The Wrong Way Home
The Wrong Way Home
Kate O’Shaughnessy
Knopf/Penguin, 2024
322 pages
Grades 4-8
Realistic Fiction
Twelve-year-old Fern is confused when her mother takes her away from the only family she knows only to drive across the country to a strange place. Since she was a small child Fern and her mother have lived on The Ranch, a small sustainable commune in upstate New York run by the benevolent dictator Dr. Ben. She has been taught to stay away from outside influences and dangers including cell phones, sugar, processed foods, modern medicine, television, and reading anything besides useful how-to manuals. They land in a small California coastal town and mom secures a job at a local motel cleaning rooms in exchange for lodging and a small salary. Fern attends school for the first time, finding herself woefully behind academically, yet discovering her love for biology and conservation. School also brings a new friend, who she gradually learns to trust. Another surprise involves the eccentric tea shop owner, who turns out to have connections to her family and also becomes a friend. Fern begins to settle in, yet still longs for the only home and family she remembers. This new life is full of traps and she is desperate to contact The Ranch in order for someone to come and get her away from all of the temptations. Only-how can she contact The Ranch if she isn’t sure where exactly it is? And has she changed too much for it to still be Home?
One of the best reviewed books of 2024, The Wrong Way Home was recently named a 2025 Newbery honor book—with good reason. Older middle-grade readers will be fascinated by Ferns experience of living in a cult and then slowing deprogramming back into current culture. We see the reasons why desperate people get sucked into cults and feel sympathy with Fern’s young mother. It is with relief that they fall into community and gain a positive support network. The family friend/cafe owner, Babs, is an especially interesting character, who, though flawed, is bursting with love and support. Everyone needs a Babs in their life. The real star of the story is the character development of Fern as we watch her deprogram before our eyes. She learns to be a friend, think independently, stand up for herself, and “pick the best and leave the rest” in modern culture. I was very surprised that someone did not get Fern some sort of professional counseling, but the point of the book is watching the characters work through this. Experiencing Fern navigate modern life was so interesting and the author allowed her to make some crucial mistakes in order to learn from them. There were a few stressful moments where I was holding my breath and a small mystery, giving the book a little more substance than simply working through emotions. The coastal California setting is it’s own character and readers will walk away with a bit of Fern’s love for the ocean and taking care of the environment. A real winner for thoughtful older elementary readers.