Homesick

by Kate Klise

Benny's parents are splitting up. His mom leaves home after a fight about a mysterious splinter that is rumored to be part of an important relic. Benny's dad has always liked clutter, but now, he begins hoarding everything from pizza boxes to old motorcycle parts. As his house grows more cluttered and his father grows more distant, Benny tries to sort out whether he can change anything at all. Meanwhile, a local teacher enters their quiet Missouri town in America's Most Charming Small Town contest, and the pressure is on to clean up the area, especially Benny's ramshackle of a house, before the out-of-town guests arrive.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Family, Divorce, Young Adult, Juvenile, Historical Fiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published September 18, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Catherine "Kate" Klise is an American author of children's literature. Many of her books are illustrated by her sister, M. Sarah Klise. Their popular Regarding series is presented in a scrapbook style format, with letters, journal entries, and related ephemera telling the story. She is also known for her picture books as well as the bestselling 43 Old Cemetery Road series. Kate Klise's first adult novel, In the Bag, was released in 2012.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but the hero of this book and I are just about the same age so I had a nice review of my pre-adolescent year, in the early 1970s. It is a book that is needed, in that it shows a child dealing with a hoarder, decades before the term hoarder was invented. In some ways it is nice that the word hoarder isn't used, in case the reader doesn't know what it means. It is nice the way the whole town was trying to help Benny deal with his father and the situation of the chaotic house filled to the brim with pizza boxes (because someday when computers were everywhere we could just order on the computer and not need a box, so these boxes would be collector items) and other junk. His Dad was right about computers and about smart phones, but wrong about most other things. However, his Mom was wrong to just walk out on her son, as the judge pointed out. I wasn't thrilled with the catch up ending where we suddenly shoot 10 years into the future and discover some future events about various people, including Beny. BTW Benny is not short for Benjamin, as the reader will discover!
Recommended for bibliotherapy and feel good people where no one is really a villain. PS I can't resist adding, since this is a book on hoarding, that I am now throwing out this ARC and my house has one book less in it!

[Serina · Rating 2 out of 5]

awgh! this book held so much promise...about a boy coping with his dad being a hoarder. but it just fell apart for me at the end. felt like too simple of a solution. ***spoiler alert*** just take dad to hospital, all is forgiven and everything is ok just give him some meds and he's instantly cured.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Homesick” is the interesting tale of good boy stuck in a bad situation. Benny’s parents have split because his dad is a hoarder, and his dad’s condition is getting progressively worse. No one really understand how bad the problem has gotten until a disaster strikes and Calvin remains more concerned about his junk than his and his sons life.

“Homesick” is filled with quirky characters in a quirky little town. Not every piece of the story seems to fit well together, but Benny is a kid that you can root for which saves the book. Many students will be able to connect with this book on some level, especially if they have ever been a casualty of a divorce or separation, mental health issues, or natural disasters. While people in Benny’s situation don’t often have the type of happy ending he ended with, I can understand the author wanting to give young readers hope.

[Dagmar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Benny's mom leaves, because his dad's hoarding is out of hand. Benny's life becomes difficult as his father's mental illness progresses. Benny lives in a small town full of interesting characters who each support Benny in their own way. Then, a big tornado comes and changes everything. This book can be hard to read when you see Benny struggling. It seems a too dark when compared to the cutesy, pat ending. Not a bad book, just a little confused.

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ya gotta love a middle grade novel that quotes Pete Townshend a lot.

[hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a (very) short and sweet book about a 12 year old boy living with his hoarder father. some thoughts:
- beignet is such a fun name. so is nola. i love it
- this book took such a turn?? on one page benny was helping his sweet old neighbor host a local radio show and then all of a sudden he was riding his dad's makeshift motorcycle on the highway to the ER, carrying a bleeding, unconscious woman on his back and witnessing several mutilated people/CHILDREN rush into the hospital. WHAT is going on.
- i am very pleased that the dog and cats survived. i am NOT pleased with the stories of the farm animals flying in the tornado, although it did make for a cute wrap-up to the "when pigs fly" storyline.
- i feel like this was way too simple of a solution. it is a book for children, though, so i can't be too mad at the absurdity of it all. denny's dad gets arrested and is that responsive to treatment immediately? the government builds everyone a new house, even Miss Verna's cats??? LMAO

[Chance Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cleverly written story about a boy and his hoarder dad, but the plot's lack of momentum didn't hold my interest.

[Brian Durgin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot is a little different. So many areas for kids to connect to different themes though.

