The Wrong Way HomeReview posted March 28, 2025.
Listening Library, 2024. 9 hours.
Review written March 27, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
2025 Newbery Honor Book
My hold on the audio version of this Newbery Honor book finally came in, and Wow! This one packs an emotional punch as well as letting you spend time with delightful people.
For six years, twelve-year-old Fern, once known as Frankie, has lived at the Ranch, an off-the-grid sustainable community in upstate New York, led by kind and wise Dr. Ben. Before they came to the Ranch, Fern had her mother had several different homes, but now they have stability and purpose, away from the harmful influences outside the community. When Dr. Ben tells Fern she's ready to go on her Rite - a challenging scenario that will mark her as an adult and a true member of the community - she's full of pride and scornful that her mother would want to hold her back.
But soon after that, Fern's mother tricks her into going outside the community, saying it's a trip for Dr. Ben, when really they're moving across the country to a coastal town in California. Her mother has landed a job housekeeping in a small hotel while they live in a hotel room. It turns out that her Mom has a history there - and a godmother who wants nothing more than to look out for them. Fern only wants to go back home.
Things are rough for Fern in school - she knows about sustainable practices and the harms of man-made chemicals, but she doesn't even know who George Washington is. But she makes a friend when a girl named Eddy needs a partner for her science project. Eddy wants to prove that the local legend, the Spirit of the Sea, is a hoax. Fern is happy to help and makes more ties in the community - all while trying to earn money to hire a private investigator to find Dr. Ben's address and ask him to talk her Mom into taking them back home.
The author skillfully shows us how Fern little by little gains a new perspective on Dr. Ben and all the control he held over their community, all while she finds more and more to appreciate in California. But can she remember that when Dr. Ben shows up to take her back?
I like that the reader doesn't hear the word "cult" until Fern does. We've only been hearing Fern's rosy perspective on things "back home," and kids may gradually realize, along with Fern, that something's off.
The Newbery committee did a fine job choosing this book! I only wish I'd gotten it read sooner so I could have recommended it at my February awards round-up to other librarians. It's a book I'll remember for a long time to come.