Home Again by Kristin Hannah (Website, Insta)

Genre: drama/romance

Setting: Seattle 

I read it as a(n): paperback

Source: a gift from a coworker

Length: 448 pp

Published by: Ballantine (30 Oct 1996)

Her Grace’s rating: 2 out of 5 stars

***Supreme spoilers below***

When she was 17, Madelaine Hillyard got pregnant. Her filthy rich father kicked her out because she besmirched his good name, whatever the fuck that means, and she had to rely on help from her best friend, Francis, the brother of her baby’s father, Angel. Angel took off when he learned Madelaine was pregnant, aided by the gift of $10,000 and a new Harley from her dad. Skip ahead about 17 years and we learn that Madelaine kept her baby, used the trust fund her mother left to her to put herself through med school and is now a highly respected cardiothoracic surgeon in Seattle. Because who doesn’t have a trust fund to help make life as a single teenage mother bearable? And of course she never got over Angel and she is a weak parent whose 16 year old daughter, Lina, hates.  

In the intervening years, Francis became a priest but of course he is also in love with Madelaine. But he helps take care of her and Lina and Lina never knows he is her uncle because Francis had asked Madelaine not to tell her who her father really is. Who the fuck knows why; that makes no sense to me. If a kid wants to know who their parents are, they ought to know. 

Meanwhile, Angel has managed to become a big movie star, but when he was young, he had an infection in his heart. Years of partying have damaged it to the point that he needs a transplant to survive. When his situation becomes critical, he is transferred to a better cardiac clinic. Of course, Madelaine is assigned as his surgeon. Cue adult angst. Eventually, Angel gets a new heart but not in any way anyone expected. He ends up with Francis’s heart when he is suddenly killed in a car accident. Cue more adult angst when Angel finds out.

If this book were on film, it would be one of those squishy, cheesy Hallmark movies. As soon as you meet all the characters, you know who will end up with whom and what will happen. Angel does away with his wicked and immature ways. Lina finds out who her dad is. Madelaine learns, finally, how to be an effective parent and it makes Lina decide she loves her mom and so she won’t be a teenage asshole anymore. And Francis gets closure because he’s a ghost and can see what happens until everything resolves nicely. 

I just can’t even. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and if this is typical of her style, it will be the only one. I just don’t get why this genre is appealing to so many. You don’t even have to read it; you already know what will happen in, like, chapter three. But whatever, to each her own. The author is, apparently, quite popular and has made a good life for herself with her craft, so good on her. It isn’t my cup of tea at all, I just read it to check off a task for the Read Harder challenge.