Home Away From Home by Cynthia Lord

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Description: 

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.

General Content:

Language: 0/10- Little to no derogatory language/ references.

Alcohol & Drugs: 1/10- Cayman mentions that his mom hurt her back, the medicine didn't help, so she turned to drinking.

Violence & Gore: 1/10- A person throws a rock at a bird. Cayman's mom gets angry and yells/ slams doors a couple of times throughout the novel.

Sexual Content: 0/10- No sexual content.

Age Recommendation: 8-12, 3rd-7th Grade

Parent Guide:

Ch. 1:

-Mia mentions her parents' divorce, she and her mom will be moving in with her mom’s boyfriend.

-Mia reminisces on the past in Maine, she begins thinking about her father’s last trip to Maine with them: “But that was the last year Dad came to Maine with us. He and Mom had an argument and he left early. I didn’t like remembering that, but most happy memories of that summer led to hard ones eventually”.

Ch.3:

-Mia worries about moving to a new house. “What is the new house that comes with a ghost?”.

Ch.4:

-“A long time ago, Dad promised me a dog when I got old enough to take care of it. But that was before the divorce, and a few months before, Dad and his new wife, Shelly, had Baby Luke”.

Ch.6:

-Mia makes an account on a bird watching website; she is breaking a phone rule in doing so, but is afraid her mom is too busy to approve her new account. She does choose a username instead of giving her real name and info.

“My heart sank. Another of Mom’s phone rules was that I couldn’t give away personal information online unless she approved first. But she was busy…Who knew how long it would take for Mom to check this out and say okay?”

Ch.8:

-Someone on the bird watching website doesn’t believe the picture she submitted, in frustration, Mia posts on the online forum where she had seen the bird, thus giving her general location. This breaks another phone rule.

Ch.10:

-Mia brings muffins to Cayman's house, and Cayman's mom yells at her. Mia tears up.

“‘Oh,’ I said. ‘Thanks. I brought you some muffins. My grandma made them.’ Anger flashed across Cayman's mother’s face. ‘Your grandmother needs to mind her own business!’ She said. Then she stomped into the house, letting the screen door slam behind her”.

Ch.15:

-A man throws a rock at the bird Mia and Cayman found, and the bird gets injured. Cayman and Mia feel guilty about people knowing the location of the bird, and Mia admits to posting the location on the birding website. This causes problems for Cayman and his family, causing him and Mia to get into a fight.

Ch. 21:

-Cayman's mom comes to Mia’s grandma's house, furious. Her grandmother talks with her and is able to calm her down. Cayman shares with Mia what his mom is struggling with and why she’s so angry.

“‘She got better for a while, but then she hurt her back…She had a lot of pain, and the medicine didn’t help enough. She says drinking is the only thing that makes her feel better.’ He sighed. ‘But it doesn’t last. It’s worse afterward because then she’s hurt and sad'”.