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    Nowhere but Home: A Novel
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    Nowhere but Home: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Nowhere but Home: A Novel
    Ebook414 pages5 hours

    Nowhere but Home: A Novel

    By Liza Palmer

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Bestselling author Liza Palmer carries readers to North Star, Texas, in the amusing and poignant Nowhere But Home.

    After Queenie Wake is dismissed from her restaurant job, she returns to North Star to cook meals for death row inmates.

    Hopeful that the bad memories of her late mother and promiscuous sister (now the mother of the captain of the high school football team) have been forgotten by the locals, Queenie discovers that some people can’t be forgotten—heartbreaker Everett Coburn—her old high-school sweetheart.

    When secrets from the past emerge, will Queenie be able to stick by her family or will she leave home again?

    Liz Palmer’s Nowhere But Home is a funny and touching story of food, football, and fooling around.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 2, 2013
    ISBN9780062101488
    Unavailable
    Nowhere but Home: A Novel
    Author

    Liza Palmer

    Liza Palmer is the internationally bestselling author of Conversations with the Fat Girl, Seeing Me Naked, A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents, More Like Her, and Nowhere but Home. An Emmy-nominated writer, she lives in Los Angeles, and is hard at work on her next novel and several film and television projects.

    Read more from Liza Palmer

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    Reviews for Nowhere but Home

    4/5

    56 ratings13 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Amazing. My review couldn't do it justice.
    • 4/5
      A woman returns to her hometown in Texas after being fired from her job in New York and must decide whether to stay or move on. She gets a job cooking "last meals" for those on Death Row and is haunted by the fact that this is the first job she has had that she truly enjoys. Funny, plot moves nicely.
    • 5/5
      This was a great read, I'm so glad my daughter turned me on to this author. The characters were written well and the plot kept you moving right along. It brings you right back to high school and the mean girls, small town, and southern food. The fact she has to cook for death row inmates, last meals, starts me thinking there has to be other books out there that covers this subject in a non-fiction way. Must be a terrible thing to have to do for a living. I haven't looked yet but I hope there are more of Liza's books to read!
    • 5/5
      This was a truly beautiful book about love and hope.
    • 3/5
      This was a fun and light novel about trying to go home agian. Queenie who is fired from her job as a chef has nowhere to go but home. As secrets of her past come to light she struggles with whether to stay or leave.
    • 5/5
      The Good Stuff Totally enjoyed just losing myself in this lovely story about redemption, family, forgiveness, prejudice and hope Full of unique, yet believable and interesting characters Wonderful character development Liked the plot line that involved Queenie being a cook for last meals at a prison - could lead to some very interesting conversations Makes you think I cried - I consider this a good thing as you feel an emotional attachment to a character - that my friends is a sign of a good story Loved the humour in this one The type of story you don`t want to put down - not that it is non stop excitement - its just the type of story that you care about what is going to happen to these richly developed characters Loved the relationship between Queenie and Merry The type of book you want to hug when you are finished Made me wonder if I could grant the wish of a convicted murderer - he or she was a child once - what made them become who they were? - do they deserve forgiveness? - do they deserve to get a final wish? - so many thoughts Must read more by this author - have a feeling that I will enjoy her other works Sad that others could judge children based on what their parents actions - and you know this happens in real life No preaching about whether the death penalty is the right thing to do Could have easily turned into a stereotypical small town caricature type of story but the author is truly gifted and instead you get something real Strong realistic female charactersThe Not So Good Stuff A tad repetitive - nothing horrible - just some stronger editing would have given this a 5 instead of a 4.5 Made me crave Southern Cooking - I am trying to stay away from that stuff it is not good for me (yes this is made worse because my hubby is cooking ribs for his work and it smells divine in this house) a wee bit predictable - but in this case it is ok - because you are so invested in the charactersFavorite Quotes/Passages `` Food that`s good, but not great enough to tolerate someone `being kind of a bitch`` is surely sweeping the Irish culinary world.`` ``Fine. Maybe I was going to point out the tragedy of One-Minute Wes being your only sexual experience. I mean what kind of whore are you?````We`re finally sinking in is the knowledge that their opinions only reflections of themselves and how unhappy they are in their own lives. I should know. I`ve spent years snarling at people because of how lonely I am.``Who Should/Shouldn`t Read Must send this this review to Jennifer Estep - think she would enjoy Anyone looking for a good character driven story that leaves you with the feeling of hope Perfect for a vacation read Those who like `chick lit`with heart - I don`t take the term chick lit as a negative thin - but lets face it guys aren`t going to get the appeal of this4.5 Dewey`s I received this from William Morrow in exchange for an honest review
    • 5/5
      I received a copy of Nowhere but Home by Liza Palmer from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

