HOME SWEET HOME, GOOD-BYE

by Cynthia Stowe ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1990

Sixth-grader Charlie narrates the woes that begin when his parents--divorced since he was four--decide to sell the house where he has been living with his mother. Responding to the father's hazy plan to remarry, Charlie's mother--whom even Charlie calls an ""honest-lo-goodness weirdo flake""--has some sort of breakdown and refuses to pack. All is resolved when the parents decide to remarry each other; they still sell the house and Charlie must transfer to a new school, but he does find new friends and regains a whole family. Though this unfocused first novel by a former psychologist and teacher is intended to be ""hilarious,"" it merely injects jokes into an essentially unfunny situation; Charlie's words and actions seem more like a 16-year-old's, and his forced humor just doesn't mesh with the plot. He does exert control over school events (these sections are more credible), but otherwise he's at the mercy of his parents' confusing whims, while unsuccessfully trying to parent them. Their decision to reunite doesn't ring true; worse, it offers false hope to readers going through similar traumas.

Pub Date: March 1, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1990

Categories: CHILDREN'S