Review of the Day: Sense of Home by N. Z. Kaminsky

This is a book about a teenage girl named Tyra and her experiences as she moves between the world we know and another world called Azure with the help of a talking squirrel named Koda. Somewhere along the way, Tyra has experienced considerable trauma, but as a result of her adventures, Tyra experiences a profound sense of healing and wholeness. The theme of healing through adventure and storytelling was something I enjoyed.

However, I found the book to be somewhat confusing. Perhaps the main problem I had with the book was the rather long and clunky physical descriptions. For example:

It was a studio with a kitchen, a sleeping area, and a living room. The kitchen had an octagonal window overlooking the garden, a stone oven, wooden cabinets, and a round yellow table with four upholstered chairs. The sleeping area contained a loft bed, and beneath it a bean bag chair, a shaggy off-white carpet, warm lighting, and a desk with bookshelves. The living room was even more inviting. Beside the wall-size cathedral window, a soft off-white couch was covered with cushions and a green fleece blanket. On the left wall next to the window was a fireplace, surrounded by bookshelves on both sides and above. Wicker trays filled with candles and gemstones rested on a rectangular wooden coffee table. There was a column floor lamp, a few canvases, and beige side curtains.

At least in my opinion, Kaminsky’s book feels too much like a first book. If I were to give her advice I would say keep writing but think about what the target audience is and try to write a story for that market. In my opinion, Sense of Home would work better as a middle grade novel. One example of a well done middle grade fantasy adventure novel to study would be Zack Loran Clark’s The Lock Eater.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of this book via Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

Kindle. 226 pgs. August 2025.