[Reading is my Escape · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benny's parents are splitting up. His mom leaves home after a fight about a mysterious splinter that is supposedly part of an important relic. Benny's dad has always liked clutter, but now, he begins hoarding everything from pizza boxes to old motorcycle parts.
As his house grows more cluttered and his father grows more distant, Benny tries to sort out whether he can change anything at all. Meanwhile, a local teacher enters their quiet Missouri town in America's Most Charming Small Town contest, and the pressure is on to clean up, especially Benny's ramshackle of a house, before the out-of-town guests arrive.
(from the book jacket)
My Opinion
Another Sunshine State Young Reader's Award nominee. I read this book in one day. It was interesting and easy to read. I will admit to watching the tv shows about hoarding from time to time. So, I do have an interest in this kind of situation. Mostly, I'm trying to figure out how to keep my house from becoming over-cluttered. I figured, the more I see how bad it can get, the more inspired I will be to clean up.
Anyway, about the book, Benny is a strong boy and he tries hard to help his father. But his father thinks everyone is trying to steal his "treasures". Benny feels helpless and lost.
The book is set in 1983, and Benny's father has some ideas about the future that are a little ahead of his time.
"I've told you, Nola. It's coming. A giant computer network that'll link everyone in the whole wide world. Once we're all connected by computers, I'll be able to sell my collection, piece by piece, right here from the living room. I'll make money twenty-four hours a day."
Benny has people in the small town that support him and that keeps this from being too sad. Because in reality he is on his own.

Recommended to
Another good book for 4th thru 8th graders (and adults too). This one is for kids who prefer their fiction a little more realistic but still charming.

[Kalyn]

Homesick is a family adventure with more wacky and relatable characters popping up here and there. The book starts off in a very small town called Dennis Acres, Missouri with a population of about 52 where everyone knows everyone. Benny, the main character, gets caught in the fight between his parents about his dad, Calvin, being too much of a hoarder. His dad refuses to get rid of a splinter that his grandmother gave him. She told him that it was a splinter from the holy cross. Nala leaves Calvin and Benny behind to go back to New Orleans where she was happy. She promised to come back and get Benny but only after school got out.

Benny finds himself working at his friend’s, Myron, radio station as a transcript writer. He only took the job to get out of piano lessons that Nala had set him up for before she left. Since the town is so small, Benny and a couple of other kids have to take a bus to get to a school in Diamond. Miss Turnipson, a kindergarten teacher, lives in Dennis Acres too so she takes the bus with them. Stormy, the girl that Benny likes, also takes the bus and she sits behind him in class.
Miss Turnipson enters a contest about America’s most charming small town and wins by lying or creative writing and drawing as she called it. Everything is still a disaster at home but not as much of a disaster while Benny and everyone, including people out of town, are hit by a tornado. Losing everything anyone has ever owned including Calvin’s hoarded stuff. While in the hospital, Calvin realizes that all of his hoarding is a mess.

In conclusion, a divorce document is made between Calvin and Nala. Nala is forced to stay in Missouri until Benny is 18 if she wants to have half of the time spent with him. As for Stormy, Benny and her never get together but he meets someone just like her. I would recommend this book because there is a lot of action and surprising moments.

[Paul Hankins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting character/community study in Klise's latest offering.

Ben's family is in crisis. His mother has left for New Orleans and his father's "collection" of redeemables and unredeemables is growing out of control.

But, in this tightly-tied little town, it's more than hoarding that might put this community on the map. It may just be:

a hippie with new-found radio equipment and a frequency that seems to be reading each and every community member.

the teacher who is encouraging her students to find one community-based project that would make another person's life a little better.

or the man who clings to a promise of a computer network that will bring everyone together which will help him to see a resurgence in his collectible business once again.

the citizen who has applied to a nationally-recognized entity to deem the town the "most charming community in America.

When everything is spinning out of control, there is only one thing that can bring it all back together again.



An interesting MG book wherein things happen pretty quickly and resolutions come pretty quickly. I like HOMESICK for the same reasons that I like SPARROW ROAD or PENNY DREADFUL. It's MG. There's a character with a problem and friends rally around to remedy that problem. I think HOMESICK will resonate with those readers who are fans of--or are aware of--HOARDERS on cable television.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This realistic fiction set in the early eighties deals with a parent who is suffering from hoarding and the child who lives with him. Dennis Acres, Missouri could hardly be called "America's Most Charming Small Town," but the local kindergarten teacher doesn't mind taking some liberties when she enters their town in the US Chamber of Commerce contest. Benny's mother has recently left Benny's dad so she can go back home to New Orleans. She left because his dad refused to throw something away. Now that she's gone, he won't throw away anything. Benny tries to keep his own room and clothes clean while used pizza boxes, motorcycle parts, computer parts, vintage board games, a popcorn maker, dirty clothes and a variety of things hauled in from the dump now fill their home. Vermin have begun to creep in as well. But Benny tries to do school work and get the attention of the girl he likes in school, all while feeling homesick in his own home. But things come to a head when the town unexpectedly wins the contest based on the false drawings of the teacher, and the pressure begins to fall on Benny's dad to clean up his property. Will things get cleaned up? If they do, will Benny's dad lose more than his "collection?"

