A DUET FOR HOME, by Karina Yan Glaser, Clarion Books, April 5, 2022, hardcover, $16.99 (ages 8-12)
Two homeless sixth-graders bond over classical music in Karina Yan Glaser’s new middle-grade novel, A Duet for Home.
It’s June’s first day at Huey House, and as if losing her home weren’t enough, she also can’t bring her cherished viola inside. Before the accident last year, her dad saved tip money for a year to buy her viola, and she’s not about to give it up now.
Tyrell has been at Huey House for three years and gives June a glimpse of the good things about living there: friendship, hot meals, and a classical musician next door.
Can he and June work together to oppose the government, or will families be forced out of Huey House before they are ready? —Synopsis provided by Clarion Books
A Duet for Home gives readers an intimate look at homelessness — the fears, hopes, dreams friendships and hoops homeless people have to jump through. It’s an excellent read that asks you to look beyond your own situation.
Author Karina Yan Glaser drew on her own experiences as a homeless shelter volunteer when writing A Duet for Home. And she tells this story with a sensitive hand. Struggling adults are not presented as villains but as human beings with flaws and potential. They are parents who are loved but are also imperfect.
Glaser’s main characters a complex and well-developed. Their friendship and the events that come from their relationships are the high point of the novel.
Clear and inviting writing make A Duet for Home a hopeful and heartfelt look at homelessness. It’s a fantastic read I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.
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