Review: The Road to Home by R.A. Douthitt

Today's read comes from one of my more-read authors. I enjoy her style, and luckily, she writes a fairly broad spectrum of genres. This one is packed with heart, and I do love the cover with the girl and dog. It fits so well to the atmosphere of the read. But why don't we just continue on and take a peek?

THE ROAD TO HOME

by R.A. Douthitt

Upper Middle Grade / Tween Contemporary

262 pages

ages 10 - 14

Thirteen year old Molly moves with her family to a small town after the death of her mother. There she meets an abandoned dog who grieves the loss of his family, too. Together, they help each other cope. But Molly resents her father's decision to remarry. Being forced to leave behind the life she once knew and accept a new family proves to be too much change for her broken heart to handle. Can she learn to trust again? Or will she always yearn for the road to home?

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MY TIDBITS

This is a read to snuggle up with and let emotions flow.

The passing of Molly's mother has left, understandably, a large hold in her heart. The therapist claims that within the first year, she shouldn't make any major decisions. Yet, Molly's father marries, and then, moves them to a small town. To say that Molly is a little resentful is an understatement. She does like the new home, and she soon finds a new friend or two, but she's still not finding comfort. When a stray dog shows up on their property...the town's dog as she soon learns...her heart goes out to him, especially when she discovers that he stands in the middle of the road every day, waiting for his owners from two years before to return for him. Maybe between the dog and her new friends, she might learn to deal with her broken heart.

Readers, who seek tons of heart, will enjoy this read. Molly is a girl, who is truly full of life, but suffers understandably after her mother's death and her father's life changes. She has extremely sharp edges in regards to the relationship with them, and that's not surprising. If fits the situation as well as her age group and comes across naturally. Even when she does 'bite', the love she actually has for her father is obvious even though it's hidden. And she's trying, but sometimes, things are rough.

There is a lot of symbolism in these pages, which weaves wonderfully into the tale. There are not many scene descriptions, which did make this come across as a tale for younger readers at times, but the story is driven forward by dialogue and character actions. The dog as well as the other characters provide sub-plots which harmonize with the main story and allow everything to thread together nicely at the end. The life messages are clear and never preachy. The relationship with the dog is inspiring and warms the heart.

The pacing is steady and allows the reader to really get to know Molly well. She's the kind of girl, who would easily become a friend and is simple to relate to. It was a bit slow for me, at times, but then, I'm not a heavy reader of contemporary fiction, and I do see many readers of the intended age group enjoying this one quite a bit.