[Tamera Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) Book summary: Benny family is having problems and his family decided to get an divorce. Benny mother decides to move away, and left him to live with his dad who like to collect everything. He begins to learn how to love his dad for his treasures and his city.

2) Grade level, interest level, lexile: 4-7th grade, 10 and up, 610L

3) Appropriate classroom use (subject area): Reading block

4) Individual students who might benefit from reading: Every child could benefit from this story. I think children with divorce parents who probably connect more to the story

5) Small group use (literary circles): I could give the students a detail list and they will have to keep up with the items his dad collected

6) Whole class use (read aloud): I would make this a mandatory reading and then have the students take a short formative quiz

7) Related books in genre/subject or content area: Half a World Away
8) Multimedia connections (audio book, movie) available: Kindle, Paperback

[Josh Newhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weirdly nostalgic, win kingly quirky, gross and memorable... over the top and readable... child endangerment never was described so vividly... hoarding so grotesquely! too pat perhaps feel good ending!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool premise and the historical (I mean not that the early 80s is ancient... Ahem) setting is very well-done. But the stakes could have been higher, the premise escalated more; the ending was too tidy to be believable.

[Lorena]

The mom left her son with his dad in a nasty, hoarder house. I had a hard time overlooking that part.

[Karol Davila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Homesick by Kate Klise is a very cool book about a kid named

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was great, but it felt like the story was too huge to fit into the constraints of the book. It needed more space, more elucidation, and more complexity in its ending.

[Chase Webster · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book but the story went on too long with just one topic and problem that benny occurred.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style is smooth and it flows really well. I found myself picking this up to read during times I would not normally read, drawn to finding out what will happen in the story.

The subject matter is a bit grown up, but what might confuse kids more is the setting of the 1980s. A time of Cassette tapes, VHS, and Tandy computers or none at all. For me, who remembers those things, it was a bit nostalgic and things that could have easily been taken care of in today's setting was a struggle back then, especially the radio station set up.

I haven't read too many books on hoarding, and I was looking forward to seeing what was going to happen with Benny and his Dad...

*Spoilers after this*

.

.

...but I think the author took the easy way out. And I think it might have only happen to make the catchphrase "When Pigs Fly" happen. Everything from that point on stopped feeling realistic. It's like the author thought she was going too deep and needed to lighten things up.

Lighten things up with a tornado. It flattened the town, but everyone lived! The dog was saved, the house of cats was rescued by the dog! Benny drove a motorcycle to rescue his maybe-gf and he had never driven one before. It was large enough to fit 2 kids and an adult on! And Benny was only 12! (I kept forgetting how young he was. He acts a bit older).

The town had won a contest to put a home computer in every house, but the contest people ending up rebuilding the whole town. Hello, expensive!

What I was really hoping to see was Benny's dad realizing how bad he was being when something nearly happens to his son. I really wanted to see the fall out from the town cleaning up his house without his permission. Maybe unearthing a snow globe that has a flying pig in it, or something.

Or a fire. Have the whole place accidentally burn to the ground.

[Peter Lafon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Homesick by Kate Klise is a great book and is better than others. It is about a boy named Benny growing up a quirky life. Mom leaves and now Benny lives a very small town with his dad that is a Hoarder. That never pays the bills. So all around Benny is not growing up like a regular kid at the start of the book. But throughout the book Benny's dad’s friend Myron started a radio show for the town. Myron would always have guests on and Benny was the person who would write down whatever they said, that kept Benny happy. Ohh wait did I state that not one person in the town they lived in like Benny's dad junk that lied around the house and the front yard. So what they did was make a master plan to get Benny's dad out the house. So what they did was say Benny has a “piano recital.” To get him out the house and watch him. But Benny didn't know how to play so they had a radio under his seat to play the music for him. Then all of a sudden the radio stops and… I'm not spoiling it but the ending I liked and it was happy.
I would rate this book a 4 and a half stars. I wouldn't give it five because the beginning had a lot of drama then it stopped and was slow, but other than that the book was fantastic. I also very liked the characters personalities and how they always acted throughout the book.
I hope this will be on shelves a lot of places. I think that this is a fourth grade and up book. What I mean when I say up is this is a fun wacky book, let high schoolers read it. And I hope all who are reading this will read this book.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benny is in a tough situation at a young age. His parents have split up and his mom has left him with his dad who has a serious hoarding disorder. Benny is forced to live in an awkward and unhealthy environment and while people in the town, and of course his mom, know about it but they all just complain or say derogatory things about the family and no one seeks to help Benny. Benny does all he can to hide the situation and to try to make it better. This book really hit home with me - not this disorder in particular - but a child being forced to be the parent and no one doing anything to change it. Eventually, a town situation occurs which brings the situation to a head and Benny is provided some relief and some help for his dad. I know these are tough issues to handle but more and more kids are in situations like this for a variety of reasons and knowing a character like themselves might make it a little less lonely.

