Welcome friend! The story of a ten year old girl, A Song Called Home packs so much! It is poignant and thought-provoking with layered characters and I am so glad to see it nominated for the Young Reader’s Choice Awards (YRCA) for 2025. Here is what the story is about.
From award-winning author Sara Zarr comes a story of the small moments that show us who we are, and how family is not just something you’re part of, but something you make.
Lou and her family don’t have much, but for Lou it’s enough. Mom. Her sister, Casey. Their apartment in the city. Her best friend, Beth. It would be better if Dad could stop drinking and be there for her and Casey, and if they didn’t have to worry about money all the time. But Lou doesn’t need better–she only needs enough.
What’s enough for Lou, however, is not enough for Mom. Steve, Mom’s boyfriend, isn’t a bad guy, he’s just…not what Lou is used to. And now, he and Mom are getting married, and that means moving. Packing up life as they’ve known it and storing it in Steve’s garage. Lou will be separated from everything in her small but predictable life, farther from Dad than ever.
Their last night in the city, Lou receives a mysterious birthday gift: A guitar, left for her by their front door. There’s nothing saying who left it, but it must be from Dad. And as she leaves the only place she’s ever known, she starts to believe that if she can learn how to play it, maybe she can bring a piece of him, and of her old life, home.
A Song Called Home – Review
A Song Called Home is narrated by Lou in first person. The story shows her evolving relationship with her mother, sister, father, best friend and step-father as her mother remarries and moves the sisters to a new neighbourhood and school.
Dealing with Parent’s Separation and New Marriage
This is a heartbreaking tale, beautifully portraying the challenges of the move as well as working through having a parent who isn’t as present as one would like as well as the dynamics of having a step parent. Lou understands the reasons her mother had to leave her dad. She knows he hasn’t always been present in her life but moving in with a step-dad and leaving the apartment she called home is hard for her. The book tackles the big and small emotions really well.
Lou’s sister, Casey, is the only way she can reach her father and I liked how the two sisters continued to share something throughout the book. Just before they move, Lou discovers a new guitar at her door and she believes her father gifted it to her for her birthday. This guitar, and the eventual talent show, gives her a goal to work towards.
A Song Called Home portrays the conflict of embracing a new family member and learning to live in a new household. It has the everyday drama of being in a family, living by and challenging other household rules as well as coming up with a balance. Once Lou gives him a chance, she starts to like Steve. She knows that he would not replace her dad but she can have a cordial relationship with him and by doing so, make her mom happy too. The past years with her dad have been hard for her mom too.
Starting a New Life
Lou and Casey had expected to at least stay in their schools with their friends for the rest of the school year. However, when things don’t line up and they become the new kids in the suburban schools, there are a lot of hard feelings. Thankfully, for Lou, her class teacher is supportive and she finds herself having someone or two to call a friend. Kids who feel as much like misfits as her. She gets exposed to other kids her age who have similar family situations as her. In contrast, Casey’s high school experience isn’t so good and the fast changing dynamics with her friends puts more social pressure on her.
Lou notices Casey distancing herself but though she tries her best, she isn’t exactly sure what to do. It was really good to see Casey also branching out and getting to know people. Steve’s neighbours, Marcus and Shannon take on Casey as a babysitter. Lou starts to learn guitar from Marcus and over time, both girls start to confide in these adults who are not their parents. It felt really good to see that! A highlight for me for Kyra who Lou met through school. Seeing Kyra’s mom, Meg, at Steve’s block party and being able to talk to her about how she handles the drinking since she quit was important for Lou. It makes her think of her dad who still struggles with alcohol consumption.
A Song Called Home is full of heartwarming conversations, many between Lou and adults but also between Lou and her friends. She is learning to stand up for herself and live with when things don’t go her way. She loves her dad inspite of his shortcomings and is starting to make space for Steve in her everyday life. Growing as a guitarist and continuing to put herself out there in front of people through talent contests shows her growing her interests and becoming her own person.
I loved everything about this story, learning from the children and adult characters alike. It would be a great book to read with my own 10 year old one day. There is so much to discuss through this book!
I could keep writing but I would love for you to read this book and for us to then chat about it. 🙂
Find this one on Goodreads.
I will try to read two more of my shortlisted books from the Young Reader’s Choice Awards (YRCA) 2025! I wonder what themes they will address. I am looking forward to reading more by Sara Zarr.
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