by Barbara Samuel
Trade paperback, 298 pp
ISBN:
0345460375
RITA WINNING NOVEL
ORDER NOW Also available as an audio book and an ebook.
From the Publisher
Sometimes a wrong turn is the only way home. . . .
No Place Like Home
tells the unforgettable story of a family bound together by
tradition–and the emotional journey of an estranged daughter risking
everything for a second chance at life and love.
Twenty-one
years ago Jewel Sabatino left her childhood behind and never looked
back. After a magical taste of fame, she found herself alone with a son
to raise and not much else. She survived with the help of Michael, her
one true friend. But now Michael is too sick to care for
himself, and
Jewel has run out of options. She leaves New York for the hills of
Colorado, unsure if the family she ran from will welcome her back.
For
Jewel, coming home is falling back into a world that smells of Italian
restaurants and home-baked pies. It is the laughter of sisters
preparing for a summer wedding, and the peaceful haven for a treasured
soul
mate’s last days. It also means facing the unforgiving eyes of a
father betrayed by his favorite child–and letting go of a son who is
ready to become a man. But most of all, it is the love she discovers in
her own wary heart when Michael’s brother Malachi unexpectedly arrives
on her doorstep.
Told with breathtaking insight and deep emotion, No Place Like Home
is a joyful feast for all the sen
ses, a vibrant bounty of love, and a
tender life lesson to be savored long after the last page is turned.
REVIEWS
"The sense of place is vivid, the secondary characters charming and many
of Jewel’s thoughts about her various and often conflicting roles and
loyalties are all too recognizable and full of self-deprecating humor." –Publisher’s Weekly
Jewel ran away with a bad boy musician on a motorcycle when she was 17,
breaking her daddy’s heart. Twenty-three years later, down on her luck,
she’s back, with her teenage son Shane and her AIDS-stricken best buddy
Michael, the deed to Great Aunt Sylvia’s house in her pocket. Her big
Sicilian-American Colorado clan embraces her, except for daddy, who’s
still nursing his great hurt. It’s an eventful summer; there’s a
marriage; a funeral; a sweet, unexpected love affair; a tough
letting-go; and redemption and reconciliation. This hardcover debut by
RITA Award-winning Samuel is a tearjerker but never a downer. Combining
the best of romance, women’s, and mainstream fiction, this transcends
boundaries. It’s a triumph. Samuel lives in Pueblo, CO. Jo Manning,
Barry Univ. Lib., –Library Journal
TIDBITS
This book won the first RITA for women’s fiction. LADY LUCK’S MAP OF VEGAS also won that RITA.