Homewrecker
written by Deanna Cameron
Wattpad Books, 2021
978-1-98936-547-2 (hc) $22.18
978-1-98936-548-9 (eBook) $10.99
for Grades 9 and up
Fiction | Mystery | Murder | Family
Bronwyn’s mother has broken yet another promise. But this time is different. On her way home from school, ready for a fight, Bronwyn is sidetracked by a cataclysmic tornado heading directly to her run-down trailer. Bronwyn narrowly escapes, but her mother isn’t as lucky. Enter Senator David Soliday, Bronwyn’s estranged father, who she believed wanted nothing to do with her. Confused and raging, Bronwyn is brought into a family she’s convinced doesn’t want her, and a world full of money and preserving self-image. As she’s torn between being the daughter of a single drug addict, and the middle child of a respected senator, Bronwyn is thrown yet another curveball: her mother wasn’t killed by the tornado. She was murdered.
Deanna Cameron’s work is immersive and touches on many subjects. More than a mystery, this first-person read follows the perspective of a character used to having to control and take care of everything, steadily learning how to let others care for her.
This story, although a mystery, focuses strongly on family life and learning to accept love. It shows the stark differences between the wealthy and the struggling, the effects addiction has on family, and the friction that comes from losing one’s home and being taken from everything you know. Anyone who’s lost a loved one, reconnected with an estranged relative, or found care and affection from someplace least expected will feel a connection with this story. Written for high school students, this book is excellent for learning that you are enough just the way you are.
—Sara Rigotti
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