How to Build a House

How to Build a House is an exceptionally compelling and well-written book that was full of drama, romance, and the struggles of a teen’s life.

Harper, a thoroughly believable and exceptionally resilient teenager decides to join a teen volunteer program that helps rebuild houses for families who have lost everything because of horribly destructive natural disasters, like tornadoes. There, Harper meets a wonderful crowd of people: Captain, Frances, Linus, Marisol, and Teddy. Soon her relationship with Teddy develops to be something much more than a friendship; could it be love? The scars of her previous “relationships” deeply haunt her, but love seizes her anyway with its firm and undeniable grasp, only to leave her breathless and show more head over heels. But, while an innocent summer romance blossoms like a beautiful red rose, the memories of her once warm and comforting home life still resonate painfully in the back of her mind like a single gunshot; back at home, her family has been ripped apart. Adultery, lies, depression, and longing flood Harper’s home life to the very brim until the water pours out freely, just like the tears that she had cried many a night. Thus, as Harper falls in love, deals with the drama at home, and tries to mend the lives of others, she must glue together the smashed pieces of her life.

I loved this book so much for many reasons. First of all, I loved how Reinhardt parallels the construction of a house with the reconstruction of a shattered family by using the “HOME” and “HERE” partitions of the book. It gives you a whole new perspective on how Harper was thinking, and what happened. Not to mention the fact that it frequently left me on the edge of my seat! I also enjoyed the fact that Reinhardt concocted amazingly believable and enjoyable characters, like Harper, who was put in real-life situations and forced to handle them in the inscrutable way that she would. The way in which Reinhardt described the past events and memories of Harper’s life and the events that were just occurring utterly amazed me. Everything was so intricate, detailed, and well-thought out, it stunned me! The way in which she molded and shaped her careful words like a meticulous sculptor was consummate.

In my opinion, this book was positively fabulous. I loved the author, characters, plot, and thought provoking, gut-grabbing situations that appeared in this excellent book. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an enthralling novel to devour, or anyone who enjoys realistic fiction and romance. This story was an absolute grand slam.

Not only was this book about a summer love and a broken family, it was about rebuilding things; rebuilding homes, families, people, and . . . lives. show less

Reviewed by Tasha for TeensReadToo.com

Harper's life is falling apart. Her father and step-mother, whom she considers a mother, are getting a divorce, and her step-sister/best friend, Tess, won't talk to her. Then there's Gabriel. He's been Harper's best friend since they were twelve, but now he just uses her as his girl when he can't get anyone else.

Harper finally realizes that she needs to escape. When she finds out about Homes for the Heart Summer Program for Teens, she knows she's found her escape route. At the beginning of the summer she heads off to Bailey, Tennessee, where there was a major tornado that devastated almost the entire city. Here she will join a group of teens and help build a family a house.

Little does she know that show more she will not only rebuild one family's life, but may actually start rebuilding her own. She immediately starts making friends with the other volunteers and loves the aspect of helping other people. Then there's Teddy, the son of the family for whom the house is being built. Teddy chooses Harper. He shows her how to trust and love and turns her summer into an unforgettable moment.

First, I have to say this surpassed and exceeded every expectation I had of this book. Not only was it an amazing and heartfelt love story, but also an extremely real story of finding oneself. At the beginning of the story Harper is lost, struggling like many of today's teens with the divorce of her parents. She grows so much as a person that it inspires the reader to really look at their life and see if they can make themselves a better person, too. Harper's character is beautifully created and hard to forget. She is very honest and so real that she's hard not to love.

And then there is Teddy. Whew! He sounds like the ultimate boyfriend. There's everything to love about him and it drives me crazy that he's not real. I mean, who wouldn't want a guy who wants to make your life better and really wants to know everything about you?

Besides the characters, Dana Reinhardt's writing style was one-of-a-kind. I really enjoyed how the story kept flipping from Harper's current life in Tennessee and then back to what her home life was like. Overall, this was a stunning novel that I highly recommend. I completely loved it and will definitely read it over and over again! show less

Harper's dad and stepmom are in the midst of divorce. The problem is that Jane is the only mother she's ever known because her mom died when she was two. Reinhardt does a wonderful job of explaining today's blended families as Harper struggles with losing her sister Tess (who was actually her stepsister . . . and best friend) in the divorce. As summer approaches she knows that she needs to get away from all that has happened throughout the school year and signs up for a program called Homes from the Heart, which helps people rebuild after a natural disaster. Harper goes to Tennessee hoping to sort out all of her problems and confusing relationships over the twelve week separation. The distance is good for her and as the book progresses show more the reader watches as Harper helps reconstruct a house and make sense out of her life.

The novel is told in sections labeled "Here" (Tennessee) and "Home" (flashbacks to LA and the life she left behind). Harper left LA to avoid relationships and the complications that come with them, but alas, she finds herself wound up in a summer romance. How to Build a House has its sweet moments of young romance and the first taste of independence, but it also illustrates the agony of divorce, especially the feeling of guilt that Harper and Tess feel about loving one family and the fear that it makes them disloyal to the other.

I would recommend this to book to older teens that enjoy honest fiction about real issues. show less

How to Build a House is only somewhat about building houses. The main character, Harper, is giong to Tennesse for the summer to join a teen group in rebuiliding a house that has been torn apart by a tornado. She is doing this to get away from her parents' divorce, her stepsister, and her best friend who has been using her. Once Harper is in Tennessee, she finds Teddy. They fall in love. The problem is, Harper will have to leave Teddy behind when seh goes back home. As the summer comes to an end, Harper learns 'how to build a house" and how to build better relationships.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about summer romances or teenage relationships. I personally did not like the book because I don't like reading show more about other teens' cmplaints and dramatic lives. I found that I couldn't really relate to Harper's dramatic life, so I was left without a connection or any feelings about her. show less

How to Build a House was a wonderful read. Harper's story is realistic and understandable and heart-breaking and inspiring, all at once. Since her father and step-mother's divorce, Harper is just lost. The gap between her and Tess, her former step-sister/best friend, keeps widening and she doesn't know why. She starts a casual sexual relationship with a friend, which ends up leaving her more hurt than before.

Harper's escape comes in the form of a volunteer program for teens, similar to Habitat for Humanity. She's going to spend her summer in Tennessee, building a home for a family that lost theirs in a tornado. While learning how to build a house, Harper learns how to rebuild her life. Between her new friends and Teddy, her new love show more interest who happens to be part of the family that will live in her house, Harper manages to heal herself and forgive the people in her life. show less

All Harper wants to do is escape her life. Her father and stepmother are getting a divorce, which means the siblings she's known since she was 5 are no longer her siblings. She catches her stepsister making out with the guy she thinks she's in love with, and then finds out it's her father's fault the marriage ended. So she goes to Tennessee to help build a house for a family that lost theirs in a tornado, and winds up building a new sense of self and repairing some old relationships.

Dana Reinhardt is emerging as one of my favorite YA authors. She does, indeed, write "girl books", but a good book is a good book and to my mind she writes very good books. She has a way of making you very much care about her characters without leaving you feeling manipulated.