The Wrong Way Home

By: Kate O'Shaughnessy

Narrated by: Caitlin Kinnunen

Twelve-year-old Fern believes she's living a noble life--but what if everything she's been told is a lie? This is a huge-hearted story about a girl learning to question everything—and to trust in herself.

A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK • A CALIBA GOLDEN POPPY AWARD FINALIST • A KIRKUS REVIEWS AND BOOKLIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Fern’s lived at the Ranch, an off-the-grid, sustainable community in upstate New York, since she was six. The work is hard, but Fern admires the Ranch's leader, Dr. Ben. So when Fern’s mother sneaks them away in the middle of the night and says Dr. Ben is dangerous, Fern doesn't believe it. She wants desperately to go back, but her mom just keeps driving.

Suddenly thrust into the treacherous, toxic, outside world, Fern can think only of how to get home. She has a plan, but it will take time. As that time goes by, though, Fern realizes there are things she will miss from this place—the library, a friend from school, the ocean—and there are things she learned at the Ranch that are just...not true.

Now Fern will have to decide. How much is she willing to give up to return to the Ranch? Should she trust Dr. Ben’s vision for her life? Or listen to the growing feeling that she can live by her own rules?

Critic reviews

★ "Gripping. A strong, emotionally intelligent story."
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "The suspenseful story is immediately intriguing, skillfully conveying the high-stakes situation and effortlessly drawing the audience in. A tremendous testament to the power in plotting your own course."
—Booklist, starred review

★ "Lovingly crafted with depth and compassion. Nuance suffuses this story of discovery, as Fern’s blind faith grows tenuous."
— Bulletin, starred review

"Driven by a growing self-awareness that she can choose who and what she believes, this is a moving portrait of a girl undergoing drastic change." —Publishers Weekly

"This coming-of-age story centers a girl trying to decide what is right as she struggles to change from one culture to another. The first-person narrative is believable and thought-provoking as Fern reconsiders everything she’s thought to be true." —School Library Journal

"A cleverly written and supremely literary story, while also remaining pretty gripping in its telling.” —SLJ's Fuse 8

"O’Shaughnessy presents a high stakes situation and zeroes in on a child narrator’s believable emotions. That tight focus on the narrator even when she is misguided or doesn’t have all the facts allows readers to draw their own conclusions." — The Horn Book Magazine

“Kate O’Shaughnessy is an extraordinarily talented author whose gift is an innate understanding of the inner life of twelve-year-olds.”
—Gennifer Choldenko, Newbery Honor Winner for Al Capone Does My Shirts

“To leave behind a world that seems totally secure and safe and comfortable, for a world in which you make your own decisions and claim your own life—that is one of our great journeys. In The Wrong Way Home, Fern has to battle her own fear, elaborate illusions, misunderstandings, and the past mistakes of others to get on with that journey—and, dear reader, you will not be able to turn the pages fast enough to see if she makes it. Plan on reading this in one sitting; matters of the human soul don't bear interruption.”
—Gary D. Schmidt, Newbery Honor Winner for The Wednesday Wars

“Young readers will cheer for Fern as she finds the courage to confront the troubling doctrines she has been raised with and reinvent her ideas of home.”
—Jacquetta Nammar Feldman, author of Wishing Upon the Same Stars and The Puttermans Are in the House

The uniqueness of the story

What a great book! Definitely opened the door to new ideas most teens probably aren't aware of. I highly recommend it!

Great story!

The weaving of suspense and reality was masterful. The writing immerses the reader into the conflict that Fern had leaving the cult and dealing with both the emotions of wanting to go back and yearning to stay in the new town . The book illustrates that everyone has weaknesses they need to overcome, that life isn’t perfect, but you should love your life it is.

Best book ever

This book was so good hi hi hi high i love see see the future

Great story fell short

The idea of a cult isn’t suitable for young readers but this would have been great for young adults. LGBTQ was completely forced, obviously supporting the authors ideology. It wasn’t needed.