Calling Me Home

Gr 10 Up–This novel in verse is a beautiful exploration of a young woman at a crossroads in her life. It starts in August after senior year, when Jenny discovers that she is pregnant. The narrative then rewinds a few months to show how Jenny came to that positive test. Jenny, set to study marketing at NYU, feels the urge to get away before ­college after a traumatic senior welcome party and her ­parents’ hostility to her bisexuality. ­During her travels, Jenny strikes up an online relationship with Colin, an Irish ­hostel worker in Rome, and follows her instinct to see if reality is as good as their online connection, while also finding out more about who she and what she really wants. Macios has written a lyrical depiction of a teenager discovering that there is more to her than previously established ambitions. The author’s poetic background comes through when describing everything from Jenny’s reaction to historical statues to whether she wants children—“I wasn’t sure I wanted/ to skip kids like stones/ into the world’s polluted waves/ only to hope they’d make it/ to some smooth shore.” There are some plot points of real menace and personal trauma that receive sensitive, authentic treatment, and readers will feel the intensity of Jenny’s emotions. Colin is described as “unmistakably Irish,” and Jenny has brown hair and pale skin.