Come Home to My Heart
CCBC Review:
In small, conservative Fisherton, South Carolina, high school seniors Xia (Chinese American/white) and Gloria (white) have little in common. A social outcast and closeted lesbian, Xia is simply hanging on until she can escape her parents and small-town life for the more diverse, queer, and intellectual crowds in college. Gloria is a devout Baptist who tries to control her same-sex attraction by limiting herself to five minutes per day on her blog, where she adds photos of girls and then scrupulously clears her browser history, knowing her dad will check it later. When she neglects to clear her browser history one day, Gloria’s parents discover her blog and promptly kick her out. She begins sleeping in the unused orchestra pit at school, meticulously saving food from her school lunches and stretching her cash out to pay for meager gas-station meals. While doing homework at the bookstore, she crosses paths with Xia, who works there, and the two strike up an unexpected friendship that turns into romance. But Gloria keeps her living situation a secret, writing letters to her parents and biding her time, even as her situation becomes more and more desperate. Realistic in its depiction of religious homophobia and LGBTQ teen homelessness, this novel makes space for complexity: Gloria finds a new church but has no desire to abandon Christianity. Neither does she dislike her small town, where queer people—like Mr. Avery (Black), Xia’s boss, who offers much-needed support—do live and thrive. ©2026 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 14 and older
Age Range:
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Chinese and Chinese Americans
Christian People
Homelessness
Homophobia
Lesbians
Love and Romance
Secrets
Small Town Life
Diversity subjects:
Asian
Black/African
Christian
LGBTQ Character/Topic
Publisher:
Union Square
Publish Year: 2025
Pages: 329
ISBN: 9781454957119
CCBC Location: Fiction, Redgate