Going Home by Danielle Steel: Book Review

Looks Like Books contains affiliate links and is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you. See my Disclaimer to learn more.

Going Home by Danielle Steel is where it all began.

Published in 1973, this was Danielle Steel’s first novel, and rereading it decades later was especially interesting because I’ve now read her entire backlist and know her later writing style so well.

What surprised me most was how different Going Home felt from the Danielle Steel books I’m used to reading today. Some of that difference worked for me, and some definitely did not.

So this review is partly about the book itself and partly about what it’s like to go all the way back to the beginning of an author’s career after reading her work for years.

My Take: Going Home is interesting more as a piece of Danielle Steel history than as one of my favorite Danielle Steel novels. I’m glad I reread it because it gave me a very clear look at how much her storytelling and style have evolved over time. But compared with her later books, I found the characters less likable, the tone rougher, and parts of the book more dated than I expected. My Verdict? Read if you’re a devoted Danielle Steel fan or curious about where her career began.

Watch My Review of Going Home

I recorded a quick video review of Going Home, where I talk about the fact that this was Danielle Steel’s very first novel and also show the difference between a mass-market paperback and a trade paperback.

FYI, if you’re also a bit mystified about the difference between these paperback book sizes here, you can check out the answer there.

What Going Home by Danielle Steel Is About

Gillian Forrester believes she has found lasting love in San Francisco, but betrayal changes the course of her life and sends her to New York for a fresh start.

There, she begins building a new career and becomes involved in another intense relationship, only to find herself facing difficult choices between the life she has created and the life she left behind.

Because this is Danielle Steel’s debut novel, it is especially interesting to read it now with the benefit of knowing how her later books developed. Many familiar themes are already here – love, heartbreak, reinvention, difficult relationships – but the tone is noticeably different from her more recent work.

Going Home by Danielle Steel – What I Liked

There honestly wasn’t much about Going Home that I loved, which surprised me because Danielle Steel is one of my most-read authors.

What I did appreciate was the chance to see where her career began. Reading this book after having read so many of her later novels made the differences in her writing style very obvious, and that was fascinating in its own way.

I also liked the ending. I won’t give anything away, but I found the final combination of characters more satisfying than much of what came before it. In fact, I almost wished those relationships had been stronger throughout the entire book.

More than anything, I’m glad I reread Going Home because it gave me a much clearer picture of how much Danielle Steel’s storytelling has evolved over the decades.

Going Home by Danielle Steel – What I Didn’t Like

The biggest issue for me was simply that I didn’t connect with the characters very much. I found several of them difficult to like, and that made it harder for me to become emotionally invested in the story.

The tone also felt noticeably different from Danielle Steel’s later books. Some scenes were more explicit and rough-edged than I expected, and while I don’t object to that in general, it didn’t work especially well for me here.

There was also some language and terminology that felt dated by today’s standards. Since the book was published in 1973, that context matters, but it still affected how I experienced the story now.

None of this means the book has no value. In fact, the differences are part of what made the reread interesting. But as a reading experience, this is definitely not one of my favorite Danielle Steel novels.

Going Home by Danielle Steel – Read, Reread, or Reconsider?

Read if you’re a diehard Steel fan (like me) and think it would be interesting to see how her writing has evolved.

Reconsider if you’ve read a few recent Steel books, love her current style, and are not open to experiencing what will be a very different style of Danielle Steel writing to what you’re probably used to.

Frequently Asked Questions About Going Home

Is Going Home by Danielle Steel Worth Reading?

Yes, but mostly for the right reader.

If you’re already a Danielle Steel fan and you’re curious about how her writing began, Going Home is absolutely worth reading for that reason alone. It gives you a very clear look at the beginning of an extraordinary publishing career and makes the evolution of her later work much easier to appreciate.

If you’re brand new to Danielle Steel, though, I would not necessarily start here. Her later books are more representative of the style most readers associate with her today.

For me, Going Home was not a favorite, but I’m still glad I reread it. Sometimes a book is worth revisiting not because you love it, but because it shows you how much a writer – and maybe even a reader – can change over time.

What To Read Next

• Danielle Steel Books in Order – Browse her complete backlist and see how her novels developed from Going Home onward.
• Palazzo by Danielle Steel – A much more recent Danielle Steel novel with the polished style and emotional warmth I associate with her later books.
• The Wedding Planner by Danielle Steel – Another newer Steel novel with romance, family drama, and a much lighter overall tone.
• Worthy Opponents by Danielle Steel – A good choice if you prefer her more modern stories featuring strong women, careers, and relationships.
• Paperback vs. Mass-Market Paperback – See the difference between the two formats I demonstrate in the video.

Please Share This Post!