Because the Tillermans' mom just left them in the parking lot in Provincetown, the children have the chance to start living a completely new life in their new family home, even though several of the major issues of Homecoming are not resolved.

Gram refuses to discuss her past with the children, and their attempts to find out about it by climbing into the attic are met with anger.

In December, the psychiatric hospital in Boston calls and informs Gram that Liza is in a critical state and may not live much longer.

At the time of the book's publication, Kirkus Reviews said, "Through all the hardships, comforts, and passages, Dicey remains the sturdy presence we met in Homecoming; new [sic] she and Gram make a strong, crusty pair, and the other children come along according to their observantly individualized courses.

"[1] In a retrospective essay about the Newbery Medal-winning books from 1976 to 1985, literary critic Zena Sutherland wrote, "The characterization is consistent and perceptive, the setting solidly established, and the plot elements are firmly knit by a writing style smooth enough to compensate for the occasional lag in pace that comes with iteration.