Book Tour: Go Away Home by Carol Bodensteiner

Liddie Treadway grew up on a family farm where options for her future were marriage or teaching. Encouraged by suffragette rhetoric and her maiden aunt, Liddie is determined to avoid both and pursue a career. Her goal is within her grasp when her older sister’s abrupt departure threatens to keep her on the farm forever.

Once she is able to experience the world she’s dreamed of, Liddie is enthralled with her independence, a new-found passion for photography, and the man who teaches her. Yet, the family, friends, and life of her youth tug at her heart, and she must face the reality that life is not as simple, or the choices as clear-cut, as she once imagined.

GO AWAY HOME is a coming-of-age novel that explores the enduring themes of family, friendship, and love, as well as death and grief. This novel will resonate with anyone who’s confronted the conflict between dreams and reality and come to recognize that getting what you want can be a two-edged sword.

READ AN EXCERPT.

Praise for Go Away Home

“Go Away Home is … a tale of choices, dreams realized and rejected, and how values evolve … gently compelling and highly believable.” – D. Donovan, eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Excellent characters and an extremely realistic plot … Go Away Home is the perfect story of coming home.” – Samantha Rivera, Readers’ Favorite reviewer

“… a heart-warming and heart-wrenching tale … a story that promises to fulfill what it is to be alive when one chooses the life one wants to live, despite the consequences” – Paulette Mahurin, author of The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap

“Go Away Home is a coming of age novel that is well-written, compelling, and endearing … a strong sense of place, excellent character development, and an engaging plot line.” – Kara Logsden, Iowa City Public Library

“Every life is a story, no matter how mundane it may appear on the surface, but it takes a writer like Carol Bodensteiner to draw a reader in and keep them turning the pages. Bodensteiner … writes characters with depth … she’s captured the era … with meticulous historical detail.“ – J. P. Lane, author of The Tangled Web

About the Author 

Carol Bodensteiner grew up in the heartland of the United States, and she continues to draw writing inspiration from the people, places, culture, and history of the area. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society. She is the author of Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl, a memoir. Her essays have been published in several anthologies. Go Away Home is her first novel.

For more information please visit Carol Bodensteiner’s Website/Blog. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and LinkedIn. Sign up for Carol’s Newsletter.

Review

Series: N/A

Release Date: 1 July, 2014

Publisher: Rising Sun Press
Genre: Historical Fiction

ISBN: 9780979799754

Edition: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 19 July, 2014

I think everyone wishes at one point or another that they could shed off their old self, start fresh without their past hanging onto them. It's a frustration that doesn't particularly go away with age, nor does it seem to have any rhyme or reason for appearing or disappearing.

Liddie Treadway wishes to escape the dull life of a farmer's wife, not that she's a farmer's wife yet. At age 16, she dreams of touring the world, becoming a seamstress, and leaving small town Iowa behind. However, it looks as if her dreams will fall flat despite the help of her Aunt Kate when a scandal in the family forces her older sister Amelia to leave the farm. Desperate and frustrated, Liddie feels as if all hope is lost for the time until fortune shines through again. Given the opportunity, Liddie seizes her freedom and doesn't look back...until an old friend of the family surfaces and leaves her questioning everything she's ever truly wanted and if familial bonds are stronger than one's own desires.

Bodensteiner draws on familial history within this tale, and her writing leaves the reader with a sense of homesickness for one's family. Her writing style is detailed but not in a manner that overloads the reader with information. She often leaves them guessing as to what will come next. I highly recommend this book.