If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now

Claire LaZebnik
5 Spot (2010)
ISBN 9780446555012
Reviewed by Tiffany Schlarman for Reader Views (11/10)

 

At the age of twenty-five Rickie finds herself living with her parents, recently separated sister and six-year-old son Noah, who is not abnormal for his age.  Noah, who was born with an autoimmune disease, is quite small for his age and having trouble in school due to bullies and one unfair PE teacher.  Rickie goes into defense mode when Noah tells her his PE teacher is out to get him.  After storming into the principal’s office and meeting the gym teacher, Andrew Fulton, Rickie learns life is not always what she assumes it to be.  As she develops a friendship with Andrew and other moms at Noah’s top notch LA private school, Rickie learns more about motherhood, being a grownup and falling in love, changing her life forever.

“If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now” is a smart, emotionally moving novel about a young woman who rushed the process of growing up and consequently finds it just as hard to fit in as her young son does.  Rickie’s attitude about life doesn’t help the situation.  She assumes everyone thinks the worst about her and sizes people up based on appearance.  After meeting Coach Andrew, Rickie’s life starts to change and she realizes her assumptions are not always correct as she lets down the walls she has set up around her.  Rickie’s mom, sister, son and coach Andrew all take part in helping her to learn what it is to be a mother, the importance of a friend, what a grownup is and what it is to have real relationships.  The book chronicles Rickie’s transformation from young, confused and scared to enlightened, aware and strengthened.

At first, I had a hard time connecting with Rickie, the main character of this novel.  She comes off just as the author intends in order to make her learning process successful yet this makes her emotionally detached and a little irritating.  While she loves her son, her ideals about being a mother are less hands on and she is frequently self absorbed and forgetful.  As the story progressed I found myself warming up to Rickie as she started to understand the importance of everyday relationships.  The story was easy to get wrapped up in, even though I felt like an outside at first.  As the book progressed I quickly started to feel more attached and involved with the characters.  I was delighted at the conclusion of this novel.  It had a great ending and I felt my time was well spent in reading it.

I enjoyed the writing style of this novel.  The author set a clear picture in my head and seemed to guide me effortlessly through the story.  I never had to re-read a section or double back over a sentence to understand what the author was trying to get across.  I easily devoured its content.  Aside from feeling disconnected to the main character of this book and its title, I enjoyed the novel and its content.  “If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now” was original and well thought out.  I would recommend this book to other readers, especially reading groups.

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