      This is an awesome story and it was so well written that the reader will find themselves on an emotional rollercoaster.

      Queenie and her older sister Merry Carole are still trying after over a decade to put their mother’s reputation and her death behind them and move on with their lives. They are trying to make peace with the past but the “good” people of North Star just won’t let them. My word, I felt I was I was in North Star myself watching the story unfold!

      Queenie’s character is very strong, but she does not understand why she is the way she is, because for the most part she is running from the past, trying for it not to catch up with her and her struggles are sometimes so heartwrenching while trying at the same time to get over the “love of her life”. Merry Carole on the other hand is trying to pretend the people of North Star don’t get to her at all and is for the most part outwardly calm in spite of everything, but there is so much going on under the surface.

      Watching the story unfold is sometimes quite sad and I would admit that a couple tears were indeed shed, but the author was excellent, bringing some very funny laugh out loud moments to create some balance with the sadness. As with her book “More Like Her” she has shown a talent for writing.

      I would totally recommend this book to anyone.
    • 5/5
      I received a copy of Nowhere but Home by Liza Palmer from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

      This is an awesome story and it was so well written that the reader will find themselves on an emotional rollercoaster.

      Queenie and her older sister Merry Carole are still trying after over a decade to put their mother’s reputation and her death behind them and move on with their lives. They are trying to make peace with the past but the “good” people of North Star just won’t let them. My word, I felt I was I was in North Star myself watching the story unfold!

      Queenie’s character is very strong, but she does not understand why she is the way she is, because for the most part she is running from the past, trying for it not to catch up with her and her struggles are sometimes so heartwrenching while trying at the same time to get over the “love of her life”. Merry Carole on the other hand is trying to pretend the people of North Star don’t get to her at all and is for the most part outwardly calm in spite of everything, but there is so much going on under the surface.

      Watching the story unfold is sometimes quite sad and I would admit that a couple tears were indeed shed, but the author was excellent, bringing some very funny laugh out loud moments to create some balance with the sadness. As with her book “More Like Her” she has shown a talent for writing.

