BOOK REVIEW

The Home Place

A Novel By Carrie La Seur

“There are places in Montana where you have to travel hundreds of miles for medical care, for the most basic services. And what happens out on those homesteads, on those “home places” can make for some very good stories.” Readers will connect with those open places as described by Carrie La Seur in her debut novel, The Home Place. Most of her story revolves around the visceral connection between the Terrabonne family and their land. After leaving her family and a messy history behind in Billings Montana, Alma Terrabonne feels obligated to return home after a tragic event. Her reunion brings her face to face with the people and the life she left behind and forces her to look hard at the past choices that have shaped her present life. Family ties are shriveled and no one is ready for a Seattle transplant to fly in and fix everything, but Alma may be her 10-year-old niece’s only hope for a stable loving guardian.

Carrie La Seur

Of her book, La Seur explains, “In The Home Place we meet people who have hung on really by their fingertips for generations. This isn’t the Montana of gorgeous hunting lodges and guided fly fishing trips; it’s about the people who have stayed here through every kind of hardship because it’s home.”

Accepting the truth about her baby sister’s last acts and the violence surrounding the family “home place”, Alma must ultimately choose where to live her life and who she wants to be. Thrilling plot and flawed characters make this Montana novel linger long after the last page. “The cold on a January night in Billings, Montana, is personal and spiritual. It knows your weaknesses. It communicates with your fears.” Carrie La Seur will be reading at Chapter One Book Store on Monday, August 11th at 6:00 p.m. Watch our Events Calendar on chapter1bookstore.com for additional author bookings. Review by Mara Lynn Luther

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