“A masterfully written exploration of loss, friendship, and complicated family dynamics.”
Book Club Babble
A mother and daughter find that a goodbye may be what reunites them in a poignant story of family ties, shared grief, and the love between mother and child.
Sheryl already lost one daughter by being the fun parent. She’s determined to do it right with her other daughter, no matter how much Mariana whines about one chance for a normal night. No misbehavior, no stoner friends, and absolutely no parties. As if missing homecoming amounts to tragedy. Sheryl knows real tragedy—and she’s not about to make the same mistake twice.
But all Mariana wants is to escape the shadow of her sister Sheena. She’s tired of being seen as the daughter that survived and missing out on experiences she shouldn’t have to fight for—like senior homecoming.
So when Mariana discovers the truth about how Sheena died, she runs away. For the first time, Mariana is faced with the reality of making her own choices, while Sheryl is left to contend with losing another daughter.
Author Lena George discusses She’s Not Home 88.1 FM WYPR’s on On the Record with Sheilah Kast
Praise for She’s Not Home:
Ambitious and lyrical. — Kirkus Reviews
A masterfully written exploration of loss, friendship, and complicated family dynamics — Book Club Babble
A tragic accident and its attending grief cast a long shadow over Mariana as she tries to enjoy her senior year of high school. She’s Not Home is a tender coming-of-age story that deftly explores the intricate teenage dance of playing it safe to please your parents and finding the courage to follow your own dreams.
— Lisa Morgan, host of The Weekly Reader on WYPR
A grieving mother in search of a do-over, a confused daughter on the brink of adulthood, a detaching father…all pushed to the brink in this emotive novel about love, remorse, anguish, and—finally—forgiveness.
Lena George’s She’s Not Home examines the toxicity of grief and the struggle to break free of the ties that bind us to the pain.
— Shawn Nocher, author of A Hand to Hold in Deep Water and The Precious Jules
About the author
Lena George also goes by Jaclyn Paul, bestselling author of Order from Chaos: The Everyday Grind of Staying Organized with Adult ADHD. A native of rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Lena lives in her adopted hometown of Baltimore, Maryland and escapes to the Jersey Shore to write and surf as often as possible. She’s Not Home is her first novel.
