Home Away from Home
Mia and her mom visit Grandma in Maine every summer, but this year Mia is going alone. Her mom will stay behind to get their house ready to sell. It'll be a new start, she says, after the divorce.
Mia doesn't want a new start. She'd rather everything just stayed the same! At least things will be the same at Grandma's, though. Mia will walk to town for ice cream, and wait by the water, watching for birds, just like always.
Then Mia meets Grandma's know-it-all new neighbor, who's just her age. Cayman acts like he belongs at Grandma's house. He acts like he's the expert on everything. And when he and Mia spot an unusual white bird of prey, he acts like it's his job to find out what it is.
Unless, that is, Mia finds out first. And, in her effort to prove herself to him, she makes a decision that will change things for the town, for the bird, for Cayman, and even for herself. Can Mia stop what she's put into motion?
Acclaimed author Cynthia Lord, with her trademark sensitivity, weaves her love of nature with a profound reflection on what it means to be at home in a changing world.
Author: Cynthia Lord
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: 04/18/2023
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.68lbs
Size: 8.52h x 5.87w x 0.81d
ISBN: 9781338726114
Audience: Ages 9-12
Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.1
Point Value: 5
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 519531 / Home Away from Home
Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/13/2023
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2023
Booklist 03/15/2023 pg. 52
About the Author
Cynthia Lord is the award-winning author of Rules, a Newbery Honor Book and a Schneider Family Book Award winner, as well as the critically acclaimed Half a Chance, A Handful of Stars, and Because of the Rabbit. She made her picture-book debut with Hot Rod Hamster, which won several awards, including the Parents' Choice Award, and is the author of the Shelter Pet Squad chapter book series. She lives in Maine with her family. Visit her at cynthialord.com.