The Road Home by Kathleen Shoop

Book Description:
THE ROAD HOME...
The Long-Awaited Sequel to Award-Winning, Bestselling Author Kathleen Shoop’s The Last Letter…
1891—Living separately for three years, fourteen-year-old twins, Katherine and Tommy Arthur, have done their best to make each boarding house feel like home. But unrest grows as they are driven to questionable actions just to survive. Meanwhile their desperate mother is confronted with breaking yet another promise to her children. Then a miracle descends. Hope rises on a cold, rainy night and changes everything. If Jeanie could just get word to Katherine and Tommy, she knows she can set their lives right again. Agitators, angels, and dangerous “saviors” illuminate the Arthurs’ unmatched determination and smarts.
1905—Though she tries to forget the awful years that hurt so much, the memories still haunt Katherine. Now, tearful mourners at her mother’s funeral force her to revisit a time in her life that both harmed and saved her in the most unexpected ways. Tommy grieves his mother’s passing as well. He too is thrust backward, compelled to rediscover the events in his life that shaped the man he has become. Will he commit to reconstructing his broken life? The Arthurs come to understand that forgiveness is the only way back to hope, the only way to find all that was good in the misfortune that transformed their lives forever.


My Thoughts:
Good historical fiction!  The family is torn apart.  Their mother must live without them and Tommy and Katherine must learn to survive alone.  Alternating between past and present, the story unfolds of family and their constant struggle to reunite.  
I wasn't certain about how long it would take me to read this book as it looks a bit lengthy when you pick it up.  Once you start reading though, the pages fly by and soon you are at the end and wishing for more.  I felt the heartache as mother had to be separated from her children because as a mother, that is a terrible thing to endure.  Then seeing from alternating times and views how events unfolded was awesome.  I must say that I loved the history throughout and that it felt like I could see the scenes as they were described. 
5/5 for me.  This is the second in a series and can be read alone, but I would still suggest reading them in order. 

Thank you to the author/publisher for the review copy of this book.  I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.