174 reviews for:

The Wrong Way Home

Kate O'Shaughnessy

4.37 AVERAGE

sreddous's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping

What a MASTER class in writing an unreliable narrator here. I was anxious (in a good way) the whole time reading this. I'm an adult, so I was able to "read between the lines immediately" and know "what was really going on at the Ranch." BUT it is also so easy to see where Fern's coming from and to deeply understand why she longs for the Ranch, and all of her actions and outbursts and sneaking around and distrust all make complete sense from a child's perspective. This is a HARD balance to get right, and the events are all so well-set-up that I was extremely anxious waiting "for the shoe to drop." All of Kate O'Shaughnessy's books have given me at least One Really Good Gut Punch and, whew, this one has some pretty hard-hitting, emotional, perfectly-paced moments. Staying generic to avoid too many spoilers: The way things come full-circle and we really see how much Fern has grown by the end is SO satisfying. This book handles difficult topics such as: kidnapping, cults, poverty. But it's not too graphic for the age range of the book AND it handles these topics respectfully. Real kids have to deal with complicated housing and money and family and job situations and this book shows an example of a desperate family's situation in a way that's age-appopriate while also feeling very immersive and realistic. Natural dialogue, emotional connections, a lovely portrait of the power of community and connection for better or for worse. Heartbreaking, triumphant stuff.

jeanilk's review against another edition

4.0

challenging hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

jaderm's review against another edition

5.0

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

zoebowieee's review against another edition

5.0

emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mizim's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

thedisquietedpen's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

johannawilbur's review against another edition

4.75

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

brendamcneece's review against another edition

3.5

hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

jess64au's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

---

You know it is a good book when you keep waking up thinking about it.    Themes: Cult, family, trust, found family, kidnapping. 

tchtramcd's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes