The Wild Road Home, a review by Di

THE WILD ROAD HOME
Melissa Payne

Lakefield Union Publishing
June 18, 2024
294 pages

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Genres: Family Life, Siblings, Small Town & Rural

Excellent, excellent story. I wasn’t far into this book when I had already made up my mind. And, nothing has changed it.

It is the story of Mack, an older man in his 60s and Brandi, an 18-year-old teen who is the older sister 5 year old Sy. These three forge one of the most unlikely friendships in the world. Each one of them has experienced tremendous upheaval in their life. Their meeting was purely by chance.

The character development is so interesting to observe. Mack and Brandi are true opposites. Mack only speaks when necessary, Brandi can’t stop talking. They are both flawed and hurting souls. They form a very special bond as their personal stories evolve and they get to know each other.

The storyline evokes a lot of pathos. The reader sees the extreme sacrifices someone can go through for the sake of love. We also see deep respect and trust in Brandi and Mack’s relationship, qualities that both people seem to crave and need. There are a few very dramatic moments, a some of them are heartstopping.

The story does not disappoint. I couldn’t the pages quickly enough, waiting to see how everything would play out. But, I didn’t want to leave Mack and Brandi.

I might have shed a few tears at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

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