A Way Home
Age range 13+
Sixteen-year-old Grace lives under a bridge in Melbourne’s CBD. It’s cold and wet, but hidden. Safe, at least, until she can go home.
When winter drives her to the City Library one morning, Grace meets Louie, a weird kid with his own problems, and discovers a community piano. The piano reminds Grace of her mum, a celebrated pianist whose mental illness makes life a rollercoaster — and not always a fun one.
When Grace comes up with a plan to find the help she and Mum need, life begins to look up. But things don’t work out as Grace imagines and suddenly her world’s turned upside down again, and maybe for good this time.
A Way Home is a big-hearted novel that explores the complexities of growing up with a parent who is struggling, and about the places and people we call home.
‘A page-turning, gritty story full of hope and compassion. The writing is assured and gripping, and Grace is a memorable and compelling character, beautifully realised. A Way Home is a riveting story of resilience and hope against the odds, both insightful and heartbreakingly real.’ — Mark Smith, award-winning author of the Winter Trilogy
‘A gritty and moving novel about a vulnerable young woman’s capacity to endure, and to find courage, despite the shocking dysfunction in the lives of those she depends on.’ — Ingrid Laguna, award-winning writer of Kit and Arlo
Emily Brewin is a Melbourne author, copywriter, and learning designer. Her first novel, Hello, Goodbye, was published in 2017 and her second, Small Blessings, in 2019. A Way Home is her first YA novel. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies, Into Your Arms: Nick Cave’s Songs Reimagined by Fremantle Press, We’ll Stand In That Place and Other Stories by Margaret River Press and the Bristol Short Story Anthology — Volume 10. She has written for The Age, ABC Education, news.com.au, Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings, Archer, Feminartsy, The Victorian Writer, Screen Education, and Mamamia. She is currently working on her fourth novel.
