Joey’s babysitter. Everything was turned on its head, though, when she and Joey were in the car accident that killed Candy MontClaire. The car accident that revealed just how bad Joey’s drug habit was.
Four months later, Emmy’s junior year is starting, Joey is home from rehab, and the entire town of Mill Haven is still reeling from the accident. Everyone’s telling Emmy who she is, but so much has changed, how can she be the same person? Or was she ever that person at all?
Mill Haven wants everyone to live one story, but Emmy’s beginning to see that people are more than they appear. Her brother, who might not be “cured,” the popular guy who lives next door, and most of all, many “ghostie” addicts who haunt the edges of the town. People spend so much time telling her who she is—it might be time to decide for herself.

Review: Starting off with a riveting car crash with a lot of aspects, this book had me immediately gripped. The writing was mature and not too childish for a high-school based YA book. However as the story progressed I kind of felt the writing became less mature, which wasn’t consistent with the difficult topics in the second half of the book. The “gossip girl” / “pretty little liars” style inclusion was probably unnecessary and brought the maturity down I believe. But this medium-paced, reflective and emotional story did have me invested in the characters, rooting for growth, and difficult not to binge. Highly recommend if you’re up for a book with trauma- based themes including drug use/addiction, vehicular accident, and high school drama.

My sincerest thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the review copy!
3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this book, although it is aimed at a YA audience I enjoyed this book and the themes it discussed.

(3.5 stars)

I know this is YA but it was a bit jarring to me at times, why was the MC so obsessed with her brother? Why is she such a fixer? I enjoyed the listen but it was also very infuriating at times... it does give a very good and also painful insight into mental health and addiction, so do go into this with the trigger warnings in mind.

Such a heartbreaking story. A story of a family and addiction and disfunction. I really enjoyed this audiobook. It really gets you right in the feels.

Thank you for the ALC for my honest review

I found this book a bit slow to start with however I got into it and realised the author was really giving some depth and complication to the characters. As it went on I started to understand more and see the effects of addiction on everyone. The main character was quite invisible to her family and although not addicted could have been, you could see how this family dynamic could create road straight to one full of excitement and energy. leading to addiction. Powerful and incredibly moving account. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

I feel the most important part of this audio book is the note at the end by Kathleen Glasgow talking about addiction and substance abuse, it gives the novel a whole new perspective and it is eye opening to think of all the people who fall through the cracks of life and how their decisions impact not only their lives but their families and friends. Maybe Emory will get her wish and her story will be added to schools reading lists as I feel it would definitely relate to many young adults out there,

Kathleen Glasgow has an insane need to write books that make me feel feelings that I have had bottled up for years.

You'd Be Home Now follows Emory, a high schooler, who has just spent the past few months recuperating from a car accident that occured one fateful night, taking the life of a young girl. The same night that revealed how serious her older brother's, Joey, drug habit came to light.

This book shows recovery in the way that not many books do. It shows a side of it that needs to be shown. Throughout my own life, with my own struggles, I have learnt one thing. Healing is not linear. Recovery isn't just something that happens overnight. It takes times and sometimes relapses are inevitable. There will be good days and there will be bad. Recovery isn't a destination, it's a journey.

People often look at people who struggle with addiction or the families of those who do and judge them, without truly knowing what it's like. In the author's note, Kathleen talks about how this is a subject that needs to be touched on with empathy and that's something I agree with. This problem won't go away with ignoring it. This is a worldwide problem that needs the proper resources, health care and empathy.

I could write my own book on my thoughts about this one. I could probably write for days but I think I'll keep it at this and end it on this note.

You are not alone.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bolinda Audio for providing me with this audiobook. I received this audiobook for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

🎧Audio Book Review🎧

You'd Be Home Now
Kathleen Glasgow

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I've been intrigued by this book for so long now and had this (and the other 2 by this author) on my bookshelf for a long while - so the ease of listening to this on audio was the perfect way to finally get started on it - and boy was I blown away!!

This is a gritty and hard-hitting look at the effects of addiction on, not only young adults, but adults and the families, friends and wider community too.

This was one of my biggest worries as my children grew up (and I'm sure still is really) - the relative ease nowadays of them coming into contact with drugs and alcohol and how to effectively educate them about the dangers of these - but also to instill in them the confidence to stand up and avoid peer pressure.
Let's face it - going against the grain of what all your friends are doing, is a pretty tough call for anyone.

This story was told from the pov of Emory - the youngest of three children - great, great granddaughter of the founder of the mill and "the rich kid"! But also the girl who doesn't feel like she fits in anywhere.
We follow events after a tragic car accident rocks the family and the town at a point when it becomes clear that her big brother, Joey's, drug habit has really got out of hand.

I know I'm much older now, but I really related with Emory - life is so different for teeneagers from when I was there doing this, but being someone who never felt like I fitted anywhere really helped me empathise and understand some of the feelings that Emory was having.

I won't give any spoilers but I actually feel like I learned so much from really being able to see into Emory's mind and emotions.
There were some really poignant moments where I could totally understand the adult view, but also totally got the teenage thought process too.

The writing of these moments was exceptional and I honestly think all parents should read this just to get some real perspective on the way teeneagers operate.
I also think that so many teens will benefit from reading this and relating some of their own feelings to this story and seeing that they are not alone - and that talking to someone will always help.

This has been a totally crazy review - I have so much going on in my head that I could say about this - but am really struggling to put it down here....I even had to process for a few days to get this much on paper!

This was raw, emotional, fascinating, educational, inspiring and motivational in so many ways and I know this will stick with me for a long long time.

The writing was just perfection and even whilst dealing with such ugly topics, this book was completely beautiful!
I'm excited to now read the other novels by this author.




💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

It had so much potential and just fell flat to me. The pacing was agonizingly slow in the first part and incredibly fast in the second which I don't really like, when you drive you don't go from 0 to 100 immediately. The characters truly were the highlight of this book but I didn't care enough about them to give this book anything over a 2.5 stars

This book simply wasn't for me. It's far more contemporary than I usually go for, not a thriller as I thought. There isn't a mystery over what happened, simply a girl trying to survive the aftermath of a terrible accident. She's very dissociated, which is understandable, but did mean I struggled to find a hook to draw me in without a mystery or a goal from the lead to root for.

Addiction's effect on a whole community, through one adolescent's painful family experience.

I loved Girl in Pieces, and this sounded quite as hard-hitting and deep. One girl is struggling here with what should be a position of privilege in her town, but of course nothing is ever as straightforward as it looks.

Emory's family built the mill on which her town's fortunes were built. Seen as a rich girl with no worries in the world to outsiders, her standing changes one fateful night when the car she is travelling in after a party crashes because her brother is high on drugs, killing another girl and injuring Emory's knee.

Now she's not even Emory. She's Joey Ward's sister, made his minder by their image-conscious mother. She's her 'hot sister' Maddie's younger sibling. She's also a secret for the next door neighbour. Emory is caught in so many ways and feels responsible more than anything for Joe's drug recovery when he returns from rehab.

This story is Emory's but about far more than one person. We see the drug crisis as exemplified by one teenage boy but through the story, this widens to the whole community, and to those caught up in it like Emory.

Showing us the perils of addiction and how it can all start, this is powerful and depressing, with Emory a growing character who has her own teenage worries mixed up with those of Joey's and the whole town's.

The audiobook was a good one, easy to follow and well-narrated, a good way to access the story.

Not an easy read, but a topic we can't ignore and one that many of us are touched by, whether we admit it or not.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample audio copy.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. I will look the others books of the author
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!