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Finding Home (2018) - Simon - 12-17-2025
With their mum dead and their father on remand for her murder, Leo Hendry and his little sister, Lila, have nothing in the world but each other. Broken and burned, they’re thrust into the foster care system. Leo shields Lila from the fake families and forced affection, until the Poulton household is the only place left to go.
Charlie de Sousa is used to other kids passing through the Poulton home, but there’s never been anyone like his new foster brother. Leo’s physical injuries are plain to see, but it’s the pain in his eyes that draws Charlie in the most.
Day by day, they grow closer, but the darkness inside Leo consumes him. He rejects his foster parents, and when Charlie gets into trouble, Leo’s attempt to protect him turns violent. When Leo loses control, no one can reach him—except Charlie. He desperately needs a family—a home—and only Charlie can show him the way.
From School Library Journal
Gr 10 Up—A teen romance featuring a troubled foster child and the family that takes him in. Leo and Lila have been in half a dozen foster homes already, so their expectations are pretty low when they arrive at the Poulton household. The Poultons take in the duo, who are still recovering from the physical and emotional damage they suffered when their father murdered their mother. Leo is the protector; he lashes out at anyone who comes near Lila, even if they are trying to help. The only person who can get through to Leo is his new foster brother Charlie, who sees Leo's beauty masked in his pain. The limited third person narration makes it difficult for readers to connect with any of the characters, and the length of the story precludes the necessary background information that would help teens sympathize with Leo and Lila. Leo and Charlie's relationship can best be described as "insta-love;" their attraction is immediate and, due to the nature of their relationship in their foster family, not sustainable or advisable. Without enough plot to be action driven nor enough exposition to be character driven, the book will disappoint readers who are looking for a good story. VERDICT An additional purchase for larger collections.
—Jenni Frencham, Columbus Public Library, WI --This text refers to the paperback edition.
Quote: Fifteen-year-old footballer and bad-boy Leo and his younger, hearing-impaired sister, Lila, both white, witnessed and barely survived the murder of their mother and burning of their home by their stepfather. As their new foster family in a town nearby, all of the Poultons, including their two adopted children, try their best to make the transition as easy as possible for Leo and Lila. Lila immediately gloms onto her new family. Leo, however, is expectedly rebellious, snide and flirting with danger. The giant burn scar on his arm constantly makes him ill, and it’s clear to readers that he most likely is experiencing PTSD. Meanwhile, Charlie, also 15 and adopted from an orphanage in Brazil when he was 2, immediately takes a liking to Leo. Soon the two crush on each other and illicitly make out in Charlie’s bedroom. A predictable act of violence ensues, which threatens Leo and Lila’s ability to stay together. Leigh’s prose is fairly straightforward, wrought with psychological and emotional drama that teeters on the brink of becoming too much. The lovable secondary characters, including Charlie’s older brother Andy and sassy, goth-chic sister Fliss, bring humanity and hilarity to the narrative. Though readers of edgier teen fiction may find the novel fairly tame, others will be charmed by the warmth of the Poulton family and the bad-boy sensibility of Leo.