The Wrong Way Home -- Kate O'Shaughnessy, Hardcover

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.

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 thinks only about how to get home again. 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?

Author: Kate O'Shaughnessy
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published: 04/02/2024
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.40h x 6.00w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9780593650738
Age Range: 10-UP

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2024
Publishers Weekly 02/05/2024
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2024
Booklist 03/15/2024 pg. 73
School Library Journal 04/01/2024 pg. 129

About the Author
KATE O'SHAUGHNESSY is a book nerd, animal lover, former chef, and an outdoor enthusiast. When she's not writing, you can find Kate in her garden, eating good food, hiking with her dog, and chronically mispronouncing words she's read but never heard said aloud. She lives in California with her family.
Don't miss Kate's other books: The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane, and Lasagna Means I Love You.