      I would totally recommend this book to anyone.
    • 4/5
      This is a fun novel of going home again. Fired from her job as a chef, Queenie feels she has nowhere to go but back “home”.Hoping to overcome the reputation the women in her family, she must face the town’s folk again. Things have changed and hopefully settled down since she left so long ago.However, people remember the past mistakes of Queenie’s mother and sister, and Queenie remembers her own mistakes, too. She is suddenly faced with the real reason she left town.Her new job as the cook at the prison for death row inmates keep her busy, and they don’t care about her past or her present, either. She immerses herself in her job to avoid the chaos around her.As secrets of the past come to light, Queenie struggles with whether to stay or leave her hometown again. She alone must decide the answers.
    • 4/5
      Queenie has no where to go...so...she finally goes home.My thoughts after reading this book...I thought this book was delightful, heart warming and insightful...Queenie...a chef...gets fired from practically all of her chef jobs...her cooking is great but she can't stop telling people how they should eat. Catsup with eggs? That's a definitive no in Queenie's world so she gets fired again and again and again. So...she finally goes home...to North Star, Texas. Home to her sister, her nephew, her long lost love and a really bad family reputation.Queenie gets a job, decides to stay and face her past. I think what saves her is her job...she makes last meals for death row inmates. She takes her job seriously...especially when a death row inmate asks for meal Number One...the meal Queenie's own dead mother was famous for.What I loved about this book...I loved the small town dynamics...the mean girls, the secrets and the resurrection of Queenie's one true love.Memorable moments...Queenie making the last meals was touching to me. Queenie and her sister...I loved their relationship. Cal and Queenie running together...very sweet, indeed.Final thoughts...I found this to be an entertaining book, fun, lively and thought provoking. I loved the characters and their situations. It was a sweet
    • 5/5
      I really loved this book. What book can make you identify with the main character when you are nothing like her? But I did feel very close to Queenie Wake. Nowhere but Home by Liza Palmer is a book that is very difficult to stop reading. The main character, Queen Elizabeth Wake was named by her mother in order to get respect from the town. Her mother, Brandi Jacques Wake is good looking, an unwed mother, a thief and promiscuous. Her mother was cold and never cared about the whereabouts of her daughters. The only good thing that she gave Queenie was to know how to cook. It was a tough life for Queenie and her sister Merrie Carol. They were girls from the other side of the tracks. Their mother had been shot when Queenie was growing up. Little bits and pieces were gently revealed about her mother and why Queenie left town, North Star, Texas. After being fired in New York City for scolding a customer for wanting to put ketchup on eggs, she gives up and decides to return to North Star.Queenie has spent years everywhere and has run out of places to work. She decides to come back home to her sister and her nephew. She finds that the town is the same when she left it, even though her nephew has found a way to escape the scorn. He is a star on the local football team. Her old boyfriend seems to be the same, the gossipy women in her sister’ beauty shop seemed to be the same. This book made me really care about Queenie, Merrie Carol and her nephew. What stands out to me is the way the author incorporated themes of jealousy, forgiveness, love and down home cooking into a wonderful book. The description of her meal preparation was Zen like,there was a beautiful ending. I have no negative comments about this book. I loved it!I highly recommend this book to all my friends. This book was received from the Amazon Vine and that in no way influenced my review.
    • 4/5
      Queenie Walker wanted nothing more to leave the same town where she grew up and run from her past and its problems. But after getting fired from the latest job as a chef in New York city, there is no other place to go but back home to North Star, Texas. Will she cause new problems or open old wounds? It is tough to say; but Queenie just want to find some peace with her past and make a home for herself. The book starts with the dismissal of Queen Elizabeth Wake (yep, that’s her name, so you can just guess what her family is like) from her job in NYC and she heads back home to the small town of North Star, Texas. They say you can never go back home again and the girl with big aspirations has to deal not only with her sister, and ex-boyfriend but the ghost of her mother’s past. She takes a job cooking the last meals of death row prisoners. Now, if that isn’t depressing enough, she can’t help but running into people from her past, included her ex-boyfriend. I know this is what is classified as chick lit, but found that Queenie to be a wonderful and strong character. I liked how she out her passion in making those last meals and the reader gets to know who she is. The supporting characters are also fascinating and you want to know what is going to happen in their lives. It makes for a very pleasurable read.
    • 4/5
      Chef Queenie Wake has been fired again. When will she learn her way is not always the right way and that a patron wants to be served what he orders? Since her latest job in New York City came with a free hotel room, Queenie has nowhere to go – nowhere, but home. And home is North Star, Texas, somewhere she ran from 10 years earlier.Queenie does go home to North Star, where her older sister, Merry Carole and Merry's son Cal live. Queenie is heartened to be reunited with her sister and nephew, but memories of her mother and her family's reputation in the small town surround her. And then there's the real reason she ran – rancher Everett Coburn.Merry Carole owns a hair salon in North Star and Cal is the starting quarterback of the football team. But small town folk aren't ones to forget the past or to allow those they believe to be inferior to rise above them. How will they react to Cal as starting quarterback?Queenie helps out at the hair salon and accepts a job cooking last meals for death row inmates. But is that enough to keep her in North Star?I loved the characters in author Liza Palmer's "Nowhere but Home." Texas, big hair, football and family combine in this fun read.