Back Home

Rachel Browning is 13 years old when her dad comes back from the war in Iraq. She understands that her dad will be a little different for a while because he has been injured. But Rachel doesn't even know the man with a prosthetic arm and leg that sits in her living room day after day in a wheel chair. He isn't the dad that used to build a fort in the backyard with her, or play basketball with her sister, or carry her little brother like a sack of potatoes. He is a stranger to her and the rest of her family. Day after day people come and help her dad while the kids area at school. But when they come home, he still sits in the wheel chair depressed. I think back home was a great book because it made you really stop and think about if you were in the Brownings situation. I really enjoyed this book and would recomend it for everyone! Kendall T.

It should be a joyous time for Rachel, her mom, and her siblings, Marcy and Robbie. Her father is coming home from Iraq. They should be celebrating and creating new memories together as a family. Things will never be the same, though. Her father was injured while overseas. He's lost an arm and a leg and also has some brain damage. He's got to learn most things over again and spends time first at a rehabilitation center before coming home. At first, it doesn't even seem like Dad is home. He just sits there. Rachel knows she must step up and help. She struggles to figure out how. Is Dad really not capable or has he lost the will to try? Will their family always be like this? BACK HOME is a realistic novel about a family trying to pull together and be one during a difficult adjustment. It is full of touching moments. I would strongly recommend this book! Reviewed by: hoopsielv

BACK HOME is the realistic story of a family dealing with the loss of their father/husband. Oh, he's still alive, having returned from battle in Iraq with a traumatic brain injury, minus an arm and a leg-- but the man they knew is no longer there. BACK HOME is beautifully written. Julia Keller's words flow wonderfully; she is an artist filling each page with imagery that strikes the reader at her very core. Highly recommended. Beth Fehlbaum, author Courage in Patience, a YA story of HOPE.. Courage in Patience: A Story of Hope for Those Who Have Endured Abuse

This is a well written book that sticks with the reader long after finishing it. Topics in the daily news bring me back to the characters and the issue of brain injury that the family deals with. It presents what is an incredibly challenging change for this family in a realistic way. It doesn't sugar coat anything or provide easy answers. Well worth your time.

... of any kind, at any age this book will speak to you. It's brief, but powerful. Left me feeling sad but hopeful.