[Melissa Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this were difficult to read. I had so many questions about why no one stepped in to get Benny's father help-and I had to keep reminding myself that the setting was in the 70s and a rural town. I would love to read a sequel to see how the town adjusted.

"Benny's parents are splitting up. His mom leaves home after a fight about a mysterious splinter that is rumored to be part of an important relic. Benny's dad has always liked clutter, but now, he begins hoarding everything from pizza boxes to old motorcycle parts. As his house grows more cluttered and his father grows more distant, Benny tries to sort out whether he can change anything at all. Meanwhile, a local teacher enters their quiet Missouri town in America's Most Charming Small Town contest, and the pressure is on to clean up the area, especially Benny's ramshackle of a house, before the out-of-town guests arrive."

[Libby Dogherty · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a horrible representation of mental illness. Full of tropes and dehumanizing. The story is unbelievable, the characters lazy.
The kicker for me was this at the end:
"I don't suppose you could give me guitar lessons, could you, Mrs. Crumple?" (Mrs. Crumple is a piano teacher) "Of course. Music is music."
Seriously? A piano teacher cannot teach guitar lessons. Ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as an 11 year old being able to figure out how to ride a homemade motorcycle on debris-covered streets without crashing, then riding that same motorcycle with a passed out adult woman and her daughter on the back all the way to the hospital.
This is a story that wasn't sure if it was a serious issues book or a light-hearted fantasy disguised as reality. Either way, it failed.

[B.A. Malisch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope. Could have been a great story, but it just isn't. Last 1/4 of the book is ridiculous.

I do love the MC, Benny, and some of the side characters are equally charming. Most of my frustrations lie with how mental health issues were handled throughout, and I extremely dislike the selfish, delusional, and neglectful mother who behaves like a small child having a tantrum right up until the end of the story and nobody ever does anything to call her out on it.

What I really wanted was for social services to remove Benny from the reach of his incapable and neglectful parents.

I don't have the energy to rehash everything else that frustrated me about this story, so it's just a no on this.

Pages: 192

[Nico Pelle]

Homesick, by little known author Kate Klise, is a realistic fiction book about a boy named Benny who tries to clean up his messy and junk-filled house, but the dad (who is a hoarder) won’t let him. Kate was somewhat lacking at adding scenes to keep readers engaged and interested. I wish that there were more action packed scenes spread out throughout the book. With a small town and not many things to do in it, I feel like she repeated a lot of scenes where she could have put something else in. The plot was focused at the middle to the end of the book, but the ending was somewhat enjoyable. I would recommend this book to people who have all the time in the world. If you are reading this book you better not have the attention span of a goldfish.

[Sam Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a daughter about to embark on the journey of helping her father clean out his hundred-year-old farmhouse that’s been filled for 40+ years with very similar piles to those described by Benny in this novel, I feel so very seen after reading this book. Having divorced parents, been divorced myself, and continuing to navigate a strained relationship with my hoarding and paranoid father, no metaphor apart from a tornado really does these themes justice. I highly recommend this book. Brought tears to my eyes with the kindness shown to the characters by the author. This story reiterates the saying “honesty with out kindness is brutality.”

[Quin Klenow]

My favorite character in this novel is Benny since he is the main character. My least favorite character is the mom since she ruined Bennys childhood by getting a divorce with his father. My favorite event was when Myron came onto the radio and announced that he bought a channel. The writing style of this book is like every other book I have read, normal, bland a little. The pace was ok but kind of smushed together since it is only 180 pages. The connections I can make with this novel is that it relates to many people that have parents who have gotten divorced early in their childhood.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book deals with a range of social issues, including divorce and hoarding. The novel is at its best when portraying the relationships between the contentious parents and their son. Middle-school students likely will find the subject of hoarding -- not commonly addressed in kids' books -- to be fascinating. Some of the secondary characters who are all other residents of the small town are less well-developed.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story about family, friendship, and hoarding.
Benny's parents do not get along - mostly because his father is a hoarder. He refuses to throw away - or sell - anything. When his mom leaves, she promises to come back for Benny. As his father gets worse, Benny wonders if there is any way he can help his father and possibly get his mom to return.
When a disaster strikes, things do change, and maybe for the better - although not in quite the way Benny had envisioned.