The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy

The Wrong Way Home

(newbery Honor Award Winner)

Kate O'Shaughnessy

Random House Children's Books · Print & ebook · April 1, 2025

Twelve-year-old Fern believes she's living a noble life--but what if everything she's been told is a lie?

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Who it’s for
A close, thoughtful read about trust, belonging, and the nerve to choose your own rules.
Themes
Self-trust, Questioning beliefs, Personal independence
Genres
Growing Up

About this book

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.

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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?

Learning to Question

A close, thoughtful read about trust, belonging, and the nerve to choose your own rules.

Come here for

  • A girl rethinking the people and beliefs she once trusted
  • The pull between a place called home and a wider world

Expect

  • An emotionally grounded story of changing loyalties
  • A gradual shift from certainty toward self-trust

Where it sits

Growing Up72%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Abuse & Healing
  • Big Feelings
  • Homelessness & Poverty
Authors
Kate O'Shaughnessy
Publisher
Random House Children's Books
Published
April 1, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Self-trust · Questioning beliefs · Personal independence
Reading lane
Abuse & Healing