What is #HomeToMe — a Giveaway

 

#HomeToMe Mega Middle-Grade Classroom GiveawayThis month, I’m participating in a wonderful giveaway geared around the idea of home.

The #HomeToMe Middle Grade Mega Classroom Giveaway features 16 books that all explore home in different ways, including my book, THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST.

Home is one of the central themes of my book. In fact, getting home is the goal of the main character.

The book tells the story of a boy who wakes on a beach and doesn’t know who he is, where he is, or how he got there. All he knows is that he doesn’t belong on that beach so, he figures, he must have another home — somewhere — he just has to find it. During his journey, parts of his life, his home, come back to him, helping him remember how he got lost in the first place. But for this boy, the journey home isn’t always comforting, and to get there, he has to face his greatest fears.

Home can mean so many different things:

Mansion, house, apartment, trailer, boat, car, cardboard box, cemetery…

Country, state, town, street…

Or even big family, small family, single parents, no parents, siblings, fosters…

And then there are the feelings Home can bring about:

Safety, love, security, acceptance…

But sadly for some, home means fear, insecurity, anger, bitterness, harsh words…

For the boy in THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, home is a longing for comfort and protection and fear of not being enough. Home is finding acceptance not from others, but within himself.

Me in one of my favorite homes as a kid, my playhouse where I could be wherever and whoever I wanted to be.

And for me, home is very similar.

If you’ve read my bio, you know I lived in a lot of different countries when I was a kid, so home was never as much a place as a feeling. I was also an only child and constantly the new kid in school. So I was always seeking approval.

My parents are wonderful and gave me a solid foundation, but for me to stand tall, I needed to feel brave. I needed to feel at home within me.

So #HomeToMe is feeling confident within, feeling secure and hopeful, feeling love and loved, feeling warm and true.

And just as my parents will always be a source of home for me, as I’ve grown older, I’ve also found my home in others too, in my husband, in my dogs, in my friends, and especially in the characters in my stories.

What’s #HomeToYou? Don’t forget to share your own #HomeToMe thoughts on Instagram or Twitter. Use the hashtag and post by Sept. 28. You could win one of these middle-grade books PLUS a Skype visit with the author for your school, including THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST!

 

What do you think?